Dolphins RB De’Von Achane to play Sunday vs. Commanders

Cooper Kupp missed the back half of the 2022 season due to an ankle injury and then was out for the first four games of the 2023 season with hamstring issue. He went early in 2023 fantasy drafts due to the latter ailment not being clarified until close to the season, but once Kupp posted 19.8 and 27.8 points, respectively, in Weeks 5-6, his fantasy managers were thrilled with the idea that they were still going to get ample return on that draft investment.

Things have gone south since then, as Kupp had two dud games in Weeks 6-7, then had another subpar game against the Cowboys in Week 8 due in part to Matthew Stafford getting hurt. That carried over to Week 9 when Stafford was out and Kupp scored only 6.8 points, and he then rolled an ankle against the Seahawks in Week 11 and generated only 2.1 points in that contest.

That last injury most certainly impacted Kupp’s numbers in Week 12, as his three catches against the Cardinals all occurred on short passes and Kupp was only targeted once on a vertical pass.

That Week 12 performance makes it five straight games that Kupp has posted point totals that should have him sitting on benches, and yet many (if not most) fantasy managers who have him on rosters likely won’t consider doing so due to the fear of missing out in case Kupp does have a good game.

The reality is that Kupp has been battling a multitude of injuries for a while now, as throughout his career he has dealt with multiple foot, hamstring, toe, knee and ankle injuries, so it’s not inaccurate to say that he’s injury prone and that those injuries significantly impact his fantasy point totals.

Kupp is also due to face the Browns and Ravens in the next two weeks, a pair of defenses that rank first and tied for sixth, respectively, in opponents PPR PPG allowed since Week 9.

Add that to the fact that the Ravens game is in Baltimore, a venue that has recently been extremely difficult for many high-powered offenses to perform at, and it says that Kupp should be benched for these matchups, as he’s a banged-up, underperforming wideout facing tough competition rather than the healthy, impact-caliber talent he was nearly two months ago.