Fantasy Football: Cooper Kupp or Robert Woods?

After cutting Todd Gurley, the Los Angeles Rams will focus on building their offense around franchise quarterback Jared Goff.

Both Rams wide receivers Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods are coming off career years in an offense that's looking to air it out more in 2020.

Whether you're drafting in a standard or PPR league, we've got you covered on what to do with the Rams' wideouts.

How to Separate the Two

Kupp was the No. 2 fantasy wide receiver through the first eight weeks in 2019 with 58 receptions, 792 yards, and 5 touchdowns. He also ended the season scoring a touchdown in five consecutive weeks, catching 27 of 30 targets (90%). The most impressive stat was Kupp scored five touchdowns in six NFC West games -- at least one in every game except at home versus the 49ers. Versus the Cardinals and Seahawks, Kupp scored two touchdowns apiece and was Goff's second-most targeted receiver (134) behind Woods (139) on the season.

Kupp ended his season as the fourth-ranked standard (176.3) and PPR (270.5) wide receiver in the league last year. He hadn't caught more than 62 passes before his career-high 94 in 2019, and he continued to increase his touchdown production each season, now totaling 21 receiving scores over 39 games in three years.

Cooper enters the final year of his contract making $2.371M, and he's going to demand much more than that next offseason. He'll be an unrestricted free agent in 2021, and Woods will be the same in 2022.

Woods saw at least nine targets in five of six division games and caught at least seven passes in the final five of seven games during the 2019 season. Woods drew six games with double-digit targets and five with seven or more. He also exhibited his versatility with nine different games recording a rushing attempt. Woods had 560 yards after the catch, ranking second in the league among wide receivers, and recorded 5.27 yards of cushion on average in 2019, which was the best in the league.

Woods finished 2019 ranked 14th in PPR leagues with 232.9 fantasy points and 15.5 per game. In standard leagues, he finished 22nd with 142.9 points and 9.5 per game, mostly attributed to his two touchdown catches. While Woods isn't the flashiest selection, he's consistent as a WR2 and even better as a WR3. In PPR formats, you know what you're getting from him on a weekly basis.

2020 ADP

Kupp's ADP is 35.91, while Woods' is 50.12, per BestBall10s since the start of May.

In a 12-person league, taking Kupp at the end of the second round seems like a bit of a stretch for me considering A.J. Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Adam Thielen will be around Kupp's ADP. He has played his way into that WR15 and better conversation after 2019, but let's not forget he did miss six games with an ACL tear in 2018, and the Rams' offensive line is nothing to brag about.

Woods under Sean McVay has been a WR2 or better in 21-of-43 games (48.8%), which is the same as Tyreek Hill, per Mike Tagliere of FantasyPros. His ADP makes more sense with him going before wideouts like Tyler Lockett, Deebo Samuel, and D.J. Chark. But Woods has scored just 15 total touchdowns in 42 career games with the Rams, which ultimately is his downfall in fantasy.

The Pick

In a standard scoring league, Woods is more of a WR3 with WR2 upside in McVay's system, but Kupp on the other hand is a bonafide WR2 in any format.

What separates them is the touchdown production. Woods is an excellent PPR wide receiver because he's caught at least 86 of 130 in consecutive seasons, and he's also added at least 17 rushing attempts and a score as well. He's touchdowns regressed from six in 2018 to two in 2019, which is concerning, but with Gurley gone, he should certainly see more end zone opportunities.

Ultimately, Cooper in a contract year off a career-best campaign is a safe bet as your WR2. The 21 receiving touchdowns he's scored since being drafted by the Rams in 2017, flies by Woods' 12, and despite Woods' back-to-back 130-plus target seasons, we've seen Kupp receive 95 and 134 targets in his two healthy seasons of 15 or more games.

Heading into 2020, Kupp has the slight advantage in PPR, and in standard leagues, he's a runaway over Woods.