Cooper Kupp didn’t come into the NFL with the pedigree of being a first-round pick. He didn’t leave high school as one of the top recruits in the country, staying home in the Pacific Northwest and enrolling at Eastern Washington.

He had a great career with the Eagles and has been outstanding in the NFL, but it’d be unfair to say he’s always been the pick of the litter. After all, he was passed over 68 times in the draft before the Rams selected him in the third round.

There was a time when Peyton and Eli Manning fought over the chance to throw the ball to Kupp, however.

As detailed in Sam Farmer’s feature story for the L.A. Times, Kupp attended the Manning Passing Academy for five years as a camper and counselor, and was a favorite of the two quarterbacks. They both wanted him running routes for them, with Peyton calling Kupp his guy.

“Eli and I would argue over who got to throw to Cooper, because all of his routes were very precise,” Peyton Manning told Farmer. “He had great control of his body. You always knew where he was going, when he was going to break out or break in. For a quarterback and receiver, sometimes it takes a while to develop that timing. But he was one of those guys who right away for me and Eli the timing was easy. And of course he caught everything as well.”

Kupp attending the camp is actually what put Rams GM Les Snead onto the receiver. It was where he discovered Kupp thanks to some high praise from Peyton Manning. It caught the attention of Snead, who would go on to draft Kupp years down the road.

If Manning talks highly of a player, he’s likely got some talent.

“Peyton mentioned to [his brother] Eli, and all the subsequent college QBs, ‘Hey Cooper Kupp’s my guy. Y’all can figure out who y’all are throwing to, but Cooper’s mine,’” Snead recalled. “At that point, you took the note to follow the kid. Because Peyton’s a perfectionist, and he was definitely going to have someone who was going to be where they were supposed to be, and make the catch when he was supposed to make it.”

Kupp has been dominant for the Rams this season, ranking second in the NFL in receiving (388 yards) and leading the team with three touchdown catches. In the last three games, he has 25 catches, 342 yards and three touchdowns, eclipsing 100 yards in each start.

The Rams are grateful to have Kupp back this season after he missed eight games with a torn ACL in 2018, and they’ve gotten a better version of the receiver this year, too. He told Farmer he’s running 1.5-2 mph faster now than he was before his knee injury, which is remarkable.

The sky is the limit for Kupp moving forward as long as he can stay healthy.