Cooper Kupp brilliantly explained how defenses have evolved, largely because of Sean McVay

USA Today

12 hours ago

Cooper Kupp brilliantly explained how defenses have evolved, largely because of Sean McVay Kupp says McVay's offense was "ahead of the game" in 2017-2018, leading to major defensive changes across the league
NFL defenses are better than ever and it's because offenses got too good.
Cooper Kupp explains it perfectly pic.twitter.com/SwQSQtUKbM — Joel Moran (@joelvmoran) June 13, 2025
It's not unreasonable to say Sean McVay has been the most influential coach in the NFL since 2017. He may not have as many rings as Andy Reid in that time period, but his offensive system and coaching strategies have created ripple effects felt throughout the league.
From his frequent use of jet motion to his heavy reliance on 11 personnel to the way he values joint practices over preseason games, a number of teams have borrowed ideas from McVay and the Rams since his hiring eight years ago.
McVay was hired by the Rams in the same year that Cooper Kupp was drafted, so the wide receiver has seen firsthand how impactful McVay has been. The now-Seahawks star was recently on a radio show and he talked about how NFL defenses have evolved – largely because of how advanced and dominant McVay's offenses were early on.
'In 2017, 2018, Sean McVay's offense is ahead of the game. There were times we were running plays and I'm like, 'They have no idea what is going on.' And we were just manipulating them, moving them to where we wanted them to go. It was just, it was stupid,' Kupp said.
Late in 2018 and into 2019, Kupp noticed defenses were adapting and figuring out ways to slow down the Rams' high-powered attack, which ranked first and second in points scored during McVay's first two years. It was inspired by Vic Fangio's system, which used more Cover 4 looks, more six-man fronts and a concerted effort to limit big plays down the field.
'2019, you start seeing some more of this Cover 4, some of the 6-1 stuff,' Kupp continued.' You see safeties now playing things from depth and being able to cancel things across. 2020 comes, Brandon Staley gets hired to L.A. Brandon Staley was with Fangio in Chicago. Staley, in one year, puts together the No. 1 defense in the league.'
Staley was outstanding in his lone year as the Rams' defensive coordinator in 2020, taking a page from Fangio's book – but tweaking it to be more about concept recognition and match coverages, which is far more complicated than simply dropping back into a traditional Cover 4 look.
'Staley's thing is all about concept recognition, concept match, being able to cancel routes, move on to new things,' Kupp said. 'Now you've got a defense that's not just dropping to spots, but now they're playing the offense. And now more and more of this is shifted and molded into this, defenses now are holding these shells and being able to say, 'Hey, you aren't going to be able to see what we're doing pre-snap. We're going to show you late. We're going to bring pressure from all different directions. We're not just going to be dropping into spots. We're going to be matching, we're going to be playing zone stuff underneath.''
Kupp's explanation comes back to McVay's influence on the rest of the NFL with his creative play designs, route combinations and pre-snap motion.
'The complexity of the defenses have gotten so much more because the offenses have also started doing so much more that you have to be able to have answers for defensively. That's kind of where we're at right now, but it is fun, though,' he said.
Kupp is always a wordsmith with his explanations of complicated football concepts and this interview was no different. It's clear McVay has had a major impact on the rest of the league and defenses have had to adjust to his schemes – which the Bears and Patriots did in 2018, leading to this defensive evolution against some of the game's best offenses.