Eagles vs. Rams NFL Week 5 odds, props: Cooper Kupp set for season debut as total rises, complicating Puka Nacua's Rookie of the Year campaign

After missing the first four games of the season on injured reserve with a hamstring issue, Los Angeles Rams receiver and 2021 NFL Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp is set to make his season debut Sunday when L.A. hosts the Philadelphia Eagles, who are -4 on the SportsLine consensus. That has not changed with this news, but some books have bumped the total up a half-point to 50.5.

Week 5 is when players that opened the year on the PUP list or IR can be activated. Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, who finished runner-up to Kupp for the '21 OPOY award, is another notable player likely to make his debut this week. Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray is not ready.

On Wednesday, the Rams officially designated Kupp to return off injured reserve. He has been practicing this week. L.A. had 21 days to activate him onto the active roster but apparently will not wait per reports. The Rams have been cautious with Kupp, keeping him on a light workload at practice. It remains to be seen if his playing time will be limited Sunday. Kupp won the NFL's receiving Triple Crown two seasons ago as well as Super Bowl MVP. The 30-year-old was off to a fine start last year with 75 catches for 812 yards and six touchdowns through nine games before his season ended with an ankle injury.

There aren't any individual props up yet for Kupp as the books await his official designation and possible snap count. He is +115 for an anytime TD and +850 for the first of the game. The SportsLine Projection Model forecasts Kupp for 5.0 catches, 62 yards and 0.47 TDs. They're very different teams now, but the last time the Rams played the Eagles was Week 2 in 2020 in Philly and Kupp had five catches for 81 yards in a 37-19 win. Jared Goff was his QB then.

Kupp's return will likely will bump up Matthew Stafford's passing yardage over/under total (currently 273.5 yards) a tad for Sunday and can only hurt the Offensive Rookie of the Year case for sensational fifth-round pick Puka Nacua, who is a +425 second favorite at DK behind Houston QB C.J. Stroud (+175). Nacua leads the NFL with 52 targets, but his share of the ball will almost surely decrease with Kupp on the field. In his stellar 2021 season, Kupp easily led the league with 191 targets. Kupp now will draw the opposing team's No. 1 cornerback, which could make Nacua's job easier when he is targeted.

Nacua leads the NFL with 39 receptions and is third with 501 yards. Those are the most catches and yards by a receiver through his first four career games in league history. With 11 catches Sunday, he can become the first player ever (rookie or otherwise) with 50 receptions through his team's first five games of a season. With at least five catches, the former BYU star would join Terry Glenn (1996) and CeeDe Lamb (2020) as the only players with at least five catches in each of his first five games.

Nacua and Minnesota's Justin Jefferson (543 yards) have a shot to become the fifth and sixth players in NFL history with at least 650 receiving yards through their team's first five games of a season. It last happened in 2011 with Wes Welker. For Sunday, the model projects Nacua for 5.8 catches for 71 yards. 

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