2 years agoDespite having a near full-time role in 2021, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Van Jefferson still managed just 50 catches for 802 yards and six touchdowns on 89 targets. That breaks down to 2.9 catches for 47.2 yards on 5.2 targets per game.  But Jefferson did top 14 PPR points in six of 17 games, and those were the six games in which he scored touchdowns. In the 11 games, he didn't score, Jefferson averaged just 6.2 PPR points per game. The 26-year-old underwent knee surgery on August 1 and will miss a "few weeks," per Rams head coach Sean McVay. His status for Week 1 is in doubt. Just like last season when he operated behind Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods/Odell Beckham Jr. in the pecking order, Jefferson finds himself third in the wide receiver pecking order once again in 2022 with Allen Robinson taking the WR2 role. Adding to the narrative that he's a boom or bust type guy was his yards per catch and an average depth of target (aDOT) in 2021. Jefferson was ninth amongst all receivers with 16 yards per catch, and his 13.3 aDOT was good for 11th. Being as the Rams are a pass-friendly offense that runs a lot of 3WR sets, Jefferson was not only on the field a lot but was running a lot of routes. He averaged 30.4 routes run per game; however, he just wasn't commanding targets at a high level, with Kupp and Woods/Beckham earning more targets. His targets per route run (TPRR) sat at just 17.2% last season. We're bound to see something similar from Jefferson this season unless, of course, one of the top two receivers is to miss any time. At that rate, Jefferson would transform from a boom or bust deep target to a legitimate WR3/4 type. Despite the recent knee surgery, he's not a bad guy to target at the back end of your drafts this season.--Adam Koffler - RotoBaller