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Allen Robinson

Can other Rams wideouts step up?

It's tough for Super Bowl champs to repeat, and I think it's going to be difficult for the Rams. They have Sean McVay and a lot of great offensive pieces, but they have a lot of questions, too.

I'm concerned about the backfield, definitely. Cam Akers came back in record time from a torn Achilles, but he didn't look good while doing so, so he's a question mark. He'll be a year removed from the injury, at least, but it will still be new ground for running backs if he's anything close to what he was pre-injury.

And at wide receiver, it will look a lot different. Last year they had the incredible Cooper Kupp season, and got just enough from Robert Woods the first half of the year and Odell Beckham the second half, right up until his Super Bowl injury. But things are different now.

Woods is gone, and Beckham is unsigned after tearing his ACL in February. The Rams will now be counting on Van Jefferson and former Bear Allen Robinson after Kupp, and it remains to be seen if they'll get the kind of performance they got from the Woods/Beckham combo.

Last year, those other guys were disappointments, in terms of actually coming down with passes thrown their way. Robinson was working with lesser Chicago quarterbacks and may not have been overly interested in the proceedings, but regardless. The projected No. 2 and 3 wideouts for the Rams weren't as effective as the departed players.

Jefferson had plenty of opportunity, but it would be hard for anyone to say he made the most of it. Among Rams wideouts last season, he was the least effective in terms of hauling in passes thrown his way. One of the least effective in the NFL, actually, among all wide receivers with at least 60 targets during the season.

Some of that is based heavily on the routes those guys are running (Rondale Moore ran a lot of routes around the line of scrimmage while Robby Anderson ran a lot of fly patterns), and some is on the accuracy of the quarterback (also a negative for Anderson, as well as Kenny Golladay). But those catch rates are a whole lot better for not only Cooper Kupp but also Woods and Beckham (with the Rams) than for Jefferson and Robinson.

Table shows all wide receivers with at least 60 targets last year. Beckham's numbers are divided between his work with the Rams (middle of the pack) and Browns (awful).

WIDE RECEIVER CATCH RATES, 2021
PlayerTgtRecYdsAvgTDRate
Rondale Moore64544358.1184.4%
Hunter Renfrow128103103810.1980.5%
Kendrick Bourne705580014.6578.6%
Chris Godwin12798110311.3577.2%
Cooper Kupp191145194713.41675.9%
Amon-Ra St. Brown1199091210.1575.6%
Christian Kirk1037798212.8574.8%
Jaylen Waddle14010410159.8674.3%
Cedrick Wilson614560213.4673.8%
Cole Beasley112826938.5173.2%
Davante Adams169123155312.61172.8%
Jamison Crowder71514478.8271.8%
Tyler Boyd946782812.4571.3%
Mecole Hardman835969311.8271.1%
Braxton Berrios65464319.4270.8%
Adam Thielen956772610.81070.5%
Russell Gage946677011.7470.2%
Byron Pringle604256813.5570.0%
Tyreek Hill159111123911.2969.8%
Quez Watkins624364715.1169.4%
Tyler Lockett10773117516.1868.2%
Michael Pittman12988108212.3668.2%
Antonio Brown624254513.0467.7%
Rashod Bateman684651511.2167.6%
Kalif Raymond714857612.0467.6%
Keenan Allen157106113810.7667.5%
Tee Higgins11074109114.7667.3%
Brandin Cooks13490103711.5667.2%
Zay Jones704754611.6167.1%
Brandon Aiyuk845682614.8566.7%
Allen Lazard604051312.8866.7%
Adam Humphries62413839.3066.1%
Jakobi Meyers1268386610.4265.9%
CeeDee Lamb12079110214.0665.8%
DeAndre Hopkins644257213.6865.6%
Amari Cooper1046886512.7865.4%
Robert Woods694555612.4465.2%
Mike Evans11474103514.01464.9%
Justin Jefferson167108161615.01064.7%
Deebo Samuel12177140518.3663.6%
Diontae Johnson169107116110.9863.3%
JaMarr Chase12881145518.01363.3%
Laviska Shenault100636199.8063.0%
Odell Beckham (LAR)432730511.3562.8%
Stefon Diggs164103122511.91062.8%
Tim Patrick855373413.9562.4%
Marquise Brown14691100811.1662.3%
DeVonta Smith1046491614.3561.5%
K.J. Osborn825065513.1761.0%
Marvin Jones1207383211.4460.8%
A.J. Brown1056386913.8560.0%
Jarvis Landry875257011.0259.8%
Terry McLaurin13077105313.7559.2%
Courtland Sutton985877613.4259.2%
Ray-Ray McCloud66392777.1059.1%
Mike Williams12976114615.1958.9%
A.J. Green925484815.7358.7%
Emmanuel Sanders724262614.9458.3%
DK Metcalf1297596712.91258.1%
Darnell Mooney14081105513.0457.9%
Nelson Agholor643747312.8357.8%
Allen Robinson663841010.8157.6%
DJ Moore16393115712.4457.1%
Michael Gallup623544512.7256.5%
Chase Claypool1055986014.6256.2%
Van Jefferson895080216.0656.2%
Elijah Moore774353812.5555.8%
Gabriel Davis633554915.7655.6%
Zach Pascal693838410.1355.1%
DeVante Parker734051512.9254.8%
Marquez Callaway844669815.2654.8%
Nico Collins613344613.5154.1%
Kenny Golladay763752114.1048.7%
Robby Anderson110535199.8548.2%
Odell Beckham (CLE)391723213.6043.6%

Robinson is better than he showed in Chicago last season, while maybe Jefferson can step up. But I wonder if the Rams won't still decide to bring back Beckham, assuming he can get healthy. They might need him to make sure things are running smoothly with the offense.

--Andy Richardson

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