The Weight’s Over for Rams’ Drayton : Pro football: He says extra pounds, now gone, were part of a plan and he’s ready for big season.

The scowl on Troy Drayton’s face reflected how the Ram tight end felt about being likened recently to William (Refrigerator) Perry.

Simply a joke, Troy.

“Not funny,” he said.

A while back, the planet had tipped in Drayton’s direction, but as he was quick to point out, he is now only three pounds over last season’s playing weight of 257.

“I had a plan,” Drayton said, “to come in as strong as I could, and to get strong I had to put on a little weight.”

Drayton’s plan, however, initially had Ram coaches concerned. Starting tight end Pat Carter had already signed with Houston, and at the opening of mini-camp, Drayton was looking like a wanna-be Sumo wrestler.

“The coaches panicked,” Drayton said. “I told them not to worry, I go through this every year, but they checked up on me so much that it upset me.

“If I can move when I’m 10 pounds overweight, I know I’m going to be quicker when I start cutting the weight. I do it every off-season. I was adding muscle and I was getting bigger. I grew an inch too. I’m 6 feet 3 1/2 now.”

Drayton took two weeks off after last season, then began working out six days a week, four hours a day in Malibu with a personal trainer. No breaks, no vacation, no eating binges.

“I don’t ever want to be a person where they say, ‘Troy had the potential to be this or that but never got it done.’ I know I have to seize my opportunity, and my opportunity is now.”

During practice, Drayton spends time with the offensive tackles learning what they know. He can tell you what Jackie Slater is doing almost any time because Slater knows what Drayton needs to know.

“I’ve never told him, but I just watch him,” Drayton said. “I mean I watch him when he’s not in and he’s back there practicing and going through it mentally. I see that and I’m thinking maybe I should do the same thing.”

Drayton, who drew praise from former Charger tight end Kellen Winslow last season, will be asked to block and catch this season. The extra muscle gained during the off-season will be used to pave the way for Jerome Bettis, as Carter did a year ago.

“Carter is a big loss, but it’s not a void we can’t fill,” Drayton said. “He taught me so much and he’s with me every day because I have film of him to watch whenever I need it. I kind of wish I had another year under Pat, but now I want to show the Rams what he taught me.”

The Rams say they will utilize Drayton’s best skills, which include receiving. In early workouts, he has been one of quarterback Chris Miller’s most reliable targets.

“My goal is to be a Pro Bowl player this year,” Drayton said. “I want to catch 60 passes and score maybe 10 touchdowns. With most of my goals, if I don’t make them, I come pretty close.”

If successful, he also might be considered for comeback-player-of-the-year honors. After selecting him from Penn State in the second round of last year’s draft, the Rams reacted as if he were academically ineligible.

“If you went to China, would you be able to speak Chinese right away?” offensive coordinator Chick Harris asked. “There are so many things to learn when you’re just coming out of college and being asked to play at another level.”

So Drayton didn’t catch on immediately, and the Rams had little patience for his wayward pass-running routes.

“I was a lost soul at times, and running around like a chicken with its head cut off,” he said. “And I honestly felt people didn’t think I was bright enough to pick all that up.

“But I came out of Penn State with its basic offense to Ernie Zampese’s complex offense and was asked to learn three positions. I was trying. . . .

“No matter how much you study, though, you’re not always sure in the beginning, and that makes you hesitant. But then things started to click in the middle of the season, and I think I showed what I can do in the latter part.”

Drayton caught 27 passes last season--14 in the team’s last five games. In the Rams’ new passing attack, which has a 49er look to it, the tight end will have the chance to become a star.

“Troy can be a force,” Harris said.

Last season, the Rams had a play for Drayton: The offensive linemen fell down at the line of scrimmage, the quarterback faked a pitch to Bettis--and Drayton ran free to the left to catch a screen pass. The play resulted in two touchdowns and nearly a third.

“I want the ball in my hands as much as possible,” Drayton said. “If I catch the ball, I know one of two things is going to happen: I’m going to score or it’s going to be a big play.”