After topping 1,100 rushing yards (5.0 yards per carry) with 14 touchdowns on the ground in his final season at Florida State, Cam Akers was the fourth running back drafted in April, No. 52 overall to the Los Angeles Rams.
Akers succeeded in 2019 in spite of his surroundings. Pro Football Focus ranked the Seminoles’ offensive line 129th out of 130, ahead of only Georgia Tech, who was transitioning from the triple-option under first-year head coach Geoff Collins. The highest graded Seminole offensive lineman, guard Dontae Lucas, graded out a bit worse than Georgia Tech’s highest-graded lineman.
Akers showed some chops as a pass catcher in college, with 30 receptions for 225 yards and four touchdowns last year and 69 catches over his three seasons. He answered questions about his speed with a 4.47 40 at the NFL Combine, and his size (5-foot-10, 217 pounds) suggests he can be a workhorse.
The Rams cut Todd Gurley this offseason, leaving a significant void in their backfield. Even in a down year last year, Gurley had 254 touches (223 carries) with a 71 percent snap share and 63 percent of the Rams’ goal line carries. The latter mark yielded 12 rushing scores, helping Gurley to a RB12 finish in standard fantasy scoring last year (RB14 in full-point PPR).
The Rams did not hide their high regard for Akers after drafting him, even with head coach Sean McVay saying he feels like he has three good backs. Darrell Henderson didn’t get a lot work as a rookie last year (39 carries and four catches in 13 games), and Malcolm Brown (five touchdowns and 255 yards on 69 carries last year) seems to have a primary niche as an occasional short yardage or goal line guy.
I generally don’t give any creed to strength of schedule, but when there are extremes one way or another it’s worth citing. Based on The Score.com’s strength of schedule matrix, the Rams have the second-worst schedule in the league for running backs this year. The Rams’ offensive line was also PFF’s 26th-ranked run blocking unit last year, with all the key players coming back.
Among rookie running backs Akers has the clearest path to significant playing time, as no one of consequence will keep him from pushing toward 20 touches a game as a rookie. His current ADP has him in RB3 territory (RB31, pick 7.05, 12-team full PPR), with a ceiling well beyond that.
In dynasty leagues, Akers will be among the first handful of picks and his potential backs that up. Some early projections put him atop the rookie class of running backs in carries and rushing yards, and this side of Clyde Edwards-Helaire there’s not a rookie back with more upside in re-draft leagues.
Akers looks like a bankable RB2 as a rookie, with low-end RB1 upside. At an ADP in the RB3 range, assuming it stays near there, that’s what’s called an easy draft day value.
Cam Akers 2020 Projection: 220 carries for 925 yards, 7 TD; 35 receptions for 255 yards, 2 TD
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