There are players that those who fashion themselves fantasy football experts fawn over in an attempt to be ahead of the curve and proclaim the anointing of the “next big thing”. Los Angeles Rams running back Cam Akers has been the bane of those “smartest guy in the room” types. A second-round pick in 2020, Akers was projected to checker-jump Malcolm Brown and Darrell Henderson in short order. It didn’t happen.
Although Akers led the Rams in rushing attempts (145) as a rookie, it was a three-man show – Henderson had 138 carries and Brown had 101. What Sean McVay has always envisioned in his offense is one back to carry the workload with backups riding the pine. He wanted that player to be Akers, but it didn’t happen after going down early in Week 2 and missing the next three games. As is the journey of a rookie in the NFL, guys who have proved themselves get precedence if a newcomer can’t go, and veterans don’t give up their spot without a fight.
After three months in part-time purgatory, at the end of the season, the Rams dedicated themselves to letting Akers be the main man. In the last four games he played in the regular season, he had 86 carries and built fantasy steam again. In L.A.’s two playoff games, he had 46 carries – the other Rams running backs combined had nine.
