Rams RB Cam Akers is slated for the best season of his young career
Rams RB Cam Akers is slated for the best season of his young career
Back in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Rams used their first selection of the festivities (2nd round, 52nd overall) on a running back out of Florida State by the name of Cam Akers. Akers, who was a 5-star recruit and one of the most sought after prospects coming out of high school, has a very solid career in college despite having one of the worst offensive line units in all of the FBS division.
Akers’ rookie season started off on the slower side, as the RB didn’t really get going until the back half of the season. However, once Akers did catch his stride around the week 13 mark, it looked as if the Rams hit the jackpot with their selection. That season, the offense was very up and down, struggling to find their true identity. Despite the struggles, the squad made the postseason, and in those two postseason games Cam Akers was the focal point of the offensive attack.
In Akers’ first two career postseason appearances, he rushed for 221 total yards and had 2 rushing touchdowns on top of those, averaging 23 carries in those two games. Following the season-ending loss to the Packers, the trajectory of Akers’ career looked as if he was headed straight towards becoming one of the top backs in the entire NFL.
Then, disaster struck, as Akers tore his achilles in the off-season, seemingly ending any chances of seeing him play in the 2021-2022 season. However, despite the horrible injury, Akers battled his way back, allowing himself to return and contribute to the teams Super Bowl winning run. It was clear Akers did not have the same burst as we saw in his rookie year, but the overall resolve Akers showed to battle his way back said a lot about the mental make-up of the guy.
Fast-forward to last season, Akers had a full off-season/training camp of health, and fans were excited to see him back at full strength heading into the year. Folks assumed, well at least I assumed, that Cam Akers would be the bell-cow RB that he has shown he’s capable of being, playing a majority of the snaps in a game and wearing down defenses. Well, once the year kicked off, that was far from the case.
Through the first nine appearances in the Rams first 11 games for Akers in the 2022 season (was inactive for two games), he averaged just 31.7% of the offensive snaps at RB, shockingly low for a guy who many thought would be the starter. There was a rift in the locker room between Akers and head coach Sean McVay, which eventually led to Akers requesting a trade midseason. It seemed as though there was nowhere to go and, with the team struggling mightily, it seemed Akers’ time in L.A. was coming to a sour end.
Then, once the team reportedly turned down multiple offers (which you can believe if you want to), a switch seemed to flip for the...