As we gear up to the start of the NFL season, Football Absurdity is going to bring you a comprehensive breakdown of every notable player that will be available in fantasy football drafts. The Los Angeles Rams spent a second-round pick on Cam Akers after spending a third-rounder on Darrell Henderson last year. Those are the two guys in town, though since this is a fantasy article talking about the Rams’ backfield, I am contractually obligated to remind you that Malcolm Brown still exists. Can Cam Akers have a big 2020 campaign?
Cam Akers ADP and AAV:
Standard Scoring ADP: RB34, 92 overall
PPR Scoring ADP: RB29, 67 overall
Average Auction Value: $8
Cam Akers Statistics:
If you see any, let me know! He’s a rookie, so… good luck.
Cam Akers Overview:
Cam Akers and Zack Moss sat behind the top tier of running backs for me in this draft class, with Akers ending up in the top-five behind Swift/Taylor/Dobbins and alongside Clyde Edwards-Helaire (Zack Moss rounded out this tier). I liked Moss for his fancy feet, good awareness, and effortless acceleration. He struggles a bit with vision at the line, which leads to dancing that he’ll need to clean up. He also lacks a true top-gear so expect more 25-yard runs than 75-yard house calls. His hands are good enough but is more of a powerful runner than a jack-of-all-trades back.
There’s a question as to who will end up atop the Rams’ backfield this season. Some like to point at Darrell Henderson’s draft capital and familiarity with the system and “flashing” in 2019 as reasons why it will be Darrell Henderson. First of all, the Rams are eating like $25 million in dead cap this season so I don’t think they’re above acknowledging they’ve made mistakes, and second of all: show me the flashes! Show me! He had some big runs on massive holes but that’s it. My money is on Akers shoring up that backfield.
If Akers shores up that backfield, he doesn’t even have to be good to be useful for fantasy football. Todd Gurley stunk out loud last year and was still RB14 thanks to his touchdowns.
Cam Akers Draft Strategy:
Cam Akers Auction Value: $17
Draft Ranking: Find out for your league settings in a Beersheet! (coming late June)
I’m scooping up Cam Akers in nearly every draft I’m in in the sixth-round. He and Kareem Hunt demarcate a massive drop off for several rounds (until you get to guys like Zack Moss and J.K. Dobbins) wherein you realllllly have to squint hard to find their path to fantasy production. That includes guys like Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Ronald Jones. If you get a tight end or quarterback early, Akers is a must. If you snag a couple of running backs in the first few rounds, consider Akers your luxury pick for the draft. The kid is a monster, and doesn’t even have to be any good to return his sixth-round value, he just has to get touches and be better than Darrell Henderson… which doesn’t seem to be that hard.
Best Case Scenario:
The Rams’ offense bounces back and Cam Akers gets enough opportunity to end the year with twelve or so touchdowns.
Worst Case Scenario:
The Rams truly don’t know what they’re doing and bash Darrell Henderson and Malcolm Brown into the line 250 times.
[Statistics are sourced from pro-football-reference.com and airyards.com]
