Los Angeles Rams running back Cam Akers was the best thing about the last six games of the Rams season. Here, we are breaking down Cam Akers dynasty ranking and fantasy football projections in 2023.
During the last stretch of 2022, the third-year pro out of Florida State gave the Rams offense some speed and power down the stretch running for over 100 yards three times and scoring six touchdowns in the last six weeks.
How much value does Akers have in a dynasty fantasy football leagues going forward? Clearly, the Rams have a lot of question marks heading into the off-season, like, who is going to be the head coach, and who is going to be the starting quarterback, but Akers late-season surge shows he is a player they can count on.
Does that mean that you should count on Akers in your dynasty fantasy league? Let’s discuss.
MORE: Cooper Kupp fantasy rankings | Matthew Stafford fantasy outlook | Rams roster 2023
Cam Akers Dynasty Rankings, 2023 Fantasy Rankings (Updated March 28, 2023)
The consensus rankings at FantasyPros.com has Akers currently listed as the 23rd-best running back in the NFL for dynasty formats. That makes Akers the No. 69 player overall.
For 2023 purposes (not dynasty format) the outlook is even better. At FantasyPros, Akers is currently the No. 35 overall player on the board and the No. 17 running back.
What Have We Seen From Akers?
Akers was a second-round pick of the Rams in 2020 and was their leading rusher that year with 625 yards. He showed some speed as a rookie and was a good one-two combination with bruising Darrell Henderson.
Then, the injury.
Akers popped his Achilles tendon doing a workout during the off-season. He miraculously returned to the Rams just in time for the end of the 2021 regular season and appeared in the playoffs.
His biggest impact, unfortunately, were the two fumbles near the end of the Bucs game which almost cost the Rams. Akers played in Super Bowl LVI rushing 13 times for a modest 21 yards and caught three passes.
He got a ring though.
It was thought that entering 2022 Akers would be a big part of the Rams offense, but well, we thought a lot of things about the Rams in pre-season that didn’t happen.
Akers’ 2022 Odyssey
I thought Akers looked bigger and slower early in the 2022 season. He wasn’t used that much, and you know how running backs always say they want the ball more.
Then Akers went home for a while. The Rams said the right things. They made him inactive for two weeks, said they were going to try to trade him, but that never materialized. The Rams ruined any trade value he had by saying they were looking to deal him.
Then in the last six games of the season, with Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp out, Akers became The Man on the offense.
In the first nine games of the regular season Akers had 274 yards on 84 carries, that’s an average of 3.3 yards a carry.
In his last six games (remember, he was inactive for two games) Akers went over 100 yards three times. He had 512 yards in the last six games on 104 carries. That’s 4.9 yards a rush. He looked faster and sleeker than he ever has in a Rams jersey.
Can Cam Akers Keep It Going in 2023?
I got two words for you.
Contract Year.
Akers will be playing on the last year of his four-year $6.1 million dollar rookie deal he signed and he clearly has something to prove. He’s still young and appears to have put the injury behind him. Akers received a lot of acclaim for his quick return after the Achilles tear, but it’s an injury that probably takes a full year to recover from. If that’s the case then what we saw from Akers at the end of 2022 is right on schedule.
Running backs need to be confident that their body can withstand the punishment they are going to receive. My theory is Akers took some time off, got slimmer, and regained his confidence.
Heading into the off-season, the Rams running back room is wide open. Henderson is about to be a free agent. When Akers stepped up, Henderson stepped back. Rams rookie Kyren Williams had his own injury issues in 2022 and didn’t show much when he was on the field. Malcolm Brown was a stopgap and is easily replaced.
Akers enters the off-season as one of the players the Rams will be counting on in 2023, no matter who is the quarterback or head coach.
