Los Angeles Rams running back Cam Akers finally looked like his pre-injury self toward the end of last season. With a dearth of playmakers on the roster, Akers looks poised for as much work as he can handle. What is his fantasy football outlook for the 2023 season?
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Cam Akers’ Fantasy Outlook
I couldn’t wait to draft Akers in 2021. With a late-first-round ADP, I was all-in. Then, Akers tore his Achilles, and all my best plans were scrapped.
By now, you’re all keenly aware of the history of running backs who tear their Achilles. It typically doesn’t go well. Akers did make a miraculous recovery in time to return that very season, but the version of Akers we got during the Rams’ Super Bowl run did not resemble a player who even belonged in the NFL, let alone starting for a Super Bowl-winning team.
Of course, who could expect Akers, just 5.5 months removed from tearing his Achilles, to be particularly effective or explosive? Heading into the 2022 season, the hope was his explosiveness would return.
For the first 12 weeks of the season, we saw no such thing. Akers looked like the guy from the previous postseason — a guy that wasn’t long for the NFL. He averaged 30.4 rushing yards per game and 3.2 yards per carry. This is not hyperbole. I promise. Akers averaged 3.9 PPR fantasy points per game. Anyone rostering him probably dropped him, and rightfully so.
Now, you may look at his seasonal finish and see 9.4 ppg. You may wonder how that was even possible. Well, Akers’ final six games were the stuff legends are made of.
From Weeks 13-18, Akers averaged 85.3 rushing yards per game and 4.9 ypc. He finished the season with three straight 100-yard efforts. Akers even caught nine passes over his final four games, which was five more than the rest of his season combined.
During that span, Akers averaged 17.7 ppg. Over the final six games of the season, Akers was better than the likes of Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs, Tony Pollard, and Saquon Barkley, just to name a few.
Should Fantasy Managers Draft Akers at His ADP?
There’s no point in evaluating any of Akers’ efficiency metrics from last season because he was so ineffective for the first 12 weeks. Buying into Akers for the 2023 season comes down to whether you believe in the guy we saw in Weeks 1-12 or the guy we saw in Weeks 13-18.
Of course, Akers won’t be the second guy over a full season. But with an RB21 ADP, No. 53 overall, he doesn’t have to be. Instead, we can look at his close to last season as his ceiling.
The Rams are completely bereft of offensive weapons outside of Cooper Kupp. This projects to be a very consolidated offense, with the bulk of the touches going to Kupp and Akers. There’s a very real shot Akers, now two years removed from his Achilles tear, handles 300+ touches.
My projections have Akers with 279 carries for 1,168 yards and 10.2 touchdowns on the ground, plus 36 receptions for 323 yards and 1.3 touchdowns through the air. That comes out to 15.1 ppg and an RB18 finish.
I’ve gone back and forth on Akers all offseason. In recent months, Akers has grown on me tremendously. I think I’m in.
I have Akers ranked as my RB19, slightly ahead of the consensus. Even on what could be a bad Rams team, I believe in Akers. We saw him be effective on a team with Baker Mayfield starting and no receivers to speak of. If Matthew Stafford and Kupp can stay healthy, Akers has high-RB2 upside. He is one of my favorite mid-round RB targets.