Bet on Rams’ Cam Akers next season
Yahoo Sports’ Matt Harmon and Dalton Del Don discuss the RB situation in Los Angeles, including why fantasy managers should take a chance on the former Seminole in 2021.
Video Transcript
DALTON DEL DON: A couple final thoughts on the Rams backfield. From what I've seen, I'm going to be aggressive on Akers next year. Probably will just result in more of the same headache, whatever. But I'm just going to bet on him next year. I'm sure he will be the first of, obviously, of them to go. But it seems to me he's separated himself.
But for week 17, or if you're playing DFS, Malcolm Brown with the backfield to himself against an Arizona defense that just made my guy Jeff Wilson look like Walter Payton. Could be very interesting. I know the quarterback situation there might be a problem. But Kyler Murray's banged up too. So I don't know. The Rams game strip might not be horrific there.
So Malcolm Brown and DFS definitely intriguing week 17. What are your thoughts on-- am I crazy for trying to go Cam Akers next year? Or do you think it's going to be more of a three headed monster, and Darrell Henderson's still there, and all that?
MATT HARMON: I think you're on the right path there. I think that when he was-- when he came onto the scene and, like, finally got caught up as a rookie-- We talked to Jordan Rodriguez on the podcast in the off season. She reported that, you know, they really loved Akers, but he was having, you know, a slower offseason because they were just trying to get him onboarded and get him up to date with this system.
And it's a tougher rushing system to come into the NFL and master right away. I mean, Darrell Henderson has looked great when he's gotten the ball this year, but his eyes were not caught up to his feet. And everything like he can do as a mover, that wasn't there as a rookie. So it's that type of system where you're not just necessarily going to drop young players in and they're going to start to hit.
But Akers, when he finally did get caught up later in the year, and got healthy, and everything like that, he was looking great. And they were using him as a workhorse. I don't think they have any real reason-- You know, even when Henderson was, we were singing his praises on this podcast, it's, like, PFF's number one ranked running back, yada, yada, yada, he wasn't a true "every down 25 plus touches" workhorse, like Cam Akers was.
Akers I compare to guys like Nick Chubb and Aaron Jones in the past, where their rookie years, I've been off on these guys because they're still in split backfields. Like, I didn't draft any Aaron Jones when he was a rookie and people were really excited about him. Or it might have been his sophomore year, or whatever. Nick Chubb, same thing because Carlos Hyde was still there. But then, those guys finished their breakout years strong in the second half. And then they've obviously been great in previous years.
Cam Akers I think is the same type of thing. I didn't draft Cam Akers one single time because he was disgustingly priced as, like, a fourth, fifth round pick. But then, he finishes the year strong, and I think I'm going to be in on him next year. So I'm with you, a long way of saying that, basically.
DALTON DEL DON: Yeah, I remember last time we saw him, he was playing the second half of a game through a high ankle sprain. And Darrell Henderson saw zero snaps then. So I do think the coaching staff made it pretty clear who they value the highest as well.