The case of Los Angeles Rams RB Cam Akers is a curious one. Fantasy football managers who invested heavily in Akers last draft season were burned during the first 11 games of the season where he and the organization appeared to be heading for a divorce. But he managed to string together three straight 100-yard rushing performances to close the year. Can you trust Akers as an RB2 in 2023? Let’s take a closer look.
Behind in research? Get a trade offer in your dynasty or redraft league? Not sure who to start or sit this week? Leverage PFN’s FREE fantasy tools — our Fantasy Football Draft Kit, Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer and Calculator, and Start/Sit Optimizer! Put the finishing touch on your A+ draft with 1 of our 425+ fantasy football team names.
Cam Akers’ Fantasy Outlook for the 2023 NFL Season
The 2022 campaign for Akers was one of the most emotional fantasy football roller coasters I’ve ever been on.
His season-opening performance of three carries for zero yards with no targets on an 18% snap count immediately put me in panic mode. We soon found out that Akers and the Rams had a rocky relationship and were on the verge of moving on from each other.
He missed games in Weeks 6 and 8 due to personal reasons and failed to see more than 10 carries and logged no receptions in the passing game in five of the first nine games he was active in 2022.
Through Week 12, Akers posted just one game of 10+ fantasy points.
At that point, many were ready to write off Akers ever living up to his fantasy potential with the Rams. Then something weird happened over the final six weeks of the regular season… Akers actually looked like a viable fantasy RB.
He scored six rushing TDs to go with an average of 100 total yards from scrimmage on a per-game basis, which produced four top-15 finishes at the RB position.
So, what are we to make of this finish from Akers last season?
Well, the Akers truthers out there would justifiably point out that the Rams did not bring in any significant competition via the draft or free agency — outside of Zach Evans in the sixth round — to immediately threaten his status as the lead RB heading into the season.
The current depth chart behind Akers is Ronnie Rivers, Kyren Williams, and the aforementioned Evans. It would appear that Akers is once again heading into the season as the leading man in this backfield.
Can we trust that we won’t get a repeat performance of him falling out of favor with the coaching staff? No, we can’t. But the lack of competition should give fantasy managers some comfort they won’t be experiencing déjà -vu from last year.
Is Akers a Good Fantasy Pick?
Akers’ mostly disappointing 2022 campaign is likely having a big impact on his current draft day price.
When you couple some of those concerns with how poor the Rams’ offense looked at times last season, it is easy to understand why many fantasy managers aren’t willing to invest high draft capital in Akers for a second straight season.
However, being the lead RB who is projected for high volume in a Sean McVay offense does come with some upside that is being overlooked by many.
MORE: Fantasy Football Draft Strategy
If you simply don’t believe in Akers as a player or have reservations about his relationship with the Rams’ organization, you should probably pass on Akers.
However, he is in line for the type of volume that could easily generate a top-20 fantasy RB. To me, he is worth the pick in the fifth round as a post-hype, bounce-back fantasy performer.
- PFN Consensus Rankings: 49th overall
- ADP: 55th overall
