Should I Trade Cam Akers in Fantasy Football?

After a summer where Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay talked up Cam Akers’ projected robust role in the team’s offense, the fourth-year running back did little with plenty of opportunity in Week 1 while seeing backfield-mate Kyren Williams significantly out touch him in the red zone.

Should fantasy football managers consider cutting bait on Akers after just one week?

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Should Fantasy Football Managers Trade Cam Akers?

As already alluded to, Akers was essentially proclaimed the primary early-down back and “a central figure in this offense,” according to a mid-June report from Cameron DaSilva of USA Today RamsWire.

Cam Akers touchdown on 4th and Goal! Rams take a 24-13 lead in Seattle

📺: #LARvsSEA on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/G4uoYVOqQn pic.twitter.com/9IyjNKwM9q

— NFL (@NFL) September 10, 2023

McVay largely held to his word in Week 1. He afforded Akers 22 carries overall, although the FSU product failed to see a target. Nevertheless, the touch count on the ground was highly encouraging, but what appears to be an improved Seahawks defense — spearheaded once again by Akers’ 2022 Rams teammate Bobby Wagner — simply overwhelmed Los Angeles’ offensive line.

Akers was stuffed to the tune of just 29 yards, an unfathomably inefficient average of 1.3 yards per carry, albeit with one short rushing TD. Williams was certainly better in that regard, although still not very successful on a yards-per-carry basis. Akers’ backfield mate gained 52 yards and scored two touchdowns on 15 carries.

Williams notably received eight red-zone touches to Akers’ two. However, both of Akers’ came inside the 10-yard line, while only three of Williams’ eight were from that distance.
When playing things out over a much larger sample than just one game, it would make sense that Akers sees a much greater touch share near the goal line — his 217-pound frame dwarfs Williams’ 194 pounds.

The Rams are undoubtedly going to need plenty of contributions from their running game to help protect the aging and injury-prone Matthew Stafford, especially while Cooper Kupp is out due to his hamstring injury. And, given the standout performances of Tutu Atwell and Puka Nacua in the opener, it appears Rams running backs may eventually start facing some softer defensive fronts, even before Kupp returns.

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McVay and the Rams’ coaching staff need to finally see what they have in Akers after opting to hold onto him through injury and turmoil over his first three seasons. McVay isn’t going to simply reverse course on his original plan after just one game, which happened to come against a defensive front spearheaded by a player in Wagner who has intimate knowledge of Los Angeles’ blocking schemes and personnel after spending 2022 with the team.

Consequently, I don’t believe it’s time to simply give up on Akers after one game, especially considering the type of workload he was afforded. Williams’ larger-than-expected snap share could have also been a byproduct in which the Rams had an overwhelming amount of carries to go around, considering their unexpected second-half dominance versus Seattle and the 78 total plays they were able to run.

What Should Fantasy Managers Look To Acquire When Trading Akers?

As already stated, I don’t believe fantasy managers should be looking to trade Akers after just one week. Even those who are extremely disappointed by his Week 1 performance would likely do well to hang on to him. It certainly isn’t as if his trade value is high at the moment.

Given recency bias, it seems unlikely Akers could fetch much in return unless there was a fantasy manager desperate for RB help.