Los Angeles Rams: Is Cam Akers the best rookie running back?

Cam Akers is establishing himself as an elite rookie running back for the Los Angeles Rams.

It was a slow start to the season for Los Angeles Rams rookie running back Cam Akers. The second-round rookie suffered a rib injury early in the season, forcing him to a major chunk of the early slate. While Akers was out, fellow running back Darrell Henderson and Malcolm Brown saw some success, forcing Akers to the bench even when he returned from the injury.

That being said, the Rams have started to lean on Akers the last couple of weeks and he is set up for a ton of success down the stretch. In Week 13 against the Arizona Cardinals, Akers played in 63% of the Rams’ offensive snaps, piling up 72 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries.

The Rams doubled-down on the rookie last week, playing him in 79% of their offensive snaps against the New England Patriots and Akers rewarded them with 171 rushing yards on 29 carries. Akers was absolutely dominant against New England, finding open space quickly, hitting the holes hard and consistently finishing with impressive power. Akers is an extremely tough running back who is difficult for nearly any single defender to take down in space.

With Akers hitting his stride on the field in recent weeks, expect the Rams to continue to lean on him going forward. He should get a massive workload for the Rams this week against the lowly New York Jets and will undoubtedly be an important part of the gameplan in important divisional matchups against the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals down the stretch.

Rams head coach Sean McVay does a fantastic job of scheming positive touches for his players in space and Akers is a gifted running back who does his best when he is given room to operate. Quarterback Jared Goff is an inconsistent player, so continuing to lean on Akers could be the path to success for the Los Angeles Rams going forward.

There are certainly other worthy candidates but do not be surprised if Akers stands out as the top running back from the 2020 NFL Draft class when it’s all said and done this season. His obvious talent paired with this great opportunity in an exciting offense could equal up to elite production for Akers down the stretch.