Praised heaped upon Rams rookie running back Cam Akers

A good NFL listen this week — or eight of them — is The Fantasy Points Podcast’s “Virtual Pow Wow” on every division. Obviously they are focusing more on how the offseason is impacting players who are likely to be notable for fantasy purposes, but of course scoring points there is often scoring points in real life too. And the hosts — with guests Greg Cosell and Adam Caplan of the NFL — are mostly all aboard any Cam Akers hype train.

LA Rams talk begins at 19:15 with talk about Akers.

“The more I think about Akers, the more I like him.”

As expected, the talk centers around finding a back who can make up for LA’s potential issues on the offensive line. One thing Cosell noted about Akers; “What I like about Akers, I think he has a great feel for defensive fronts before the snap” and that he’s advanced at knowing who is an unblocked player. “I also thought he had a great feel once the play started for the fluidity of gaps.”

Cosell doesn’t know that Akers can be the “best back in the league” but he can be a solid, multi-dimensional back with high-level elements to his game.

Graham Barfield: “I love Cam Akers.” He calls him the “anti-AJ Dillon” and notes that Florida State was dead last in yards blocked for per attempt and that Akers was contacted more often behind the line of scrimmage than any other back. He was tied fifth with JK Dobbins in forced missed tackles per attempt.

Adam Caplan then notes that the team went to 12 Personnel because of Brandin Cooks’ injury and that they were starting to really see the development in Gerald Everett that they had hoped for when they drafted him, prior to him getting hurt and opening the door for Tyler Higbee to have the breakout that Everett might have had if he was healthy. At that point, the talk shifts to what kind of offense Sean McVay is going to run next season and the expectations for Van Jefferson and his fit on the team in 2020.

Next they talk about Cooper Kupp playing more on the outside as opposed to the slot and how they had run 11 Personnel about 94% of the time during the 2018 Super Bowl season. What kind of an offense the Rams will be next season is anyone’s guess but few are questioning the talent of their good players like Robert Woods, Kupp, Higbee, Everett, and Andrew Whitworth.

Could Akers join them as a bright spot and would that make the whole offense a bright place again?