/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69310516/usa_today_15392486.0.jpg)
Cam Akers’s potential and upside during his rookie season suffered greatly when he was forced to work within a running back-by-committee with Malcolm Brown and Darrell Henderson. Luckily for him, Akers hit his stride — and Sean McVay finally came to his senses — during the final stretch of the season when he received 21 or more carries in three of the Rams’ final four games.
After finishing the season with 625 rushing yards (439 which came in his final six outings), Akers has plenty of momentum heading into his sophomore campaign. Despite the obvious upward path he’s currently on, he was still somehow left off a recent list of the top-32 running backs in the NFL ahead of the 2021 season.
On a list with 32 backs, some would assume it would be a list of all 32 starting backs in the league, but that’s not the case. The Browns, Raiders, and Colts all place multiple players among the 32 which inherently pushes some teams off of the list entirely. That’s what happened with the Rams.
James White, Chase Edmonds, Kenyan Drake, and Mark Ingram make up the last four backs on the list and you could argue Akers should replace at least one of them, but as we know, PFF stands by their grades and if Akers falls short of their most-recent overall marks, he wouldn’t ever be place above them.
How are we feeling about this list? Surely Akers is deserving of a top-32 spot, yeah? I wholeheartedly believe so.
Now for today’s links.
Rams News:
Breaking down the Arizona Cardinals (TheRams.com)
Check out clips Matthew Stafford throwing to Cooper Kupp (The Rams Wire)
Cam Akers was snubbed from PFF’s Top-32 RBs for 2021 (The Rams Wire)
NFL News:
Joe Burrow’s rehab is on track for the 2021 season (Bleacher Report)
Matt Ryan still has plenty of good ball in him (ESPN)
A new 2022 mock draft (CBS Sports)
Eagles and Jaguars swap cornerbacks in recent trade (NFL.com)
Darius Leonard hopes to land a long-term deal (NFL.com)
WFT is giving Morgan Moses the permission to seek a trade (Pro Football Talk)