What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

RB Cam Akers, MIN (3 Viewers)

Rams open the season agains the Bears and will obliterate them. Akers is going to be a massively HOT commodity after Week 1. Sell then. 

 
kutta said:
Well, I went and looked before I originally posted and watched this vid.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=djdhmBrZ4KI

I guess two people can watch the same thing and see two different things…
Click to expand...
Admittedly, that was a highlight video.  But I thought he exhibited great vision in those clips.

The only criticism I have is the one clip was the screen where he had one blocker out in front and nothing but green grass and let that one defender make the tackle.  But I'll put the blame on the blocker for missing him or give credit for a great defensive play.

 
kutta said:
Well, I went and looked before I originally posted and watched this vid.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=djdhmBrZ4KI

I guess two people can watch the same thing and see two different things…
Click to expand...
I have nothing invested in Akers, I do not have an agenda or bias towards him. I'm just sharing what I see. Living in California, I had the opportunity of watching a lot of Rams, Chargers and Niners games from whistle to whistle. I do not watch football through NFL Redzone or any other abbreviated method. I watch the entire game, every single snap. My opinion of Akers is his success thus far is a product of his offensive line and scheme. 

Pull up any Darrell Henderson highlight reel from 2020. It looks absolutely identical to Akers' highlights. Here is a Henderson reel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pnymD5ZBkE

Darrell Henderson 2020: 138 carries, 4.5 ypc

Akers 2020: 145 carries, 4.3 ypc

I am not saying they are on the same talent level. But what I am saying is they are both products of great scheme and blocking. Put anyone back there last season and they would've found more success than not. 

Now youtube highlights are extremely hard to breakdown given the angle but I've provided some timestamps so we can all be on the same page. 

Play #1... Does a good job of getting something out of nothing, would like to see more of this.

Play #2... Shows good vision on hitting the hole on the first level, at (0:14) 53 over-pursues and tries to one arm tackle Akers at the second level and he's off to the races. He sidesteps 53 in traffic and would like to see a spin here (0:35) or plant his right foot and cut left. Lack of balance and lateral agility on this run.

Play #3... Not much to see here

Play #4... Flat route makes first defender miss in open field. This is a prerequisite.

Play #5... Pause at (1:17). Look at that hole, all o-line here

Play #6... Flat route

Play #7... Pause at (1:39) massive alley, this is what I'm talking about. You see this consistently from a line that played lights out top 3.

Play #8... Goal line dive

Play #9... All scheme here (2:51) with good burst to the endzone. 

Play #10... broken assignment

Play #11... At (3:20) watch how far the blocking is down the field, and they stay on the block for what seems like an eternity. 

Play #12... (3:29) Here he we see Akers create on his own, this was to me by far his most impressive run

Play #13... (3:38) Massive hole here again, goes completely untouched for 8 yards.

Play #14... (3:45) hard to see from this angle but the hole was big enough for him to go untouched 6 yards past the LOS.

Play #15... Sells the defense by getting pretty deep (3:51) and nice bounce to the outside on the misdirection.

Play #16... Pause at (4:00). This is textbook o-line mauling. Here you have a cavalry in front of Akers with 2 TEs, 2 WRs and a RT all executing on the block.

Play #17... Pass

Play #18... Pass

Play #19... Makes a nice move here (4:27) on the first defender

Play #20... Pause at (4:31). Look at that hole! Never gets touched.

Play #21... Nothing special here by Akers, this is all o-line.

Play #22... Next..

Play #23... (4:53) Again untouched for an easy 10 yard run.

Play #24... Wheel route

Play #25... Pause at (5:10). Every defender is accounted for and blocked.

Play #26... Pause at (5:15). Look at that alley.

Play #27... Flat route

Play #28... (5:35) another massive alley. Makes first defender miss for a nice scamper

Play #29... Goal line untouched

Play #30... Pause at (5:51) Incredible seal here by the TE, RT, RG

Play #31... Pause at (6:00) I mean look at the wall here are you kidding me?

Play #32... I don't see anything here

Play #33... Pause at (6:14) Another nice seal here

Play #34... Pause at (6:20) I'm beginning to sound like a broken record here, but admire that open field.

Play #35... Nice tough goal line dive (6:28) as he drags a defender for score.

Play #36... Trick goal line play

I got a little lazy there in the end but I think if you were able to pause frame by frame during the first level of all his runs, you will see he was getting a lot of help last season. If this was a highlight reel that showed Akers' success, then imagine what we're going to find on all the runs that weren't successful or included. Those runs are going to show you his mediocre vision behind elite team blocking. With holes like that, you could be blind in one eye and still get to where you need to go. He hardly shows any wiggle in this reel because frankly he doesn't have to. Take a look at Saquon's highlight reels, he's moving sideways zigging and zagging just to get back to the LOS bc of his poor o-line.

I think this was a very bland portfolio of his success, I counted one run where he created on his own and wowed me. Now would I draft Akers in the second round in a fantasy redraft this season? Sure. But I would be drafting the Rams o-line, not Akers' talent. I think he'll have a Top 10 season and conversely will be drafted as such in 2022. But once 2022 kicks in, you're hoping they can fill the hole of a HOF tackle and that there continues to be continuity in the run blocking. That's a lot to ask for in the NFL. Look at Dallas, SF and Philly last year, teams with good lines. All the RBs on those teams took a huge hit in production bc of injuries.

The risk here is, when you start to get injuries on the o-line, Akers is going to have to show he can create on his own. I don't think he's shown that yet...

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Teezee said:
I have nothing invested in Akers, I do not have an agenda or bias towards him. I'm just sharing what I see. Living in California, I had the opportunity of watching a lot of Rams, Chargers and Niners games from whistle to whistle. I do not watch football through NFL Redzone or any other abbreviated method. I watch the entire game, every single snap. My opinion of Akers is his success thus far is a product of his offensive line and scheme. 

Pull up any Darrell Henderson highlight reel from 2020. It looks absolutely identical to Akers' highlights. Here is a Henderson reel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pnymD5ZBkE

Darrell Henderson 2020: 138 carries, 4.5 ypc

Akers 2020: 145 carries, 4.3 ypc

I am not saying they are on the same talent level. But what I am saying is they are both products of great scheme and blocking. Put anyone back there last season and they would've found more success than not. 

Now youtube highlights are extremely hard to breakdown given the angle but I've provided some timestamps so we can all be on the same page. 

Play #1... Does a good job of getting something out of nothing, would like to see more of this.

Play #2... Shows good vision on hitting the hole on the first level, at (0:14) 53 over-pursues and tries to one arm tackle Akers at the second level and he's off to the races. He sidesteps 53 in traffic and would like to see a spin here (0:35) or plant his right foot and cut left. Lack of balance and lateral agility on this run.

Play #3... Not much to see here

Play #4... Flat route makes first defender miss in open field. This is a prerequisite.

Play #5... Pause at (1:17). Look at that hole, all o-line here

Play #6... Flat route

Play #7... Pause at (1:39) massive alley, this is what I'm talking about. You see this consistently from a line that played lights out top 3.

Play #8... Goal line dive

Play #9... All scheme here (2:51) with good burst to the endzone. 

Play #10... broken assignment

Play #11... At (3:20) watch how far the blocking is down the field, and they stay on the block for what seems like an eternity. 

Play #12... (3:29) Here he we see Akers create on his own, this was to me by far his most impressive run

Play #13... (3:38) Massive hole here again, goes completely untouched for 8 yards.

Play #14... (3:45) hard to see from this angle but the hole was big enough for him to go untouched 6 yards past the LOS.

Play #15... Sells the defense by getting pretty deep (3:51) and nice bounce to the outside on the misdirection.

Play #16... Pause at (4:00). This is textbook o-line mauling. Here you have a cavalry in front of Akers with 2 TEs, 2 WRs and a RT all executing on the block.

Play #17... Pass

Play #18... Pass

Play #19... Makes a nice move here (4:27) on the first defender

Play #20... Pause at (4:31). Look at that hole! Never gets touched.

Play #21... Nothing special here by Akers, this is all o-line.

Play #22... Next..

Play #23... (4:53) Again untouched for an easy 10 yard run.

Play #24... Wheel route

Play #25... Pause at (5:10). Every defender is accounted for and blocked.

Play #26... Pause at (5:15). Look at that alley.

Play #27... Flat route

Play #28... (5:35) another massive alley. Makes first defender miss for a nice scamper

Play #29... Goal line untouched

Play #30... Pause at (5:51) Incredible seal here by the TE, RT, RG

Play #31... Pause at (6:00) I mean look at the wall here are you kidding me?

Play #32... I don't see anything here

Play #33... Pause at (6:14) Another nice seal here

Play #34... Pause at (6:20) I'm beginning to sound like a broken record here, but admire that open field.

Play #35... Nice tough goal line dive (6:28) as he drags a defender for score.

Play #36... Trick goal line play

I got a little lazy there in the end but I think if you were able to pause frame by frame during the first level of all his runs, you will see he was getting a lot of help last season. If this was a highlight reel that showed Akers' success, then imagine what we're going to find on all the runs that weren't successful or included. Those runs are going to show you his mediocre vision behind elite team blocking. With holes like that, you could be blind in one eye and still get to where you need to go. He hardly shows any wiggle in this reel because frankly he doesn't have to. Take a look at Saquon's highlight reels, he's moving sideways zigging and zagging just to get back to the LOS bc of his poor o-line.

I think this was a very bland portfolio of his success, I counted one run where he created on his own and wowed me. Now would I draft Akers in the second round in a fantasy redraft this season? Sure. But I would be drafting the Rams o-line, not Akers' talent. I think he'll have a Top 10 season and conversely will be drafted as such in 2022. But once 2022 kicks in, you're hoping they can fill the hole of a HOF tackle and that there continues to be continuity in the run blocking. That's a lot to ask for in the NFL. Look at Dallas, SF and Philly last year, teams with good lines. All the RBs on those teams took a huge hit in production bc of injuries.

The risk here is, when you start to get injuries on the o-line, Akers is going to have to show he can create on his own. I don't think he's shown that yet...
Click to expand...
So he did great with what was there. That seems like a good thing.

Agree to disagree on his talent. We’ll see in the next few years.

 
I seem to recall one of his strong points coming out of Florida State was the ability to compensate for a terrible O-line.  So it appears he can take advantage of a strong one as well.

 
Teezee said:
But so has everyone else in this system, which was my point. A dime a dozen
Click to expand...
That’s fine, but it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s just a product of the system. It sounds like if LT was in this system you would dismiss him too as a “product of the system.” At some point there’s an RB who is actually good who happens to be in a good system too. I think that’s Akers.

 
Condolences to Cam owners.  In the middle of a dynasty startup now.  Who's the target for LAR RB this year and what's the value?  Henderson?  Funk? FA coming in?

 
I would sign Gurley for goal line only.  He did look done last year though.  

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Totally dreaming, but it'd be great to see a James Robinson trade. Sucks for Akers, I tried to trade him while his value went way up but didn't really get offers matching the sky-high hype. Hope his youth allows him to recover better than some of the past Achilles affected RBs.

 
mcintyre1 said:
Totally dreaming, but it'd be great to see a James Robinson trade. Sucks for Akers, I tried to trade him while his value went way up but didn't really get offers matching the sky-high hype. Hope his youth allows him to recover better than some of the past Achilles affected RBs.
Click to expand...
Yeah unless they offer something crazy, I doubt it. Robinson is so cheap, really no need to because the same thing could happen to them. But as you already said, you're dreaming.

 
mcintyre1 said:
Totally dreaming, but it'd be great to see a James Robinson trade. Sucks for Akers, I tried to trade him while his value went way up but didn't really get offers matching the sky-high hype. Hope his youth allows him to recover better than some of the past Achilles affected RBs.
Click to expand...
Unless they got a great offer, the Jaguars would have no incentive to trade him - the guys is making peanuts as an UDFA.

 
Free Agent RBs

Todd Gurley 27

Duke Johnson 28

T.J. Yeldon 28

Dion Lewis 31

Chris Thompson 31

LeSean McCoy 33

Adrian Peterson 36

Frank Gore 38

Alfred Morris 33

Tyler Ervin 28

DeAndre Washington 28

Le'Veon Bell 29

Senorise Perry 30

Kenjon Barner 32

Bryce Love 24

Ito Smith 26

D'Onta Foreman 25

Ryquell Armstead 25

Sewo Olonilua 24

T.J. Logan 27

Jeremy Cox 25

Craig Reynolds 25

B.J. Emmons 23

Jordan Chunn 26

Pete Guerriero 23

Paul Perkins 27

Rakeem Boyd 23

 
BobbyLayne said:
Free Agent RBs

Todd Gurley 27

Duke Johnson 28

T.J. Yeldon 28

Dion Lewis 31

Chris Thompson 31

LeSean McCoy 33

Adrian Peterson 36

Frank Gore 38

Alfred Morris 33

Tyler Ervin 28

DeAndre Washington 28

Le'Veon Bell 29

Senorise Perry 30

Kenjon Barner 32

Bryce Love 24

Ito Smith 26

D'Onta Foreman 25

Ryquell Armstead 25

Sewo Olonilua 24

T.J. Logan 27

Jeremy Cox 25

Craig Reynolds 25

B.J. Emmons 23

Jordan Chunn 26

Pete Guerriero 23

Paul Perkins 27

Rakeem Boyd 23
Click to expand...
Yuck

 
Early drafters that went WR and TE early and grabbed Henderson in the double digit rounds  may have just won their leagues. Henderson had been a popular zero RB pick up lottery ticket.

 
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports Cam Akers suffered a torn Achilles' tendon while training.

Akers will miss the entirety of the 2021 season while recovering from the injury. The news is devastating for Akers, who was poised for a breakout campaign in his second year as a pro. Akers finished his rookie season on a hot streak and Sean McVay had nothing but praise for him this offseason. Darrell Henderson will take on an expanded role with Akers out but the Rams will almost certainly be looking for a veteran to bring in as well. Le'Veon Bell, Adrian Peterson, and Duke Johnson headline the notable free agents still available. With Henderson owning an impressive receiving skill set, Peterson or Bell make more sense for the Rams' needs than Johnson. Even with the threat of a veteran looming, Henderson's projected role within an ascending offense locks him into RB2 numbers and gives him an outside chance of posting an RB1 season.

-Tom Pelissero, Twitter
Click to expand...

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sony Michel makes a ton of sense to me, although I'm not sure what the Pats would expect in return or what the cap ramifications are.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
travdogg said:
Duke Johnson would be an interesting fit in my opinion, as a COP to Henderson. Other than him though, agreed yuck. 
Click to expand...
I don't know what Duke has left in the tank but based on how Stafford played with Theo Riddick, Duke could be a nice fit for LA. 

 
JohnnyU said:
This injury is not only bad for 2021 but he could be affected permanently.  He may only be 80% of what he was.  This injury is worse than a Torn ACL. 
Click to expand...
One of the free agents on that list was D'Onta Foreman who I think was a promising player before his Achilles injury.

I hope some day a NFL RB will recover from this injury and be good after it but it hasn't happened yet. It is a bigger deal than a ACL injury.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Faust
RB Jonathon Brooks, CAR
2
Replies
89
Views
3K
Ack88
A
Ministry of Pain
Exploit/Avoid Week 3
Replies
39
Views
2K
Ministry of Pain
Ministry of Pain
Faust
TE Jaheim Bell, NE
Replies
11
Views
300
Faust
Faust

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 4 (members: 0, guests: 4)
Top