What It Means:

“You really saw the amount of personal grit and determination,” O’Connell said of Akers’ time at Florida State. “He was running against loaded looks … and he was able to create a lot on his own. You see the upside — I think it was a great running back draft, there was a lot of depth there across the board — but for us, and for me personally with Cam, just watching and thinking about where he could possibly get to and maximized in our offense, it’s really exciting.” Akers does have a steeper learning curve due to COVID-19 restrictions, but he's fully expected to take over as the Rams' lead back before the end of the season. Darrell Henderson and Malcolm Brown, conversely, will likely see their respective roles diminish as the season progresses.

numberFire's models project Akers for 156.9 carries, 629.4 rushing yards, 27.6 receptions (38.6 targets), 209.8 receiving yards, and 6.9 touchdowns. He's the RB34 in our preseason fantasy rankings.