Akers coming to camp bigger this year. Is that a good thing?

[Merlin]

Yeah has to be a good sign. I do think taller backs can get too top heavy, like SJ for example late in his career. And when that happens they seem to topple easier. But that shouldn't be a problem with Akers, he looks well distributed in his weight.

 

[So Ram]

Snead has his Bobby Wagner Rule when it comes to the draft.
I hope he also has a Todd Gurley Rule when it comes to extending RBs.

-Not me. IMO The Rams already have a pattern of extending players.My hood Cam Akers & even Van Jefferson both get nice player(team) extensions.

Like I said about Inside the Grid,you can see who the leaders are.Here is a new video The Rams just came out with from last season.

A GAME-WINNER on the Mic: Van Jefferson Mic'd Up for Rams vs. Raiders on Thursday Night Football

Happy Birthday, Van Jefferson! Celebrate by reliving last season's thrilling Thursday Night win against the Las Vegas Raiders where Van was not only mic'd up, but also the receiver who made the game-winning catch!

www.therams.com

 

[So Ram]

Here is Cam Akers interview!! He is a player that can be still had on the cheap.He knows he will have a solid season.

1,300 yards plus is my number.

Cam Akers on offseason goals he wants to carry into training camp 2023, Sony Michel being back

Rams RB Cam Akers talks about goals he sets for himself for the offseason that he wants to take into this year's training camp, plus what it means to him to have Sony Michel back in Los Angeles' RB room.

www.therams.com

 

[oldnotdead]

2024 Akers will be in his contract year. If he's smart he will negotiate a smaller contract but with most if not all guaranteed. If he doesn't then he needs big years in 2023 and 2024 to justify a solid contract elsewhere.

I think with Williams and Evans behind him he's not going to probably get an offer from the Rams who can simply grab another RB in the 2025 draft. The thing about RBs is that it's probably the only position where a RB can play really well as a rookie. It's primarily based upon vision, agility and acceleration. Therefore there is no incentive to sign RBs to big contracts. In the NFL the big money will always go to the QB1s and WRs for as long as the passing game is the offense's priority.

It's why the Rams will draft a QB1 next year and use one year of the 6 years they control his contract to develop him. Could this be their new business model? A first round pick QB the Rams control his rights for 4 year rookie deal, 1 fifth year option, 1 year franchise tag. Or if he shows Mahomes level talent they can do what KC did was to extend Mahomes early spreading out his cap hit over multiple years. IMO the key for the Rams new business model is to limit the big cap eating contracts to maybe one or two players. This will allow them to maintain a good team overall with a more balanced cap.

 

[Big Game]

Love to see it, I believe the Rams go back to the original offense McVay installed with Gurley. Meaning the run opens up the pass, jet sweeps and lots of play action. And Cam getting ripped will help his durability,

 

[snackdaddy]

I wonder when we'll get to see for ourselves how quick he looks at his new weight. Does he get any preseason reps?

Knowing McVay's philosophy on that, I'd say its about a close to a 100 percent no as it gets.

 

[Tumak61]

Snead has his Bobby Wagner Rule when it comes to the draft.
I hope he also has a Todd Gurley Rule when it comes to extending RBs.

Just don't do it. Akers is too inconsistent. If he has a good year he can get a big contract on another team. Hope the Rams have learned their lesson on RB contracts. Cowboys with Zeke as well.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

Looks like he can hold on to the ball now.

 

[AvengerRam]

Just don't do it. Akers is too inconsistent. If he has a good year he can get a big contract on another team. Hope the Rams have learned their lesson on RB contracts. Cowboys with Zeke as well.

Given the fact that he’ll be a RFA at the end of the year, if he has a strong season I’d think we’d tender him, which would mean he’d either return or we’d receive draft compensation. Not a bad option.

 

[Allen2McVay]

Just don't do it. Akers is too inconsistent. If he has a good year he can get a big contract on another team. Hope the Rams have learned their lesson on RB contracts. Cowboys with Zeke as well.

Akers will only be a Restricted free agent after this season.

 

[nighttrain]

If Akers has a good season, I would think Rams would try to resign him, low miles on those legs of his.
train

 

[Merlin]

Akers will only be a Restricted free agent after this season.

If he has a good season I expect he'll want a new contract. Rams need to be ready to navigate through that.

They might pay him because the position is cheap but I'd prefer hardball (make him play as RFA for final year) and draft another RB. Problem is they are not very good at evaluating RBs. Would love to be wrong but I have zero faith in them on that front.

 

[Soul Surfer]

"Good. We needed a fullback..." ~ @OldSchool

Agreed.

 

[I like Rams]

As long as it hasn't effected his speed or endurance, he'll be OK.

 

[nighttrain]

As long as it hasn't effected his speed or endurance, he'll be OK.

Better I would hope!
train

 

[I like Rams]

Better I would hope!
train

Deff won't hurt in the breaking tackles department. But more muscle means more energy is going to be expended due to the muscle requiring more as well as oxygen expenditure goes up. Considering he's at this stage of the game, I'm sure he's been with a trainer to make sure he's still got the speed and endurance at his new weight.

 

[TexasRam]

I think it’s a good move for Cam to bulk up. He really has lacked that extra power necessary around the goaline and in short yardage.

Hopefully it don’t slow him down too much. We’ve seen that with other backs that bulked up.

 

[PARAM]

Hey I hope he has a phenominal season. Whether he's extended, tendered or traded, I'll leave that up to the crew who has navigated us through the last 6 years with 60 wins, multiple QBs, RBs, WRs, OL, DBs, OLBs, Kupp and Donald.

 

[CGI_Ram]

Akers is looking quite stocky in this pic. He says he intentionally focused on gaining weight. When asked about how much he said "Way, way up". So is this a good thing? Will he be less prone to injury? Will he be able to gain the tough yards this year? Or does the extra weight slow him down?

I haven't seen what he looks like aside from this picture. But someone on youtube said he looked "ripped" during OTA's. I have to think if the weight gain was something he intentionally focused on then he probably did it the right way. We'll see how he looks when they strap on the pads.

Akers weighed consistently around the time of the scouting combine 217lbs.

The Rams list him 217lbs. Pro Football Reference has him at 212lbs.

If he’s 225/230 now… that’s probably a good weight for Akers, IMO. I like the idea of a tad more power to his game.

Average Height and Weight of NFL Running Backs in 2023

I've been a collegiate sports performance coach for 20 years. One thing I always felt was effective was showing guys the heights and weights of players at their position in the NFL. It helped give

hortonbarbell.com

 

[majrleaged]

The is great and all, but if he continues to miss holes it wont mater. I hope he improved his field vision as well