Rams look for a more complete Cam Akers this season
Improved health and a better grasp of blocking duties can help the running back get on the field more and build on his rookie year production.
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Rams look for a more complete Cam Akers this season
THOUSAND OAKS — Cam Akers’ rookie year with the Rams was a mix of pain and promise.The pain: The running back fell on the ball awkwardly on a red zone carry in his second game and missed most of the next month, and he had to play through an ankle sprain late in the season.
The promise: He finished on fire, rushing for 92.1 yards per game over the final two months, an average that would be third-best in the NFL if he kept it up over a full schedule.
How much of that promise Akers can fulfill in his second season has been a topic during the Rams’ organized team activities (OTAs) the past two weeks.
Last year’s second-round draft pick from Florida State, who turns 22 on June 22, notices his own improvement.
“Mentally, everything has just slowed down, everything is easier for me,” Akers said recently. “I understand the playbook a lot more, I understand blocking schemes, I understand who I need to block.”
That’s vital if true. If Akers is a more reliable blocker on passing plays, Coach Sean McVay will trust him to be on the field for every down.
“I think it’s just continuing to become more and more complete,” McVay said Friday. “He’s got the skill set. He’s capable.”
Akers began 2020 alongside Darrell Henderson and Malcolm Brown in a three-man running-back committee trying to replace Todd Gurley, and ended up as the Rams’ leading rusher (625 yards), topping Henderson by 1 yard, while trailing Henderson in yards from scrimmage (rushing plus receiving), 783-748.
His production should increase. It usually does for good running backs in their second season. The seven backs drafted in the second round from 2016-19 – starting with Derrick Henry – saw their yards from scrimmage go from an average of 770 in year 1 to 1,094 in year 2.
Akers said that going into OTAs as the Rams’ No. 1 back doesn’t change his thinking.
“Mentally, I just take it day by day and prepare,” he said. “I don’t make it more than what it is.”
But the Rams naturally dream of seeing more of what Akers gave them in a December victory over the Patriots (29 carries for 171 yards, 2 catches for 23) and the playoff victory over the Seahawks (28 for 131, 2 for 45).
“(If) a young, talented back (is) on the field more often and with more of the playbook available to them, I think that’s when you really see them take that leap,” Rams tackle Andrew Whitworth, who’s going into his 16th season, said of players going into their second.
Said cornerback Jalen Ramsey, Akers’ fellow Florida State alum: “I can’t wait to see him grow from here. I just pray that he can remain healthy and can help lead the offense, because we need him.”
Ramsey said that in January before the Rams traded for quarterback Matthew Stafford to try to improve their passing game.
But the importance of revving up the running game remains the same for McVay, who preaches that a good offense needs balance.
“He’s obviously a great runner, but he’s got ability as a pass-catcher coming from the backfield, and we can displace him and put him in the slot or the outside receiver location,” McVay said of Akers. “There’s not any limitations, but we’ll see how it comes to life.”
ON THE CALENDAR
Friday marked the end of the Rams’ two weeks of OTAs and, coincidentally, 100 days until the regular-season opener on Sunday night, Sept. 12 against the Chicago Bears at SoFi Stadium.
The Rams will wrap up spring workouts next week with a three-day mandatory minicamp.
McVay said he expects no unexcused absences from minicamp, the team’s last practice sessions until training camp opens at UC Irvine the week of July 25.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
It’s never too soon to ask which rookies look good. McVay said it can be hard to tell in OTAs. Linemen are especially hard to evaluate without 11-on-11 scrimmages.
But the coach singled out tight end Jacob Harris, a fourth-round pick from Central Florida, for praise.
“Just his overall speed, athleticism, you kind of feel him on the field,” McVay said of the 6-foot-5 Harris, who played mostly wide receiver in college.
