Cam Akers was expected to be the Rams’ starting running back this season. Now more than a year removed from his torn Achilles, Akers seemed poised for a big year in Los Angeles’ offense.
He couldn’t have gotten off to a much worse start in Week 1, however, playing just 12 snaps and getting only three touches for zero yards.
While fans were surprised by Akers’ limited role, so was the running back himself. He didn’t expect to get so few opportunities, but he’s going to learn from it and try to increase his sense of urgency at the request of Sean McVay.
“If Coach don’t think I’m being urgent enough, just be more urgent,” Akers said via the Associated Press. “That’s what it came down to. … Whatever Coach says, man, I’m going to take it in and learn from it. Whatever you want to say, I’m going to take it and learn from it and go from there, whether I think it’s right or not. Maybe I’m not always right, you know?”
The day after the Rams’ loss to the Bills, McVay said Akers needed to show more urgency and maximize his opportunities, pointing to his play without the ball in his hands, too. This likely comes down to his play in practice, not necessarily the opener.
“Probably more so in practice, I would think,” Akers said, via ESPN. “Not in a game, obviously, because that was the first game. Probably practice.”
We’ll see what kind of role McVay has planned for Akers in Week 2 against the Falcons, but it’s hard to imagine him getting the lion’s share of touches over Darrell Henderson Jr. For fantasy owners, this could be a week-to-week thing between Akers and Henderson, so it’ll require some patience moving forward.
