Cam Akers 2023 Fantasy Football Preview
Cam Akers had one of the strangest fantasy seasons in 2022. After loads of hype surrounding the Florida State alum, the season got off to a predictably slow start considering he was still recovering from a torn Achilles. The fact that he was rumored to be on the field on day one of the regular season kept his draft price on the high end, and he was a terrible investment in the early goings. Through the first 12 weeks of the regular season, Akers never finished higher than the RB27. During that time, the 24-year-old missed time, not due to injury, but because the Rams were attempting to trade the young back after butting heads with head coach Sean McVay.
However, a few weeks after he returned to the field, Akers dominated for fantasy purposes. From Weeks 13-18, Akers was the RB4 overall, ran for over 500 yards, and scored six touchdowns. He helped carry people to fantasy championships and now has little competition to contend with in 2023 after the Rams’ lackluster offseason. Should we be hyped for a potentially big year from Los Angeles’ No. 1 RB? Let’s dive into his 2022 stats and predict what his 2023 campaign could look like.
All rankings are based on where the player finished in Half-PPR scoring formats among the top 85 scoring fantasy RBs.
2022 Fantasy Stats
When looking at Cam Akers’ 2022 fantasy production, it is far from impressive. The 24-year-old reached his peak over the last six games of the season but was a fantasy bust for the majority of the year. As explained above, there were plenty of factors at play. Akers never fully recovered from the Achilles injury to start the season. The Rams put him on the field much too soon. It led to frustration on both sides and the inevitable benching of Akers in favor of Darrell Henderson and Kyren Williams. However, once the shot at the postseason was out of the team’s reach, Akers stepped into the starting role at nearly full health and did a tremendous job. He was still useful for fantasy, finishing in the top 36 in nine of his 15 games. However, he did not return on the draft cost investment.
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2022 Rushing Stats
Akers ranked as a mediocre back in most rushing total categories, finishing with only a 4.2 yards per carry average, gaining just under 800 yards on the ground. With that said, there were a few categories he finished highly in, proving he still has some serious juice and a shot to be a mainstay in fantasy lineups if he can stay healthy and maintain the role as the lead back. The Florida State alum gained just over 400 yards after contact, broke 13 tackles, and even after missing time and being put in the dog house, ended the year with nearly 50 percent of the Rams’ total carry count. With his yards per carry average going up to 4.9 over the last six weeks of the season, you can see the path to fantasy success for Akers in 2023 now that the Achilles injury is behind him.
2022 Receiving Stats
Akers lacked receiving production, one of the main reasons he struggled to produce for fantasy managers through the first 12 weeks of the season. The Rams gave him only six times through this time, and he caught two of them. The targets came more during the last six games, where he caught 11-of-12, but that was with journeyman quarterback Baker Mayfield under center, not starter Matthew Stafford. Receiving has not been a big part of Akers’ game up to this point of his career, but if he remains healthy in 2023, he should pull in a decent share and slightly boost his fantasy ceiling.
2022 Totals and Turnover Stats
Akers failed to reach the 1,000 total yards gained mark last year, but he did miss two games and was playing hobbled for a good portion of the season. His seven total touchdowns may not look overly impressive on paper. However, factoring in the six he scored over his final six games of the season when given the majority of snaps out of the backfield, it is safe to say he could look to increase that number in 2023. His two fumbles turning into turnovers were not a great sign of things to come, but we need to give him the benefit of the doubt and let him work through an entire season healthy before judging his ball security skills too harshly.
2022 Red Zone Stats
Despite finishing 25th or worse in most red zone rushing categories and finishing with only one reception inside the 20s, Cam Akers ranked 21st in total fantasy points scored when down close. It comes down to his seven rushing touchdowns, which ranked 9th among the rest of the league. 26.9 percent of Akers red zone carries turned into six points, a solid rate for a player on a terrible offense who mainly produced over a six-game stretch.
2022 Per Game Stats
It is tough to look at these numbers and get an accurate reading of what Akers was able to do last season on a per-game basis when healthy. Through the first 12 games of the year, the 24-year-old averaged 9.3 carries for 30.4 yards and scored one touchdown. Over the last six games, Akers averaged 17.3 carries for 85.3 yards and a touchdown per game. When he was healthy, the Rams starting RB looked like the player fantasy managers had drafted him to be last August, but before he was ready, Akers looked like a below-average RB who was not worthy of carrying a significant workload.
2022 Percentage Stats (Great, Good, Flex, and Bust Games)
Akers end of season burst helped keep him above the 50 percent ‘bust’ rate last season. He finished with 60 percent of his games rated inside the top 36, with his one ‘great’ game coming in Week 16, where he was the No. 1 overall RB on the week. Overall, the 24-year-old had a tale of two seasons. The first 12 weeks were injury-riddled and rife with controversy. However, once he regained his starting role and was at full strength, Akers displayed the skills that made him such a high draft pick last August.
Cam Akers 2023 Outlook
Moving into the 2023 preseason, Akers sits alone at the top of the Rams’ depth chart with little competition behind him. While there was some hype surrounding Kyren Williams last offseason, he came into the season hurt, and when he had his chance to shine, he did little with it. The only addition made to the running back room this offseason was Zach Evans out of Ole Miss. A sixth-round draft pick is not a ton of capital invested into the running back room, leaving the now fourth-year back atop the depth chart with a clear path to a large carry count.
Pass Game Involvement An Issue
To max out his fantasy value, Akers must become more involved in the passing game. Evans seems the most likely candidate to take snaps away from the former Florida State Seminole on passing downs. However, Akers’ role as a receiver did increase over the final six games of last season, and he has a shot to be the fourth option for quarterback Matthew Stafford behind Cooper Kupp, Van Jefferson, and Tyler Higbee. It would be foolish to expect the 24-year-old to increase his target count to the 50 range, but it is realistic to assume Akers can land in the 30-40 range. This will give him a top-12 ceiling most weeks if he continues to find the end zone at a high rate.
A Bounce-Back Season Is More Than Possible
Taking a small six games sample and expecting the same results over an entire 17-game season is unrealistic. However, after watching what Akers was able to do once healthy in a completely broken offense with a quarterback that was not even on the roster until after the halfway point of the regular season, it is safe to assume a bounce-back campaign for the fourth-year back is in the cards. Akers’ slim involvement in the passing game means maxing out as a top-12 RB seems outside his range of outcomes in 2023. With that said, if he can continue to tote the rock over 15 times per game for more than 70 yards and find the end zone consistently, then Akers can easily finish inside the top 24.
With a current ADP (average draft position) as the RB22 overall in the back of the fifth round, according to FantasyPros, Akers seems to be in the perfect range to take a shot on as your RB2/3 with the Rams offense heading into the season at full strength.
My Thoughts
I was all the way out on Akers last season solely due to the fact that we have not seen a running back bounce back into top-tier fantasy form following an Achilles injury. After seeing him take three carries for zero yards in the first game of the regular season, I knew I made the right call. However, this does not mean I am not a believer in Akers’ talent. After what we saw from him over the final six games of 2022, I have full confidence that he can finish inside the top-24 in 2023.
Drafting him after he was on the trade block last season is risky, but it is a risk that could pay off big time after the Rams neglected to address the position this offseason. The draft price for Akers is perfect right now, and I will definitely be scooping him up in many a draft this off-season.
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