Cam Akers Official Thread

[FantasyFreak]

akers will be the main back. there's no doubt about that.

henderson will get his change of pace carries.

the rams are a different team with akers on the field.

IDK man, I feel like people see what they want to see. Akers is a good back, but he really didn't do that much that most backs couldn't do, as I already said. He's not special, but he definitely adds an element to the Rams offense in certain formations. Henderson does too, though. I just don't think either can do it for 20 plus touches a game for an entire season. Remains to be seen how McVay will share the carries, and what they do about the RB3 spot. They had 2 guys in Akers and Henderson who couldn't play for large parts, or all of the season, and Akers couldn't stay healthy last season, either. I very much doubt the Rams want to be forced to trade for a RB again. I think that backfield will have plenty of competition for snaps, and personally, I want the cheaper option.

In terms of the younger backs that have been put in a lot of conversation together: Going forward, I'd still want Dobbins over Akers, but I'd want Akers over Etienne.

That quote is true of the inverse too. The haters gonna hate no matter what he does. Also, over half of Sony’s yards came on his first run. Aside from that he had 2.3 ypc average. Not sure how you say he was the more productive back.

Haters? Not sure what that is. I am just making observations on football players. However, it seems like the hype for Akers is starting again, despite nominal production. That's what I am getting at. He was over rated last year, and I see it trending towards that again. My only concern is value. I don't hate any players. I do dislike some, and won't roster them, guys like Tyreek. Akers doesn't fall into that category, I don't have any issues with him. I am just talking dynasty value, and how he is perceived, and I think he's a good RB, but never deserved his ADP/rank last year, and I just see people hyping him up again based on sub 3 YPC through 2 games, and I am just not on board with going there again.

[FantasyFreak]

yeah, everybody values different rbs differently. i couldn't have been more in on johnathan taylor this season in redraft. others were hesitant about him.

i was sitting at #5 in my money redraft league and was all set to take taylor there. every site had him in the 2nd round. unfortunately the guy sitting at 4 took zeke. i was shattered. henry was sitting there for me and there was no way i could pass on him, even though it killed me to give up my taylor dream. it was good for the first half of the season at least.

Yeah, that sucks. I guess you in hindsight, you should have just taken JT, as it would have worked out for you, but the if only's and what if's in FF are many. I like Akers. JT is a different animal, though. Akers at what I consider value, I would absolutely trade for. It just seems to be that I am not going to be able to do that, based on how much people want to read into his return, as I am just not seeing anything special, as so many appear to be.

[Anteaters]

IDK man, I feel like people see what they want to see.

While I am very impressed that Akers returned at any time (much less <1yr) and looked as decent as he did, I have to agree with you. People will read out of this game whatever they want to believe about Akers.

We need more data points, AND to see him keep this up for weeks and weeks without suffering a setback. Not to mention he'll need to do better than 17-for-55 to be considered a startable fantasy asset.

I am incredibly impressed with what he did and how quickly he did it, but there is no way I'm trading for him in any dynasty league. I'd hold if I had him and hope for the best.

[BabyChark23]

IDK man, I feel like people see what they want to see. Akers is a good back, but he really didn't do that much that most backs couldn't do, as I already said. He's not special, but he definitely adds an element to the Rams offense in certain formations. Henderson does too, though. I just don't think either can do it for 20 plus touches a game for an entire season. Remains to be seen how McVay will share the carries, and what they do about the RB3 spot. They had 2 guys in Akers and Henderson who couldn't play for large parts, or all of the season, and Akers couldn't stay healthy last season, either. I very much doubt the Rams want to be forced to trade for a RB again. I think that backfield will have plenty of competition for snaps, and personally, I want the cheaper option.

In terms of the younger backs that have been put in a lot of conversation together: Going forward, I'd still want Dobbins over Akers, but I'd want Akers over Etienne.

That quote is true of the inverse too. The haters gonna hate no matter what he does. Also, over half of Sony’s yards came on his first run. Aside from that he had 2.3 ypc average. Not sure how you say he was the more productive back.

Haters? Not sure what that is. I am just making observations on football players. However, it seems like the hype for Akers is starting again, despite nominal production. That's what I am getting at. He was over rated last year, and I see it trending towards that again. My only concern is value. I don't hate any players. I do dislike some, and won't roster them, guys like Tyreek. Akers doesn't fall into that category, I don't have any issues with him. I am just talking dynasty value, and how he is perceived, and I think he's a good RB, but never deserved his ADP/rank last year, and I just see people hyping him up again based on sub 3 YPC through 2 games, and I am just not on board with going there again.

I agree with you that he is good not great. I am hoping he will be a low end RB1/ high end RB2 type going forward. If so, his recovery and career is a major success story. Time will tell.

My main point from previous post was that just like you said some people have a blind spot in favor of him, some people have a blind spot against him. Based on your comment that Sony was by far the more productive back, a position I think is indefensible, I assumed you fall into that camp. Just trying to provoke a lively debate, not intending to come at you personally.

[Ice]

Akers looked explosive. He should only get better with game reps. I get ff players being scared of the big bad Achilles but if you didn't see his explosive plays and acceleration your judgement is affecting your eyes.

I didn't see an elite payer coming into the league but he looked good. He did drop a ball on a a wide open play as he was separating because he wasn't ready for it but that was a timing issue.

Bottom line is we will see more and more of Akers and less and less of Michell. Both are very good players but Akers is far more explosive in space. The Rams are fortunate.

[thebeast]

I'm migrating this from the discussion in the 'Midseason Dynasty Suprises' thread because this is where it belongs. I've taken a lot of flak for my position on Cam Akers in that thread so I wanted to post this now, to be clear that there are plenty of signs that Akers will make a full recovery, and I'm not accused of luck or hindsight later. My take is that Akers is an excellent investment. I think he will return 100% by next year. Why do I believe this when history has been so poor to NFL RBs with Achilles injuries?

1. Kevin Durant - but he's an NBA player, which doesn't have anything to do with an NFL RB. They do different things. Sure, but historically Achilles injuries were brutal to come back from for NBA players too. While it isn't precisely the same motion, NBA players need explosiveness and power and make their living via their legs. Why is Durant having success when Kobe was never right again? He isn't a harder worker. So for Durant, at his age, to come back 100%+ is insane.

2. Obviously, Durant isn't an apples-to-apples comparison, but his success leads to the question, how is he performing at such a high level of play post-injury? Is something different? And if you explore that question, you find out that yes, the treatment is now different. What was holding back the recovery from this type of injury was primarily the dormancy of the injured leg leading to muscle atrophy. So now they are treating Achilles differently. They are no longer putting the leg in a cast, and they are beginning physical therapy much earlier to avoid muscle loss.

3. Akers is posting videos to Instagram. These show him running smoothly without favoring either leg. He is doing the ladder drill in one video. While the running and agility drills are nice to see, it's something else that makes me more confident in this position. His calve muscles look virtually identical. There isn't any visible muscle loss. Talk to anyone who has torn their Achilles, and I'll bet they tell you that the calf on the leg they tore the Achilles is much less muscular regardless of how much they have tried to rebuild it.

4. McVay says Akers could rejoin the team in the playoffs. Yes, Mcvay hasn't always been truthful before, but that doesn't mean he is always lying. What would have had to gain by saying that unless Akers is actually or ahead of schedule?

I get it. If you are risk-averse and only want apples-to-apples comparisons, then fade Akers by all means. I'm just saying I think there is a better chance that he returns and is closer to 100% than people around here believe, and based on sentiment, you can now get him for a discount.

Please bookmark this and flame me if I'm wrong, but I wanted to post it now so when he returns and is an "outlier," we can look back and see that he wasn't an outlier. It's just a progression of how this injury is treated.

I hope my take above helped some people with an open mind. It was easy to see Akers would be back soon, and at close to full health, if you put it all together like my post above.

Going back and reading this thread though there are some really poor analysts who are unwilling to update their thinking, and not due to differing research, but just because ‘they know’. It was even to the point where I was taking flak for my position, so yeah I’m gong to take my victory lap.

Some people post relentlessly to try and get their points across through brute force. Remember, high post count <> knowledge.

[Cameron Giles]

I hope my take above helped some people with an open mind. It was easy to see Akers would be back soon, and at close to full health, if you put it all together like my post above.

Going back and reading this thread though there are some really poor analysts who are unwilling to update their thinking, and not due to differing research, but just because ‘they know’. It was even to the point where I was taking flak for my position, so yeah I’m gong to take my victory lap.

Some people post relentlessly to try and get their points across through brute force. Remember, high post count <> knowledge.

That's a garbage take. It's not like you're any more qualified than the people here to discuss Achilles injuries or anything else football related.

People, including me, gave you practical and reasonable points to explain why it is realistic that Akers (or any other player) can lose value long-term because of an Achilles injury. It's certainly premature to say those points are out the door based off one game. If we end up being wrong, then it won't be the last time, but it's not because we argue in poor taste or bad logic.

Nobody sat here and said that Akers football career is over and that he'll never play another snap, or that he's going to turn into a 4th string backup.

[Mjvb5]

Sold for 1.6 and 2.8 in a sf, te prem. Heavy idp league

[steelman]

I don't know how anyone can watch that game last night and now come away unimpressed by Akers. He was fast, explosive and agile. Watching him compared to Michel was night and day.

I'm not saying Akers is JT, but he was very explosive out there. Considering that's his first game this year and he's coming off an Achilles after 5 months, that's very impressive.

[dynastyninja]

He looks very good and is in an offense that consistently sets RBs up for success. I'd be very optimistic for next year if I owned him.

[Jigga94]

He looked good aside from taunting a knocked out Budda Baker...

[Space Cowboy]

Smashing success for round 1.

[DynastyKing23]

I watched very little of the game last night but was encouraged by what I saw.

Just the fact he made it back this is amazing in itself. Everything I've been able to read about these injuries basically states longterm prognosis is directly related to length of time missed. There is no way he is 100% or in GameDay shape, most players aren't after rehabbing from any injury. I'm just excited to see him on the field again and this soon.

As for his talent level I have to disagree with the crowd that didn't view him as an elite talent coming into the league. In terms of talent I had him up there with Taylor and swift somewhere, ahead of dobbins, ceh, and the rest of the class. He ran behind a terrible line at FL and relied on his skill and talent. If he had played for Alabama or any other big house with nfl caliber olines he wouldve been much more hyped and drafted higher. In terms of landing spot you csnt beat the rams. Good team, decent line, and an offensive powerhouse. RB for fantasy football are 50/50 talent and opportunity.

In terms of his play I saw him running down the field to catch passes and saw burst and speed through the holes the line created. He seemed quick and agile. Yes 3.2 ypc leaves a lot to be desired, he this is in the playoffs agaisnt a solid team and his 1st full game back from a major injury. I'm excited to see what the rest or the post season looks like and what a training camp does for the kid.

Long term I think his future looks bright. I always said the pool of data was not large enough to reliably predict his future. Too many variables there and a lot of the players wirh the injury were either older, not that good to begin with, or 10 years ago which is a lifetime in medicine. I do think the off season hype train might get out of control again and open up a sell window. If that happens I would sell purely for maximum value, if not I'm happy to keep him and hope for a rb1/rb2 career.

[Anteaters]

That's a garbage take.

But nothing against taking a victory lap. I take them when I get lucky too!

[Sriracha]

That's a garbage take. It's not like you're any more qualified than the people here to discuss Achilles injuries or anything else football related.

People, including me, gave you practical and reasonable points to explain why it is realistic that Akers (or any other player) can lose value long-term because of an Achilles injury. It's certainly premature to say those points are out the door based off one game. If we end up being wrong, then it won't be the last time, but it's not because we argue in poor taste or bad logic.

Nobody sat here and said that Akers football career is over and that he'll never play another snap, or that he's going to turn into a 4th string backup.

C'mon man... People weren't pessimistic about him because they pretended to know the nuances of achilles surgery in 2021.. but because of 11 cases of little to no relevancy.... spread across 10 years...

All of that "data" provided a very poor projection of Akers recovery odds...

I understand being hesitant given the unknown territory Akers was treading, but the extreme pessimism about his ability to recover from this was always founded on flawed logic. A sample size of 11 based on incongruent subjects is damn near worthless. That shouldn't be a controversial statement... but it was.

Now that he looks as explosive and spry as he always has his skeptics are moving the goal posts towards concerns over his longevity? That was not your main concern for him. He's already shown more than most of you thought he'd ever show again.

Are there still concerns? Sure. I'm amazed he's even playing this soon after his injury. The chance he re-injures himself as soon as next week is higher than most players and at least in the short term, the chance he suffers an injury to a part of his body compensating for the achilles injury is also higher than most.

The point of focus here is his usage this soon after the injury and his usage during his rookie year.. The fact that he's already dominating touches (when the game was in doubt) so soon after the injury leads me to be very optimistic about his chances to be the lead back in an offensive very conducive to producing fantasy points.

He doesn't have to be an elite RB to be an elite fantasy RB in this situation... he just needs to be better than Henderson and whatever cast off RB the Rams add this off-season and if he continues to show improvements in the receiving game and the wiggle in space that Henderson (and Michel) lacks I'm very confident that is going to be the case for him in 2022.