Cam Akers' workload is expected to increase vs. 49ers
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theramswire.usatoday.com]
Cameron DaSilva
For the first time this season, the Los Angeles Rams had all three of their top running backs fully healthy for an entire game. In Week 1, Darrell Henderson was limited by a hamstring injury. In Week 2, Cam Akers left with a rib injury and missed the next two games. On Sunday against Washington, the Rams had both players available, along with Malcolm Brown.
Henderson paced the group with 29 snaps, compared to 26 for Brown and only 13 for Akers, but it was the rookie Akers who led the team in rushing with 61 yards – 46 of which came on one run late in the fourth quarter. Most of his work game in garbage time, but he made a good impression on Sean McVay and earned himself more touches in Week 6.
McVay said after the Rams’ 30-10 win that Akers’ workload will grow next week against the 49ers after ripping off a couple of nice runs. He won’t let Akers forget that he got chased down from behind by Montez Sweat on that long 46-yard run, though.
“Cam Akers was great. I thought he had a couple of tough runs and then he got hawked by Montez Sweat. I’m not going let him live that one down,” McVay said Sunday. “That was a great run to be able to get that going. And then you see a four-D and that was like a big freakin’ impressive guy chasing him. But, he was good. I think it was good to get him going again. You see the athleticism, you see the dynamic run ability and I thought he created his on his own a little bit. He had some good tough runs and it’s a good way to get Cam going. So, with that I think you can expect his workload to increase next week against the 49ers.”
With Akers’ workload expected to grow, the question now becomes whether Henderson or Brown will be the one to see their snaps decrease. Henderson was the least efficient of the three on Sunday, with only 38 yards on 15 carries, but he’s also been the most consistent back for the Rams thus far.
In all likelihood, it’ll be Brown getting fewer opportunities to touch the ball, even if he does still earn playing time in pass protection and in short-yardage situations. At some point, it’ll likely become Henderson’s and Akers’ backfield, because they’ve proved to be the most explosive of the three.
