Sean McVay sees Cam Akers as an every-down back: ‘He’s a special player’
The Los Angeles Rams went into the 2020 season with the full expectation of using a running back committee to replace Todd Gurley. And to start the year, that’s exactly how things played out. Malcolm Brown led the team in Week 1, Cam Akers got his shot before getting injured and Darrell Henderson had his moment to shine while Akers was out.
But toward the end of the season, it was clear who owned the Rams’ backfield: Cam Akers.
He rushed for 221 yards in the playoffs after averaging 84.8 yards per game in the final five weeks of the regular season. He was the Rams’ most consistent offensive player down the stretch and has earned a shot to be RB1 in 2021.
Sean McVay spoke highly of Akers on Thursday, calling him an every-down back and someone the Rams want to utilize a lot next season.
“I thought he did a great job. You guys have heard me talk about Thomas Brown, what a special coach he is, what a great job I thought he did consistently pouring into Cam throughout the season,” McVay said. “Really if it wasn’t for that setback that Cam had in the Philly game – I think that rib injury kind of set him back a little bit. You saw Darrell Henderson step up, Malcolm Brown was really consistent throughout the year, but Cam hit his stride at the right moments. You could see he’s always had a real and authentic confidence, but then as he’s getting more and more comfortable for the different ways that we were able to utilize him, I think he can come alive in the pass game. I think he can continue to play at a high level. Really, I think he’s an every-down back. I think he’s a special player. I think that’s a real credit to Cam, but also Thomas Brown’s leadership and just pouring into him day in and day out and him being receptive to that. Then you see the benefits and how much it kind of came to life towards the latter part of the season and we expect them to pick up where he left off.”
This isn’t necessarily a new stance for McVay, as he’s often talked up Akers in the last year or so. But the fact that Akers is viewed as an every-down back is encouraging because he was often taken off the field in pass-protection situations for Brown, who has been great in that area.
With Brown hitting free agency, Akers should earn most of the carries and snaps next season. Henderson will still mix in as a change-of-pace back, but this backfield is Akers’ moving forward.
