Cam Akers must improve ‘without the ball in his hands’ to earn more snaps

Cam Akers has played sparingly, in part because of his struggles in pass protection.

One of the most puzzling trends from the first half of the Rams’ season was the lack of playing time for rookie Cam Akers. He got off on the right foot in Week 1 by opening the season as the starter, getting 15 touches on 24 snaps played. But then he got hurt in Week 2 and hasn’t played more than 20 snaps since.

Meanwhile, Darrell Henderson and Malcolm Brown have continued to be productive at running back, leaving very few opportunities for Akers. Sean McVay has been asked several times about Akers’ limited role, typically chalking it up to game planning, flow of the game and the job that Henderson and Brown have done.

But in his most recent media session, McVay shared something new: The Rams want Akers to improve without the ball in his hands, which points to his blocking in pass protection.

“I just want to continue to see him mature, ascend, and really continue to learn how to compete without the ball – understanding where he fits in protections,” McVay said. “When the ball’s in his hands it’s pretty natural for him. You look at that check down that he caught on the left sideline where he’s able to make a couple guys miss. I mean, that right there in and of itself, shows what a dynamic playmaker he is, when he can put his foot in the ground, he seamlessly catches the ball out of the backfield. So, I think he has a really bright future, but I think it’s just continuing to detail everything up. Thomas Brown does a great job with him on that. I think with more opportunities, we want to see more maturity, more improvement. I think particularly without the ball in his hands are the things that we’re looking to see and I do have trust that he’s going to have a really good second half of the season for us.”

Brown gets most of the snaps when the Rams are in obvious passing situations where they’ll keep the running back in to protect Jared Goff. Henderson handles the majority of the carries and early-down plays, with Akers mixing in sparingly. That’s unlikely to change unless Akers improves significantly in pass protection, where he’s gotten few opportunities in games this season.

When you also consider the injury he suffered against the Eagles, separating rib cartilage, his role is more understandable. But it’s hard to keep a dynamic player off the field, even if he isn’t great in pass protection.

“I think the injury at Philly really set him back a handful of weeks, where he missed a lot of opportunities that he would’ve gotten,” McVay said. “What I think we’ve seen, when you go back to Washington, the few carries that he had, and even a couple of touches yesterday, he’s an extremely dynamic and exciting player that we have a lot of confidence and faith in, that’s going to have a really bright future.”

Akers got nine carries on Sunday against the Dolphins, a game in which Henderson left due to a thigh injury. He turned his 10 touches into 54 yards, highlighted by a 19-yard reception where he made three defenders miss along the sideline.

There’s no denying his potential, and sooner or later, the Rams will have to unleash the rookie. He’s more explosive and makes defenders miss at a higher rate than Brown, making him a nice complement to Henderson as the No. 2 back.

But for now, he has to improve and gain the trust of the coaching staff before that time comes.