The reviews on the Los Angeles Rams’ 2020 draft class have been mixed, with some fans loving the firepower they added to the offense and others concerned about the offensive line. But with every pick Los Angeles made – and it made nine of them – there are reasons to be excited.
Whether it’s Cam Akers’ explosiveness or Terrell Burgess’ versatility, the Rams brought in players with skill sets that are hard to be upset about.
We went through each draft pick and listed one reason to be excited about it, beginning with Akers at No. 52 overall.
RB Cam Akers (52nd overall)
He thrived behind a terrible offensive line
The Rams’ offensive line probably won’t be great in 2020 unless their young starters develop, but fortunately for Akers, he’s used to running behind a terrible line. Not only that, but he played in one of the worst offenses in the country. To give you an idea how bad Florida State was, there were no other Seminoles drafted this year.
Even with poor blocking up front, Akers managed to rush for 1,144 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2019, largely because he gained so many yards after contact.
Cam Akers averaged 3.91 rushing yards after contact per attempt
4th most among draft-eligible RBs pic.twitter.com/xwOj15l6zG
— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) April 25, 2020
Les Snead mentioned that when discussing the decision to pick Akers.
First of all, go back to high school, he runs like a warrior, he runs angry, he runs like he wants to punish a defense,” he said. “One of the things you really appreciate about him is, they struggled a little bit at Florida State these last few years, wasn’t as stout upfront on the OL. He was one of their better players. A lot of teams went into those ACC match ups saying, ‘We’ve got to stop that man.’ They had a hard time stopping him, so you get an appreciation for someone who looks like he’s enjoying running into, I call it a lot of defenders.”