6. Cam Akers, Florida State
Height: 5’10” Weight: 217
40-Yard Dash: 4.47 seconds
Bench Press: 20 reps
Vertical Jump: 35.5 seconds
Broad Jump: 122.0 seconds
3-Cone Drill: N/A
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.42 seconds
60-Yard Shuttle: N/A
Bio: A dual-threat quarterback in high school, Akers threw for 8,140 yards and 78 touchdowns and ran for 5,103 yards and 71 touchdowns during his time at that level. The U.S. Army National Player of the Year and Mississippi’s Mr. Football in 2016, Akers broke Dalvin Cook’s Florida State freshman record for rushing yards in 2017 with 1,025 and seven touchdowns on 194 carries. 2018 presented a relative disappointment with just 706 rushing yards, but he got back on the good foot in 2019 with 1,144 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns on 231 carries. Akers also had 69 catches for 486 yards and seven touchdowns in his collegiate career.
“Just an all-around running back,” Akers said at the scouting combine, when asked to describe himself as a player. “Somebody’s who’s, of course, able to run the ball but another important aspect of running back is being able to block. I just think I’m a complete back from catching to blocking to running. I’ve always been a willing receiver. I do a lot of studying of other backs in the league and my peers who also do the job well receiving. I take a lot of notes and pick up a lot from that.”
Stat to Know: Rushing behind a sub-par (to put it kindly) offensive line in 2019, Akers still managed 904 yards after contact (ranking 12th among NCAA backs), 76 missed tackles forced (tied for seventh), and 15 carries of 15 or more yards (39th).
Strengths: Obvious alpha mindset as a runner and as a pass-protector; Akers seems to relish first contact and has no issue facing up to blitzers and throwing the first punch. Has decent cut speed, though it was hard to tell when he had four or five defenders on him right after the snap. Keeps his eyes forward for extra juice as defenders converge. Times his shoulder drops well to dig into defenders and scrape for extra contact.
Weaknesses: Most of Akers’ dings have something to do with the “talent” around him. We can talk about his dancing behind the line, but running backs need to trust their blockers at some point. Yes, he had a few focus drops as a receiver, but he also had quarterbacks throwing simple screens over his head.
Conclusion: You tend to handicap Akers differently when you see how broken Florida State’s offense was at time during his tenure, and he was seemingly the only spectacular player on the field. That he was able to transcend that and still be consistently productive is a great sign for his NFL future, especially if he’s able to land with a team that has the talent around him he really didn’t enjoy in college.
NFL Comparison: DeAngelo Williams. Williams didn’t have a lot of help at Memphis, but he managed to parlay that into an excellent NFL career. Akers has a similar unknown upside as long as he lands with a team that has a competent passing game and blockers who can do their jobs.
Moss | Swift | Taylor | Edwards-Helaire | Dobbins | Akers |
Benjamin | Dillon | Evans | Perine | Gibson