Tag: Cam Akers

Will Rams snap NFL’s longest active streak of drafting offense first?

The Rams are tied with the Chargers and Steelers for the longest active streaks of drafting offense first. Will they snap it this year?

Before Sean McVay arrived in 2017, the Los Angeles Rams fielded an anemic offense for years. From 2007 to 2016, they never ranked higher than 21st in points scored and finished last in the NFL in scoring three times.

It’s hardly surprising that he and the Rams have sunk a lot of resources into the offense over the last seven years, being an offensive-minded coach, but this year’s draft class could be more about helping the defense.

Just about every mock draft has the Rams targeting a defensive player in the first round, whether it’s an edge rusher, a cornerback or a defensive tackle to help fill the void left by Aaron Donald. If the Rams do draft a defensive player with their first pick, it’ll snap a four-year streak of Los Angeles taking an offensive player first – tied for the longest active streak in the NFL with the Steelers and Chargers.

Here’s a look at each of the Rams’ top draft picks under McVay.

  • 2023: OL Steve Avila (36th)
  • 2022: OL Logan Bruss (104th)
  • 2021: WR Tutu Atwell (57th)
  • 2020: RB Cam Akers (52nd)
  • 2019: S Taylor Rapp (61st)
  • 2018: OL Joe Noteboom (89th)
  • 2017: TE Gerald Everett (44th)

Going all the way back to 2013, Rapp is still the only defensive player drafted first by the Rams, so it’s been a heavily skewed toward the offense for the last 11 years. That just goes to show it hasn’t been completely because of McVay.

Les Snead, of course, has been the Rams’ GM since 2012, and he’s the primary decision-maker when it comes to draft picks – in conjunction with his head coach.

All signs point toward the Rams taking a defensive player first this year, given their needs on that side of the ball. However, no one should be surprised if they select a wide receiver in Round 1, or potentially an offensive tackle to be the long-term solution behind either Alaric Jackson or Rob Havenstein.

Vikings don’t tender Cam Akers and Khyiris Tonga

The Vikings declined to extend RFA offers to Khyiris Tonga and Cam Akers, allowing both to hit free agency as the new league year begins.

The new league year has begun, and with it comes a flurry of free agency deals becoming official. It also means that new players are hitting free agency, as is the case with a couple of now former Minnesota Vikings players.

Minnesota opted to not offer Restricted Free Agent tenders to running back Cam Akers, defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga and others according ESPN’s Kevin Seifert.

There are four tender options with the RFA tag that organizations have that they can place on players: First-round, second-round, original round, and right of first refusal. Each tag comes with descending price tags and less compensation for the club should they decide not to match any offer sheets.

The decision to not tender Akers makes sense for the Vikings, as Akers isn’t likely to have received an offer and Minnesota now has a solid backfield with last year’s emergency of Ty Chandler and the recent acquisition of former Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones.

The decision on Khyiris Tonga is a little more interesting. Tonga played well for the Vikings in a reserve defensive tackle role. With the departure of Marcus Davenport and Danielle Hunter in free agency, Minnesota is getting thin along the front seven.

A ‘right of first refusal’ tag would have been a significant increase for Tonga, as that tag comes with a price tag of nearly $3 million versus the $940K Tonga made last season.

Both players are now available on the open market and free to sign deals with any team in the league.

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Projected market value for Vikings’ top free agents

With NFL free agency less than two weeks out, we took a look at the market values for different Minnesota Vikings free agents

Minnesota Vikings fans have heard it over and over again, but it can’t be overstated how important this off-season is for the franchise’s future. One of the first dominoes to fall is the free agency period, and Minnesota has a lot of difficult decisions to make regarding the franchise’s direction.

Will Kirk Cousins and the front office find common ground on a deal? Can the long-term Viking Danielle Hunter stay in purple for another contract? What will it take to keep K.J. Osborn in the fold?

In this exercise, we find a few examples of what their market value is projected to be from experts in the industry.

Market projections courtesy of Spotrac

Vikings vs. Lions: 4 storylines to watch in Week 16

These storlylines are worth watching as the Vikings take on the Lions this Sunday

The Minnesota Vikings are set to take on the Detroit Lions in the second annual winter whiteout on Christmas Eve in week 16.

During the Vikings 7-7 campaign, they have dealt with a myriad of injuries and struggles throughout the year. From losing star wide receiver Justin Jefferson to starting four quarterbacks due to injuries and poor play, it’s been an excellent coaching job from both Kevin O’Connell and Brian Flores.

They still face an uphill battle if they want to win the NFC North. Just one Vikings loss or Lions win will give Detroit their first division title since 1993 when it was the NFC North.

During Sunday’s game against the Lions, these storylines will be pivotal to watch.

WATCH all 30 Vikings touchdowns from 2023 season

Relive every one of the Vikings 30 touchdowns through 12 games.

The Minnesota Vikings sit at 6-6 heading into their bye week. In those 12 games, they have found a way to amass 30 touchdowns.

The defense has found their way into the end zone multiple times as well, with D.J. Wonnum and Jordan Hicks finding the end zone. Interestingly enough, the Vikings won both games where the defense scored.

The offense has found its way into the end zone 28 times with rookie Jordan Addison scoring seven of them. 23 of their touchdowns have come through the air and five of them have come on the ground with all five of those coming from week eight and beyond.

With the bye week here, relive every Vikings touchdown from the all-22 view.

Analyzing the final Saints injury report for Week 10 vs. Vikings

Analyzing the final Saints injury report for Week 10 vs. Vikings: Who’s in, who’s out, and who has a chance to play?

We’re looking at two teams in very different injury situations going into Week 10. The New Orleans Saints have all but two hands on deck for Sunday’s matchup with the Minnesota Vikings, who listed five players as questionable on the final injury report with a sixth doubtful to suit up and a seventh preemptively ruled out.

And that’s after Minnesota placed several key players on injured reserve earlier in the season like defensive end Marcus Davenport, quarterback Kirk Cousins, and running back Cam Akers. Let’s analyze the latest game statuses for all players listed on the injury report by the Saints and Vikings:

Vikings make 3 roster moves, including designating Justin Jefferson to return

The Vikings got some good news n the injury front regarding Justin Jefferson

The Minnesota Vikings are sitting at 5-4 going into Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints and have quite a littany of injuries.

They finally had their first game without Kirk Cousins against the Atlanta Falcons and Josh Dobbs stepped up massively, including winning NFC Offensive Player of the Week award.

Outside of Cousins, Jaren Hall and K.J. Osborn suffered concussions against the Falcons and both Marcus Davenport and Nick Mullens are potential players to come back this season. They, like plenty of other teams, have been going through it.

On Wednesday, the Vikings made three roster moves regarding injuries heading into Sunday’s game.

Ty Chandler to see increased workload

The former fifth round pick is set for an increased workload

When the Minnesota Vikings lost running back Cam Akers for the season, there were some questions about what the team would do to supplement Alexander Mattison. In speaking to the media on Tuesday, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips had a very simple answer.

“You’ll see more Ty Chandler.”

The Vikings fifth-round pick from 2022 has played sparingly this season. Before the acquisition of Akers, Chandler was rotating in for a series here or there. Chandler is also the only running back on the roster who averages more than four yards per carry (5.2).

His skillset is based mostly in burst and speed. Listed at 5011 and 204 lbs, Chandler has enough size and power to break tackles but is at his best bursting through the hole and running past defenders.

Chandler is also good in terms of pass-blocking and catching the ball out of the backfield. His biggest issue is consistency, which ahs kept him off the field.

Moving forward, Chandler has an opportunity to make a difference for both the team and his future.

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Kevin O’Connell provides injury updates from Sunday’s win

O’Connell provided multiple injury updates during Monday’s press conference

The Minnesota Vikings scrounged out a win in Atlanta over the Falcons by a score of 31-28 but they didn’t come out of it unscathed.

Throughout the game, they batted adversity with injuries across the board, especially at the skill positions. In his Monday press conference, head coach Kevin O’Connell provided injury updates on multiple Vikings, including three of the best players on the roster.

Former Rams RB Cam Akers tears Achilles for 2nd time in less than 3 years

Cam Akers tore his Achilles in the Vikings’ win on Sunday, a brutal break for the former Rams running back

Cam Akers came into the NFL with such promise as a second-round pick by the Los Angeles Rams in 2020, but he’s had a rocky first four seasons as a pro. After tearing his Achilles in 2021, Akers suffered the same injury again on Sunday in the Minnesota Vikings’ win over the Atlanta Falcons.

An MRI on Monday confirmed the unfortunate news, sidelining Akers for the remainder of the 2023 season. He’ll now have played just 36 regular-season games in his first four seasons, missing almost two full years because of torn Achilles injuries.

The Rams traded Akers to the Vikings this season after the running back fell out of favor and was overtaken by Kyren Williams as the starter. In three games with Minnesota, he rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown on 38 carries, while also catching 11 passes for 70 yards.

Akers will be a free agent in March, but it’s hard to imagine any team giving him a sizable contract after suffering a second torn Achilles in less than three years.