Tag: rams running back

Cam Akers’ workload is expected to increase vs. 49ers

Sean McVay likes what he saw from Cam Akers on Sunday, and the rookie is going to get more playing time because of it.

For the first time this season, the Los Angeles Rams had all three of their top running backs fully healthy for an entire game. In Week 1, Darrell Henderson was limited by a hamstring injury. In Week 2, Cam Akers left with a rib injury and missed the next two games. On Sunday against Washington, the Rams had both players available, along with Malcolm Brown.

Henderson paced the group with 29 snaps, compared to 26 for Brown and only 13 for Akers, but it was the rookie Akers who led the team in rushing with 61 yards – 46 of which came on one run late in the fourth quarter. Most of his work game in garbage time, but he made a good impression on Sean McVay and earned himself more touches in Week 6.

McVay said after the Rams’ 30-10 win that Akers’ workload will grow next week against the 49ers after ripping off a couple of nice runs. He won’t let Akers forget that he got chased down from behind by Montez Sweat on that long 46-yard run, though.

“Cam Akers was great. I thought he had a couple of tough runs and then he got hawked by Montez Sweat. I’m not going let him live that one down,” McVay said Sunday. “That was a great run to be able to get that going. And then you see a four-D and that was like a big freakin’ impressive guy chasing him. But, he was good. I think it was good to get him going again. You see the athleticism, you see the dynamic run ability and I thought he created his on his own a little bit. He had some good tough runs and it’s a good way to get Cam going. So, with that I think you can expect his workload to increase next week against the 49ers.”

With Akers’ workload expected to grow, the question now becomes whether Henderson or Brown will be the one to see their snaps decrease. Henderson was the least efficient of the three on Sunday, with only 38 yards on 15 carries, but he’s also been the most consistent back for the Rams thus far.

In all likelihood, it’ll be Brown getting fewer opportunities to touch the ball, even if he does still earn playing time in pass protection and in short-yardage situations. At some point, it’ll likely become Henderson’s and Akers’ backfield, because they’ve proved to be the most explosive of the three.

Rams won’t name starting RB but are ‘going to ask a lot’ of Cam Akers

Even if he’s not the starter, Cam Akers will get his chances on Sunday.

All eyes will be on the running back position when the Rams offense trots out on the field for the first time on Sunday night against the Cowboys – not because it’ll be weird to see someone besides Todd Gurley behind Jared Goff, but because everyone is interested to see who the starter is.

It could be rookie Cam Akers, who the team drafted in the second round, but Malcolm Brown is the experienced veteran who’s excellent in pass protection and capable as a receiver. Even if Brown gets the call as the “starter” by title in Week 1, Akers will be involved.

McVay said Monday that the Rams are “going to ask a lot of him” in Week 1 despite Akers being a young player.

Akers has been getting first-team reps in practice and in the Rams’ two scrimmages, splitting time with Brown. Darrell Henderson Jr. could be available in the season opener, but even if he’s recovered from his hamstring strain, he won’t get as many chances as Akers and Brown.

Fantasy owners are dying to know how the Rams divvy up the touches at running back, but in all likelihood, Akers should be the guy by season’s end. It’s just a matter of him getting up to speed and acclimated to the NFL.

Falcon’s GM comfortable with former Georgia star Todd Gurley’s knee injuries

Atlanta Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff talks about newly signed former Georgia football running back Todd Gurley’s knee injuries.

Atlanta Falcons beat reporter Kelsey Conway recently spoke to the franchise’s general manager Thomas Dimitroff about newly signed running back Todd Gurley.

The former Georgia Bulldog recently signed a one-year contract worth $6m with the Falcons after being released earlier this year by the L.A. Rams.

Gurley was a two-time All-Pro in L.A. but after issues with arthritis in his previously injured left-knee, the team decided to move on from the 24-year old.

Unlike the Rams, the Falcons do not seem to be worried about Gurley’s injury history.

Dimitroff said:

He really takes care of his body well. We feel very comfortable with it. He’s a hard-charging runner and we’re counting on him being an excellent player for us.

Gurley being on just a one-year deal creates an easy out for Atlanta if he can’t meet expectations in 2020, but Falcons and UGA fans hope the Bulldog great can bounce back with a great season for Atlanta.

Rams plan to use Darrell Henderson in backfield committee

The Rams like Darrell Henderson’s potential but are also open to adding a running back in the draft.

For the last five years, Todd Gurley handled the bulk of the work at running back for the Rams. He carried the ball at least 223 times each season since 2015, and in the last four years, he never played fewer than 71% of the offensive snaps.

He’s been the definition of a workhorse in Los Angeles, leading all NFL players with 1,483 touches since 2015. But now with Gurley out of the picture, the Rams will move forward with a different plan at running back.

It involves the four dreaded words for a fantasy football owner: “running back by committee.”

The Rams no longer want to feature one player in the backfield and instead plan to use a committee approach in 2020, led by Darrell Henderson and Malcolm Brown.

General manager Les Snead said Henderson is “probably a player with a bullseye on his back based on us releasing Todd,” but he’s not going to take over as the bell cow for Los Angeles.

“What we do want to be, and this will progress naturally, is certainly be a team that utilizes more than just one workhorse running the ball, have a different genre of skill sets and a complementary-type running game,” Snead said on a conference call Monday. “With that being said, you could get in Week 4 and there’s only one singular running back on the team who is playing extremely hot and maybe that person starts getting more carries. We have this big-picture vision of Darrell being a part of it, but we do expect other pieces to be a part of it, as well.”

For fantasy owners banking on Henderson becoming a top running back in 2020, this is bad news. His potential is obvious and the Rams clearly love his skill set – enough to trade up and draft him in the third round last year – but unless he comes out and dominates from the start, he’ll likely be sharing touches with Malcolm Brown.

Furthermore, the Rams could add another running back to the mix in the draft. They’ve been doing their homework on the incoming class of runners, meeting with Zack Moss, Darrynton Evans and Johnathan Kelley at the combine.

Sean McVay likes the versatility of the running backs in the draft and indicated that the Rams could select one at some point if the opportunity arises.

“As we move forward, there’s a lot of depth in this draft,” McVay said on the Rams Revealed podcast. “There are a lot of different types of players, they’re all really good football players that provide different skill sets and I would say that if we feel like the value and the type of player that we’re looking to add is there when we pick, that’s certainly a conversation that’ll come up.”

Running back isn’t a pressing need for the Rams, since they did just select Henderson and have Brown also under contract, but it’s clear they’re looking to add depth to the roster at that spot.

Any further additions will hurt Henderson’s value, but if he stands above the rest in training camp and the preseason, the Rams will have no choice but to give him the bulk of the carries.

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