LA Rams Akers injury could mean Xavier Jones must salvage the season

Hey, when life gives you nothing but lemons, it’s time to make lemonade, right? Well, amidst the chaotic calamity that is the news about the LA Rams projected featured running back Cam Akers has suffered a season-ending Achilles Tendon injury, logic must return to the forefront. Who can shoulder the burden?

While there are five other players who will be given the opportunity to step into the feature running back role, and perhaps several who will fill specific down and distance needs for the team, the truth is that I cannot deflect my mind from envisioning second-year player Xavier Jones from a much larger role in 2021 than first imagined.

The LA Rams offense will remain primarily the same beast. It’s a pass-centric offense that relies heavily upon the running game to get the thing primed. Like a hand pump water well, this offense needs a few good dashes out of the backfield by a respectable rusher to attract the attention of defensive players to the run. Then, play-action passing catches them on their heels, and it’s off to the races. Cam Akers proved he could deliver that initial punch in the proverbial nose. Today, he is no longer an option.

Now is the moment for someone to step up in a huge way. I think that guy could very easily be that undrafted running back who made the LA Rams 53-man roster in 2020: Xavier Jones. Yes, you’ve read about him here before, and most likely with a very optimistic tone. We have written:
I: Xavier Jones’s nose for the zone lands him a spot on the LA Rams roster
II: Can LA Rams RB Xavier Jones crack the rotation in 2021?
III: Surely, the LA Rams cannot keep RB Xavier Jones out of the end zone now
IV: Why I’m still bullish on LA Rams RB Xavier Jones
V: LA Rams: RB Xavier Jones won’t be denied in 2021
VI: 3 reasons why LA Rams RB Xavier Jones can become red zone rusher

The LA Rams will need to run a three-down running back as their baseline offense, and the 5-foot-11 208-pound Jones is the biggest back on the block. That is not to say that the LA Rams will not rotate any number of running backs in 2021, much like the team employed in 2020. But the team will need to give this now-shaken offense a bit of normalcy. Xavier Jones, and his unstoppable ability to find the end zone, can be that baseline.

It’s unsettling to learn that the offense that everyone was being sold is already an impossibility for the 2021 season. If you feel a bit disappointed, it’s a normal and expected human reaction to disappointing news. But even in the darkest moments, we pull through by facing the light of optimism and hope. Nobody knows if Xavier Jones can be that guy because he has never carried the football in an NFL game. But he impressed head coach Sean McVay. Even more impressive, he impressed defensive lineman Aaron Donald.

Now he may have his chance to impress fans. He doesn’t fail in those situations, and there’s no reason to believe he won’t get the job done here.

He only scores touchdowns. That is something the LA Rams need this year.