Can LA Rams RB Cam Akers bounce back in 2022?

Can Cam run for the Rams?

Can you imagine how explosive the Rams’ offense can be with a solid running attack this year? When Akers returned to the Rams offense during the playoff run, he appeared to be extremely explosive. He immediately took carries away from Sony Michel, jumping him at the lead running back.

But by all accounts, Akers did not put up impressive stats throughout the playoffs. He never averaged better than 3.69 yards per rush. Even when he carried the football 24 times against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he only managed to put up 48 yards. Sony Michel was far more effective against the Arizona Cardinals, averaging an impressive 4.46 yards per rush. But even he failed to deliver, putting up just 13 rushes for 22 yards over the next three games.

The LA Rams Super Bowl victory was pretty much thanks to the passing of Matthew Stafford and the receiving of Odell Beckham Jr., Cooper Kupp, and to a lesser extent the one-hit-wonder of tight-end Brycen Hopkins.

We know that the offense had plenty of optimism coming out of the 2020 NFL Playoffs over the rushing attack. The Rams combination of Cam Akers, Malcolm Brown, and Darrell Henderson Jr. truly became a three-headed monster averaged 126.1 yards per game, good enough to vault to the 10th-ranked rushing offense in the NFL. But by 2021? That average plummeted to 99.0 yards per game and the 25th-ranked rushing offense in the NFL.

The LA Rams never seemed to find any identity at running the football until late in the season. And even then, the team was a bit of a paper tiger.  The offense generated enough ground yardage during the regular season to win games late, but it all fell apart in the postseason.  Cam Akers did not deliver for the team in the playoffs. Now, can he do so in 2022?