Does Cam Akers have a 1000+ yard season in him for 2023?

Did you know? LA Rams RB Cam Akers is a modern-day medical miracle.

There are not many NFL football players who can suffer a ruptured Achilles Tendon injury, and yet manage to return to compete at the same level after recovering from that injury as before the injury happened. For an NFL running back, an Achilles Tendon injury can be a career ender. While the body can heal, and the functionality of the ankle, muscles, and connective tissues be medically restored, the runner must learn how to trust his own body once more in order to make those plants, pivots, and push-offs with both feet to become a dangerous runner once more.

The radical surgery that LA Rams runner Cam Akers allowed the player to be medically cleared to return to the sport that he loves so much, football, in less than one year's time. But healing for an Achilles Tendon injury does not end with a medical clearance to compete is given. In many ways, that is the start of a much more sinister and deeper process of healing. Cam Akers had to learn how to become an explosive runner once again.

In the final three games of the 2022 NFL season, he not only learned how to be an explosive runner again. He went out and did so, behind a makeshift offensive line that has little experience in blocking as a cohesive unit. But for the determined Akers, that did not matter. That surge seemed to placate the fears that the Rams and Akers could not coexist. Not only can they, but Akers has returned to the best form of his NFL career.

One thing is certain, Cam Akers has the chops to be Rams RB in 2023

The LA Rams have a lot of uncertainty over 2023 right now. A roster of 44 played under contract just days before the NFL Draft tends to leave a lot of questions rushing to mind. A more standard way of building an NFL roster in the days leading up to the draft is to fill all of the holes in the starting roster with free agents, and then use the draft to select the best and most talented players to compete for playing time throughout training camp.

Right now, the LA Rams project to enter the 2023 NFL Draft with a significant number of holes in the starting lineup. Whether those are intended or ideal conditions for the Rams draft strategy, it's where the Rams find themselves. One silver lining to it all? No matter who falls on the board to the Rams when the team makes a selection, the Rams roster has an open spot for whichever position that player will play in the NFL

But even with so many roster holes, Cam Akers certainly put his claim on the 2023 featured running back position with three consecutive 100 yard games to close out the 2022 NFL season. That should be enough to carry over to the 2023 NFL season and place him atop the Rams depth chart. Can he translate all of that into a 1000 yard season? I think so, yes.

Not to mention that RB Cam Akers is very accomplished at pass blocking as well.

If Cam Akers is healthy for all 17 games this season, and the Rams do not abandon the running game, Akers simply needs to average 59 yards per game to hit the 1000 yard rushing mark. If he averages just 4.0 yards per rush, that equates to an average of 15 carries per game. Even in the Rams pass-happy offensive system, that all seems doable.

Of course, there are plenty of unknown factors that will have a significant impact in Akers 2023 performance. How effective will the Rams offensive line be? How much competition for carries will Akers face this season? Will the Rams run a balanced offense, or will the team go full bore into a pass-centric offensive gameplan?

Still in the face of all that is unknown, I like the chances of Akers delivering this season. The Rams need some dependable performers, and Akers proved to me that he can be that guy for the Rams offense this season.