Time to add another national NFL analyst who is a strong believer in Cam Akers breaking out this season.
Maurice Moton of Bleacher Report released his predictions of NFL statistical leaders for 2021 on July 1, and Moton has picked the NFL’s rushing touchdown leader to come from the Los Angeles Rams:
🔘Passing yards
Dak
🔘Passing TD
Josh Allen
🔘Rushing yards
Dalvin
🔘Rushing TD
Cam Akers
🔘Rec yards
DK
🔘Receiving TD
D-Hop
🔘Yards from scrimmage
Kamara
🔘Sacks
Myles Garrett
🔘Interceptions
JC Jackson
Moton joins Adam Schein of Sirius XM Radio and CBS Sports as NFL analysts who have predicted a huge sophomore campaign from the former Florida State Seminole, with Schein going on nfl.com encouraging NFL fans to hop on the Akers’ bandwagon on June 8.
How Many Touchdowns for Akers?
Moton calls for 15 end zone trips for Akers between September and January.
And the man Moton says will trail behind Akers? League rushing leader Derrick Henry, who led the NFL with 17 touchdowns through the ground game last year.
While the Rams saw six different players score through the ground attack in 2020, no Rams RB scored past five rushing touchdowns. Darrell Henderson and Malcolm Brown tied for the team lead with both scoring five TD’s.
Todd Gurley was the last Rams backfield star to produce double-digit ground-based touchdowns, scoring 12 in that realm in 2019.
Despite an injury-plagued rookie season, Akers still managed to lead the Rams in two major running categories: Carries and yards. Plus, his 171-yard night against the New England Patriots flashed his true potential.
Teamwork makes the dream work.
All-22: @Andy_Benoit breaks down how the Rams blocking led to a big night for Cam Akers.
Here’s an excerpt of what Moton wrote in his Akers’ prediction:
“Sean McVay doesn’t intend to place boundaries on Cam Akers, who led the Los Angeles Rams’ tri-headed backfield in carries (145) and yards (625) despite playing in just 13 games last season. The Rams head coach raved about Akers’ versatile skill set to Kevin Modesti of the Los Angeles Daily News in early June, saying: “He’s obviously a great runner, but he’s got ability as a pass-catcher coming from the backfield, and we can displace him and put him in the slot or the outside receiver location. There’s not any limitations, but we’ll see how it comes to life.”
Why Akers Will Top the Rushing TD Mark
So why Akers instead of the likes of Henry, Alvin Kamara of the New Orleans Saints or fellow FSU Seminole Dalvin Cook? Especially since the two aforementioned NFC stars tied for the conference lead last year with 16 rushing scores?
Moton said with the Rams doing some roster altering that “the second-year running back has a clear pathway to a heavy workload on the ground. With Malcolm Brown’s departure, Akers and Darrell Henderson Jr. will likely share a majority of the touches out of the backfield.”
But the changes in personnel isn’t the only reason why Moton and B/R is high on Akers. Moton traced back to Akers’ Seminole days as proof that he’s an instinctive runner in finding his way past the goal line, writing:
“He’s also shown a nose for the end zone. In his final collegiate season at Florida State, Akers recorded 14 rushing touchdowns even while posting 30 receptions. The Rams can depend on him to finish drives. Meanwhile, Matthew Stafford hasn’t thrown for 30 or more touchdowns in a season since 2015. Akers will score one more touchdown that Henry, whose workload could dip after he logged a whopping 681 rushing attempts over the past two years.”
By the way, Moton has Cook, who was the predecessor to Akers in Tallahassee, leading the NFL in rushing yards with 1,678.
So Moton and B/R is predicting an FSU takeover in the most prominent running back categories. But Moton is the latest believer in the L.A. Ram.
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Rams Playmaker Predicted to Lead NFL in Major Category, Analyst Says