New OC pumps tires

Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell praised Akers' determination as a runner and ability to create yardage on his own, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports. "You really saw the amount of personal grit and determination," O'Connell said of Akers' time at Florida State. "He was running against of loaded looks...you see the upside -- I think it was a great running back draft, there was a lot of depth there across the board -- but for us, and for me personally with Cam, just watching and thinking about where he could possible get to and maximized in our offense, it's really exciting."

Analysis: Though O'Connell acknowledged Akers faces a longer learning curve because of the unconventional 2020 offseason, there aren't many other obstacles in the rookie's path to a significant workload out of the backfield. Malcolm Brown's 197 career carries are the most among current Rams running backs, and 2019 third-round selection Darrell Henderson's disappointing rookie season consisted of just 95 offensive snaps over 13 games.