Rams Fantasy Football Preview: Cam Akers, Darrell Henderson, and Malcolm Brown vie to replace Todd Gurley

Rams training camp will feature a triple threat match for the lead role in Los Angeles.

By Heath Cummings

Jun 25, 2020 at 10:05 am ET • 4 min read

Dale Zanine / USA TODAY Sports

The Rams offense scuffled a bit at the end of 2018, and that carried over into 2019. They weren't bad, but there were long stretches of awkward play, and that led to an offseason of change, with Brandin Cooks and Todd Gurley moved out of the picture. There's plenty of room here for another name to step up — keep an eye on second-half breakout Tyler Higbee. But the most interesting thing about this Rams team will be which of their three running backs earns a feature role. If any of them do.

"We have three running backs. We have three that we really like and that is an honest answer to see how when you start with three important players that you want to give play time to, how it evolves into how many carries or touches or snaps in a game they get is to be determined based on how we're scheming against a certain opponent. How one of the players is playing or has gotten hot or not hot or is banged up or not."
GM Les Snead

2019 Review

Record: 9-7 (11)
PPG: 24.6 (11)
YPG: 374.9 (7)
Pass YPG: 281.2 (4)
Rush YPG: 93.7 (26)
PAPG: 39.5 (3)
RAPG: 25.1 (18)

Relevant Fantasy players

QB Jared Goff QB15
RB Todd Gurley* RB14, Malcolm Brown RB67
WR Cooper Kupp WR4, Robert Woods WR14, Brandin Cooks* WR61
TE Tyler Higbee TE8, Gerald Everett TE26

Number to know: 15.9%

Just 15.9% of the Rams targets (or 5.4 per game) went to tight ends in 2017 and 2018. Even the first half of 2019 saw the Rams using more three-wide receiver sets and sending fewer targets to tight ends. Then the Higbee explosion happened. Over the final five games, Higbee and Woods accounted for 53% of Jared Goff's pass attempts and Kupp saw his target share plummet. This makes it difficult to forecast Rams target share for 2020.

2020 Offseason

Draft Picks

2. (52) Cam Akers, RB
2. (57) Van Jefferson, WR
3. (84) Terrell Lewis, LB
3. (104) Terrell Burgess, S
4. (136) Brycen Hopkins, TE
6. (199) Jordan Fuller, S
7. (234) Clay Johnston, LB
7. (248) Sam Sloman, K
7. (250) Tremayne Anchrum, G

Additions

NT A'Shawn Robinson, LB Leonard Floyd

Key Departures

RB Todd Gurley, WR Brandin Cooks, LB Cory Littleton, LB Dante Fowler, K Greg Zuerlein, CB Nickell Robey-Coleman, LB Clay Matthews

Available Opportunity

223 running back carries, 49 running back targets, 77 wide receiver targets

Rankings and Projections

Player	Jamey Eisenberg	Dave Richard	Heath Cummings
Jared Goff	QB16	QB16	QB15
Cam Akers	RB22	RB22	RB34
Darrell Henderson	RB47	RB42	RB47
Malcolm Brown	N/R	N/R	RB59
Cooper Kupp	WR12	WR7	WR11
Robert Woods	WR14	WR14	WR19
Tyler Higbee	TE7	TE5	TE10
Rams DST	DST9	DST3	DST7

	Heath Cummings' projections
QB	Jared Goff	4,381 YD, 27 TD, 13 INT; 105 Rush YD, 2 TD
RB	Cam Akers	877 YD, 7 TD; 8 REC, 61 YD, 0 TD
RB	Darrell Henderson	342 YD, 3 TD; 32 REC, 268 YD, 2 TD
RB	Malcolm Brown	325 YD, 4 TD; 4 REC, 27 YD, 0 TD
WR	Robert Woods	133 TAR, 85 REC, 1,078 YD, 5 TD
WR	Cooper Kupp	127 TAR, 87 REC, 1,146 YD, 8 TD
WR	Josh Reynolds	63 TAR, 32 REC, 437 YD, 3 TD
TE	Tyler Higbee	86 TAR, 61 REC, 657 YD, 5 TD
TE	Gerald Everett	40 TAR, 25 REC, 266 YD, 3 TD

Biggest Question

How do the Rams replace Todd Gurley?

"Los Angeles took Florida State's Cam Akers in the second round, and he joins 2019 third-round pick Darrell Henderson and veteran Malcolm Brown in what could be a three-man attack. Akers figures to lead the charge, and his size/speed combo and receiving production in college suggest a three-down profile. That would be fantastic for Fantasy, but it won't be easy to overcome two challengers in a shortened offseason." - Ben Gretch

Two sleepers and a bust

Sleeper

Darrell Henderson Jr. RB

LAR L.A. Rams • #27
Age: 26 • Experience: 5 yrs.

2019 Stats
RUYDS 147	REC 4	REYDS 37	TD 0	FPTS/G 1.6

Sleeper

Malcolm Brown RB

LAR L.A. Rams • #41
Age: 31 • Experience: 8 yrs.

2019 Stats
RUYDS 255	REC 2	REYDS 16	TD 5	FPTS/G 4.1

Bust

Cam Akers RB

HOU Houston • #31
Age: 25 • Experience: 4 yrs.

Prospect Profile
2020 NFL Draft 52nd overall (Round 2)	Height 5-10	Weight 217	40 time 4.47

Hopefully reading through this preview you've seen that there's a high degree of uncertainty regarding the Rams running backs. Because if you only looked at ADP, you'd have no idea. Early NFC ADP shows Akers (53.4) being drafted 70 spots before Henderson (123.1) with Brown a mere afterthought (232.7). So while we projected Akers to have more production, there's little doubt who the better values are.

Even the most ardent Akers supporter will acknowledge that the shortened offseason hampers his chances of winning a feature job before Week 1. In fact, a majority of people agree that Akers is unlikely to lead the Rams in touches over the first month of the season. If they're correct then there's little doubt Akers will be cheaper to acquire via trade in September than he is in July and August.

Even if you think Akers can win early down work in training camp, there's a growing sentiment that the Rams intend to use all three backs with Henderson taking third downs and Brown working in short yardage. This is a team that only ran for 3.7 yards per carry in 2019 and didn't improve its offensive line. Akers does not have a chance at justifying his ADP solely based on rushing production, especially if Brown is stealing touchdowns.

If Akers' ADP falls into Round 7 he'll be a worthwhile gamble, even with all the concerns listed above. But for now if you really want a piece of this backfield, you're much better off spending a pair of double-digit round picks on Henderson and Brown. If one of them hits, it's all profit.