A running back trade is on the table.
Jonathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts is just not for it.
On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Rams traded Cam Akers to the Minnesota Vikings for essentially the lowest price imaginable: a swap of a conditional late-round pick for one that will be taken three years from now.
Akers, who was selected by the Rams in the second round of the 2020 draft, has run 360 times for an average of 4.0 yards.
But since a trade is a trade, let’s dissect it and assign grades to the deal for both teams.
As we always say, general managers aren’t granted the luxury of looking back, so we shouldn’t either.
Let’s evaluate the deal in light of the knowledge we have at the moment and attempt to determine which team won it.
Vikings receive RB Cam Akers in a trade from the Rams.
Conditional sixth-round pick in 2026 goes to the Rams.
The Vikings receive Akers and a conditional seventh-round pick in 2026.
B+ is the grade for the Vikings.
Akers’ career had already been a letdown before the trade, both in terms of his performance on the field and due to a right Achilles injury that cost him the majority of the 2021 season.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, he had negative rush yards over expectation (RYOE) on the field each season of his career.
With only 27 regular-season receptions and one touchdown, he doesn’t contribute much in the receiving game.
What accounts for the B+ in this instance?
He will face competition for playing time in Minnesota from Alexander Mattison, the Vikings’ starting running back, who has carried the ball 19 times for 62 yards this year.
In 2021, 2022, and through the first two games of this season, he had negative RYOE. Akers had a minus-14 RYOE and Mattison a minus-42 during the previous campaign.
Akers offers a sliver of hope because his performance increased as he recovered from his Achilles injury.
He had a plus-33 RYOE starting in Week 10 of the previous campaign.
An improvement over Mattison might be Akers.
The cost is at its absolute minimum in this instance. Paying practically nothing to acquire a starter-caliber player seems perfectly acceptable.
The Vikings’ decision to add Cam Akers and Dalton Risner.
Akers and Risner are explained by Kevin Seifert for the Vikings.
For the Rams, a B- is assigned.
For all the reasons I listed above, I wasn’t optimistic about Akers’ potential to have a big impact for the Rams.
L. A.
After Akers missed Week 2 due to illness, head coach Sean McVay stated that the team was “headed” toward trading for him.
I’m just as perplexed as everyone else, Akers wrote on X before the game on Sunday. Akers also spent some time away from the team during the 2017 season as it explored trade possibilities before coming back.
It was somewhat unexpected how things turned out for Akers and the Rams after McVay forced-fed him during the team’s 2021 Super Bowl run, despite his ineffectiveness after returning from his injury.
In those four postseason games, he ran just 67 times for 172 yards, no touchdowns, and two fumbles.
With Akers out of the picture, Kyren Williams firmly establishes his position as the Rams’ starting running back, which already seemed to be the case. Williams has produced impressive fantasy numbers, scoring four touchdowns in just two games, but his effectiveness has been below par. He is only gaining 3.6 yards on average per carry, and his RYOE is minus 14.
Before he was a healthy scratch a week ago, it’s possible that the Rams could have gotten a little bit more for Akers.
However, other teams are aware of his ineffective rushing.