Who Should I Start? Austin Ekeler or Cam Akers

Tuesday, August 19, 10:23 AM

Washington Commanders running back Austin Ekeler is still viewed as a "key" piece of the offense, according to Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic. Earlier this week, reports suggested that the Commanders were actively looking to find a trade partner for running back Brian Robinson Jr. During training camp and the opening weeks of the preseason, rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt has flashed immense upside and appears to be in the running to take the starting job over Robinson. Last season, Ekeler served as the primary third-down running back in the offense. While he missed five games, he was rather productive when on the field. During his first 10 games in D.C., Ekeler averaged a solid 12.3 PPR points per game with solid 5.1 YPC. Even if Robinson were to stay on the Commanders, Ekeler would likely have a significant role on passing downs. He is worth a look as a late-round depth RB as he could even carve out a more substantial role if Robinson were to be traded.

Monday, August 25, 1:13 PM

The New Orleans Saints released running back Cam Akers on Monday, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Akers should land on his feet somewhere else after he ran for 444 yards and two touchdown on 104 carries with the Minnesota Vikings and Houston Texans in 17 regular-season games a year ago. He also had 14 catches on 18 targets for 68 yards and three more touchdowns. However, the 26-year-old wasn't able to do enough during training camp and the preseason to carve out a role in the Saints' RB room next to Alvin Kamara, Kendre Miller and rookie Devin Neal. Akers was originally a second-round selection (52nd overall) by the Los Angeles Rams in 2020 out of Florida State. In his five NFL seasons, he' averaged 4.0 yards per carry for 2,2025 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on 502 carries over 53 games (17 starts). Akers is obviously off the fantasy radar right now.