At the end of every fantasy football season, there seems to be multiple players on every championship roster. Some of these players are the usual suspects, picked in the early rounds of each draft. But there are usually at least a handful of late-arriving players during the draft season who were late or not selected in most standard formats.
We like to call these players “League Winners”. League winners are the low-cost players who produce more for fantasy managers than their cost during drafts suggested. It can be household names like Cooper Kupp or Deebo Samuel who have exploded on the scene with breakout seasons, or it can be players like Cordarrelle Patterson who haven’t even been drafted yet.
Being able to identify these players can put you in a position to win your league. Our very own Andrew Erickson recently took a look at 10 potential league winners for the 2022 fantasy football season.
Cam Akers (RB – LAR)
There is just too much emphasis on Cam Akers’ poor performance at the end of 2021 (2.4 ypc) amid a juggernaut of tough run defense that no Rams RB could run efficiently against. 95% of his 2021 rushing yards came by contact — the highest mark in the NFL.
Touch volume is the key factor in fantasy running back success. In the Rams’ divisional playoff win over the Buccaneers, Akers played 81% of Los Angeles’ offensive snaps, beating Sony Michel (signed with Miami this offseason) 27-3.
My expectation is that Akers will be dialed back in as the top RB next season in Sean McVay’s consistent 1-RB offense, where the team’s lead back is averaging more than 20 touches per game. Darrell Henderson Jr. proved he’s nothing more than a replaceable running back.
Not to mention, Akers has a cake batter of softrun defenses to open the season: Bills, Falcons and Cardinals. It won’t be long before Akers pays off his early round 4 ADP in a high-profile offense.
– Andrew Erickson
Check out more Cam Akers Fantasy Tips >>
2022 Fantasy Football Staff Consensus Rankings
2022 Fantasy Football Rankings powered by FantasyPros
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