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After watching the AFC East pull off a pair of trades for top-tier wide receivers, the Houston Texans boldly declared that the South had something to say as well, shipping fifth-year running back Cam Akers to the Minnesota Vikings alongside a 2026 conditional seventh-round pick for a 2026 conditional sixth-round pick.
The move, reported by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, reunited Akers with the Vikings, who he ultimately played six games for last season to admirable success.
Originally drafted in the second round out of Florida State by the Los Angeles Rams, Akers has had a tough road to NFL relevancy following an exciting start in Inglewood, tearing his Achilles in 2021 and again in 2024 to end exciting seasons prematurely. Back in action for the Texans in 2024, Akers looked just as productive as his 2023 efforts in Minnesota, rushing for a near-identical 3.7 yards per carry while recording the same number of touchdowns on only two more carries.
Now inserted onto a Vikings team that could use an uptick in production on the ground, especially with Aaron Jones dealing with a hip injury, it will be incredibly interesting to see how Akers works his way back into Kevin O'Connell's offense, not to mention how he will work alongside new quarterback Sam Darnold, who wasn't with the team last season. If they immediately hit the ground running? Great, the Vikings should take a step in the right direction and ease the weekly burden on Darnold. And at worst? Well, Akers would just be another body, producing on-par production with Ty Chandler, which is fine too. Either way, for a pick swap? That's good value for Minnesota.
The Vikings run game hasn't been particularly efficient in 2024
Through the first six weeks of the 2024 NFL season, 22 other teams have averaged more yards-per-carry than the Vikings on the ground, with Minnesota only averaging 4.1 yards-per-carry on the ground.
On paper, that number isn't terrible, as it should still set the team up for third-and-manageable situations and get a first down if the team runs in three straight times, but consider that Jones on his own is averaging 4.9 yards per carry, that means every other running back on the team is averaging under four yards-per-carry, with Chandler holding the high-water mark at 3.8
Even if Akers isn't what you would call an efficiency demon, as his 3.7 yards-per-carry is ugly too, he presents a different look to opposing defenses that may prove hard to handle depending on how O'Connell decides to vary his attack and could produce even greater outcomes moving forward should he benefit from a different run blocking scheme.
