Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson Fantasy Outlooks Unsettled After Surprising Week 1 Split

Updated: Sep 10, 5:00pm UTC

One of the most surprising outcomes in Week 1 from a fantasy football perspective had to be the Los Angeles Rams' backfield snap counts. Darrell Henderson dominated touches as Cam Akers spent his time on the sideline. Moving forward, no one truly knows what head coach Sean McVay is going to do.

Darrell Henderson Fantasy Outlook

Henderson finished Week 1 with 47 rushing yards on 13 carries and 26 receiving yards on 5 catches. He notably played in 82% of the offensive snaps, while Akers appeared in only 18% of the offensive snaps. It surely looked like Henderson was the guy McVay trusted to get the job done on the field.

The only problem was that Henderson's 3.6 yards per carry left a lot to be desired and the Rams were shut out in the second half of a 31-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills. The 25-year-old has a shot to bounce back against an Atlanta Falcons defense that allowed a league-high 7.9 yards per carry in Week 1.

For now, Henderson checks in as the No. 22 RB in The Duel's Week 2 PPR fantasy football rankings.

Cam Akers Fantasy Outlook

McVay said after Week 1's game that Akers needs to "maximize his opportunities." It was a significant comment considering Akers and Henderson split first-team reps throughout training camp. McVay came back this week saying "I love the way he’s responded," in reference to Akers in practice.

Everyone already knows what Henderson brings to the table, but Akers likely hasn't hit his ceiling yet. One bad game from Henderson and Akers could see double-digit touches again.

This is obviously a situation worth monitoring for fantasy managers. If you roster either Henderson or Akers, the best move is to stay pat and see what happens. Making a trade now could prove costly.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.