Cam

Akers

Aaron Jones, meanwhile, had five rushing attempts to go along with four targets. Akers, who had 26 rushes over the three games coming into Week 13, has eaten into Jones’ role, though he is not a fantasy option himself. Akers should be rostered in most 12-team leagues in case Jones misses time in the final month of the season.

Jones was benched for the better part of two quarters after fumbling twice in the first quarter, losing one of the fumbles to Arizona. Cam Akers had four rushing attempts to Jones’ five in a game that saw Sam Darnold throw 31 passes. Jones’ playing time and involvement in the Vikings offense has been shaky of late. On Sunday, he ran a route on just 18 of the team’s 41 drop backs and saw four targets, fourth most among Vikings pass catchers. Akers’ involvement and Jones’ fumbling issues will make him a decent RB2/3 option in Week 14 against the Falcons, though the upside he had early in the season appears to be gone.

Akers entered the week with 26 touches on a near 1B role over his past two appearances. Aaron Jones put plenty of space between himself and Akers versus the Bears with 22 carries to Akers’ three. He also caught three balls while Akers reeled in his only target for a six-yard gain. Akers remains the clear backup to Jones but doesn’t have standalone fantasy value heading into Week 13.

Akers’ stats may not be overly impressive, but the workload was certainly something to watch. Jones didn’t leave the game with any injuries, but Akers just took on more work than we’ve seen in the past. He’s worth adding if you have Aaron Jones just in case this turns into more of a committee as the team looks to keep Jones fresh.

Akers’ 14 touches as Ty Chandler handled four confirmed Akers’ standing as Aaron Jones’ new primary backup. The importance of that status was driven home in the second half when Jones departed with a chest injury, though he quickly returned to finish the contest. We’ll see how Jones is feeling once the adrenaline wears off, though he should be good to go for Week 11 against the Titans. Akers remains a contingency back of questionable ceiling since he and Chandler would become committee partners in the event Jones missed time.

Akers appears to have staged a takeover of Ty Chandler’s backup role, with Chandler not seeing a single offensive snap to Akers’ 16. Aaron Jones is always banged up and has dealt with a hip injury multiple times this year. Does this mean that Akers is one wrong Jones turn away from real fantasy value in the Kevin O’Connell offense? It sure seems like he’d at least be the main back on running downs in a committee. He’s a deep-league speculative pickup.

This is the second season in a row the Vikings have traded for Cam Akers, who has 40 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown this season. This indicates Aaron Jones (hip) may still be feeling the effects of the hip injury he suffered in Week 5, though he was practicing on Monday. Akers adds depth to a backfield with Ty Chandler as the primary backup.

The Texans and fantasy managers continue to await the return of Mixon, who was once believed to have a chance to play in Week 4. Mixon will reportedly meet with trainers after practice to determine whether or not he’ll have a chance to play in Week 6 against the Patriots. We’ll wait with bated breath for the decision, but if he’s unable to go, we could be looking at another week of Cam Akers and Dare Ogunbowale splitting touches.

Mixon was seen at Houston practice for the first time in almost two weeks after possibly suffering a setback to the ankle injury he picked up in Week 2. Even a couple limited practices to end the week would likely put Mixon on track to start in Week 6 against the Patriots. Cam Akers could mix in if Mixon is not 100 percent recovered from his injury.

Pierce missed Week 5 with the hamstring issue but returned to practice on Friday. He was a limited participant and was given a questionable tag, though he never looked likely to suit up on Sunday. We will assume he was limited in Wednesday’s practice as well. With Joe Mixon still on the sidelines, Pierce could serve as Houston’s top back if he is able to play this week. He is worth an add in most fantasy leagues, though we would project this backfield as a committee in Pierce’s first game back.