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Cam Akers Trade Grades: Both Vikings and Texans get the same grade by filling areas of need

Cam Akers Trade Grades: Both Vikings and Texans get the same grade by filling areas of need

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USATSI

If you had a nickel for every time the Minnesota Vikings traded for running back Cam Akers, you would have two nickels after the 5-0 NFC North division win was traded for him for the second time in a row on Tuesday. Two nickels isn’t much, but it’s strange that it happened twice.

Which team won the Akers deal, which gives the Vikings depth in their backfield as leadback Aaron Jones looks to return from a Week 5 hip injury in Week 7? Here are our instant notes for the move:

  • Minnesota gets: RB Cam Akers, 2026 conditional seventh-round pick
  • Houston gets: Conditional 2026 sixth-round pick
Headshot of the player

Vikings: B

The move made perfect sense for Minnesota. Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell drafted Akers in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Florida State to be Sean McVay’s offensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Rams. Between their two seasons together in Los Angeles (2020-2021) and three-quarters of a season together last year with the Vikings, the Minnesota offensive lineman has reliable running back depth to rely on while Jones is on the mend .

That’s important because Jones struggled with durability in Green Bay, playing a full regular season of games in just two of his eight years in the NFL (2019 and 2022). He turns 30 on December 2nd, so Akers is there now if there is a need for a starting spot. Ty Chandler, a 2022 fifth-round pick, was next on the running back depth chart, and he has 628 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns on 150 carries over the past three seasons in his career, averaging 4. Equals 2 yards per carry. Chandler has 42 carries for 147 yards and no rushing touchdowns this season.

It’s difficult to fully evaluate Houston because the terms of the picks swapped are currently unknown. However, moving up a round in the draft and in return getting a running back who was, at best, third on the depth chart behind starter Joe Mixon and backup Dameon Pierce is a smart move. It’s also difficult to give Houston incredibly high marks without knowing the eligibility criteria, which is why they got a B.