View photos Albert Corona/Yahoo Sports More

45. Florida State RB Cam Akers

5-foot-10, 217 pounds

Yahoo Sports draft grade: 5.93 — starter potential

TL;DR scouting report: Three-down back with pop and shake who would have thrived behind a better offensive line.

The skinny: Akers was a 5-star Rivals recruit and the No. 3 overall prospect in the Class of 2017. He picked Florida State over Alabama.

Akers played immediately, rushing for 1,024 yards (breaking FSU’s freshman rushing record held by Dalvin Cook) and seven touchdowns on 194 carries. In 2018, Akers’ numbers dipped — 706 rush yards and six touchdowns, also fumbling five times in 12 games.

He rebounded with a strong final season for the Seminoles, rushing for 1,144 yards and 14 TDs on 231 carries, and catching 30 passes for 225 yards and four touchdowns. He earned second-team All-ACC and tied for fourth on FSU’s single-season list with 18 touchdowns.

Akers, who turns 21 in June, skipped his team’s bowl game and declared early for the 2020 NFL draft. He was a standout at the NFL scouting combine in the workouts and the positional drills, but didn’t run the 3-cone drill or 60-yard shuttle.

Upside: Thickly built, compact frame made for inside running. Grinds through contact with strong lower body. Great contact balance and toughness in the hole — fans through arm tackles and rarely goes down immediately on north-south runs when working through the line of scrimmage.

Showed pop in finishing runs — excellent power and explosion, even if it wasn’t readily shown on tape under duress in 2019. Determined goal-line runner — seldom denied when he sniffs the end zone. Still plenty of tread on the tires with 655 touches in three seasons but also showed (three games in 2019 with 32 or more touches) that he can be a workhorse.

Nice lateral juke ability — can jump cut and pivot with good suddenness. Flashes a spin move that can freeze back-seven defenders in space. Credited by PFF with 76 avoided tackles on 231 rush attempts, which was among the best rates in college football last season. Doesn’t require gear downshift when he cuts.

True three-down potential with time. Improved as pass blocker over career — willing to take on blitzing linebackers and free rushers. Made the most of a basic route tree as receiver — found ways to generate yards on dump-offs, screens. Dropped passes usually the result of hurried or off-target throws. Sets up blockers well on screens and swing passes and usually makes most of his chances.

Watch as he took a nice angle here on the swing pass against Miami and tightroped the sideline for a score:

View photos Watch Akers take a great route to the end zone. More

Held back in QB-poor offense since 2017 and hemmed in too often behind poor offensive line past two seasons. According to PFF, FSU had the fourth-lowest-graded power-5 run blocking unit in 2019. Hit in backfield on runs before he got going nearly every game past two years.

Lined up as “wildcat” QB, slot receiver, wide receiver and put in motion. High school QB who can be used on trick passes — 5-for-8 passing for 97 yards in his career, and 4-of-6 (with a dropped pass) for 50 yards in 2019. Perfect fit in a man-blocking scheme but could work in zone system, too.

Downside: Vision is a question — often tried to make things happen that weren’t there. Patience varies — sometimes too much, sometimes not enough. Presses the issue or rips off cuts into a crowd. Fair to question how well he sees blocks develop. Didn’t hit many home runs last year.