Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams tends to be a divisive figure among fantasy football analysts, but a lot of people from outside the fantasy football space probably look at his numbers and think "why don't these fantasy nerds like him?"
Well, primarily, it's because of stats like this one:
Kyren Williams might have productive numbers, but his lack of big plays is something that should worry Rams fans.
At the same time, being productive without big plays might make other Rams fans think, "well, that just means there's room for him to add some breakaway runs and up his production."
See? Divisive.
Kyren Williams and the struggle to breakaway
Kyren Williams rushed for 1,299 yards and 14 touchdowns last season. It was one of the most productive seasons among NFL running backs, but if you dig beyond the raw numbers, there are some worrying signs.
For one, Williams saw his overall yards per attempt from 5.0 to 4.1 yards last season. His average yards per game also tumbled from 95.3 in 2023 — a mark that led the NFL — to 81.2 in 2024.
Williams made his living in 2024 because of volume. Essentially, he got the ball so much that he was bound to produce yardage, but he lacked the kind of big-play ability that you want from your team's running back.
According to PlayerProfiler, Williams ranked first among running backs in snap share and second in opportunity share. However, he was only 47th among running backs in yards per touch and 32nd in breakaway runs.
See, that production was kind of a mirage. Williams is a solid NFL running back, but he's not particularly efficient, and he's not a home run threat.
Of course, the flip side of this is that Williams was productive despite a lack of big plays, so theoretically he could take a huge leap if he's able to figure out how to actually run away from defenders. You can't teach speed, but you can teach vision, patience, angles — basically all the other stuff that goes into finding holes in the defense and escaping into the second and third level.
Is Kyren Williams' job as the Rams No. 1 running back safe?
Here's something else that should worry Rams fans: there's not really anyone poised to replace him on the roster, so if the big plays don't develop, and he takes even a small step back in terms of his red-zone touches, Williams could see his production drop off without Los Angeles really having a way to fix the run game if that happens.
Maybe Blake Corum, last year's third-round pick, could step up, but that would require Sean McVay to very quickly up his trust level in the Michigan product. Corum had just 58 carries as a rookie, and he was even less efficient than Williams, finishing with 3.6 yards per carry.
The team drafted Jarquez Hunter in the fourth round, but more than likely the Rams run game will live and die by Kyren Williams in 2025. And if he continues to fail at creating big plays, it's likely that the Los Angeles rushing attack will take a step back this upcoming season.