Kyren Williams didn’t exactly get off to a roaring start in the NFL. As a rookie, he broke his foot during OTAs and then suffered a high-ankle sprain in Week 1, causing him to miss significant time during the offseason and then seven games during the regular season.
As a fifth-round rookie, expectations were low to begin with, but Williams endured some adversity early on in his career.
Since then, however, he’s been one of the most productive backs in football. He had 1,144 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns in 2023 despite missing five games, leading the NFL with an average of 95.3 yards per game.
This year, he’s rushed for 1,013 yards and 12 touchdowns, giving him back-to-back seasons with at least 1,000 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns. As uncovered by J.B. Long of the Rams, Williams is the first running back since Adrian Peterson in 2007-2009 to have at least two seasons of 1,000-plus rushing yards and 12-plus rushing touchdowns in his first three years.
Kyren Williams is the first back to have multiple campaigns with 1K rushing yards & 12+ rushing TDs within his first three career seasons since Adrian Peterson.
(h/t NFL Research) pic.twitter.com/nw6udntahw
— J.B. Long (@JB_Long) December 11, 2024
That’s impressive enough, but when you dig even further, you see just how rare Williams’ start to his career has been.
According to Stathead, only 16 players in NFL history have ever had two seasons of 1,000 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns in their first three seasons. Three players accomplished it in all three years: Barry Sanders, Eric Dickerson and Earl Campbell, all of whom are Hall of Famers.
Of the other 13 players who accomplished it twice, seven of them are Hall of Famers, and that doesn’t include Peterson, who’s a future Hall of Famer.
That makes 10 Hall of Famers out of the 14 who are eligible for Canton.
| Rk | Player | Count ▼ |
From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barry Sanders | 3 | 1989 | 1991 |
| 2 | Eric Dickerson | 3 | 1983 | 1985 |
| 3 | Earl Campbell | 3 | 1978 | 1980 |
| 4 | Kyren Williams | 2 | 2023 | 2024 |
| 5 | Adrian Peterson | 2 | 2007 | 2009 |
| 6 | LaDainian Tomlinson | 2 | 2002 | 2003 |
| 7 | Clinton Portis | 2 | 2002 | 2003 |
| 8 | Shaun Alexander | 2 | 2001 | 2002 |
| 9 | Edgerrin James | 2 | 1999 | 2000 |
| 10 | Fred Taylor | 2 | 1998 | 2000 |
| 11 | Terrell Davis | 2 | 1996 | 1997 |
| 12 | Curtis Martin | 2 | 1995 | 1996 |
| 13 | Emmitt Smith | 2 | 1991 | 1992 |
| 14 | Billy Sims | 2 | 1980 | 1981 |
| 15 | Walter Payton | 2 | 1976 | 1977 |
| 16 | Jim Brown | 2 | 1958 | 1959 |
Williams doesn’t always get praise as one of the top running backs in the league but there’s no denying how productive he’s been in his first three years with the Rams. And if not for injuries in his rookie season, he’d have even better numbers than he already does.
