Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams was a breakout star last season as he quickly supplanted former starter Cam Akers and the stage was set for a huge season.
After a rookie season in which he had just 35 carries for 139 yards in 10 games. At best, he was viewed as a handcuff for Akers — until a strong training camp led to Williams winning the starting job and never looking back. In 12 games, he had 228 carries for 1,144 yards, caught 32 passes for 2016 yards, and scored 15 touchdowns. He had 20 or more carries in seven of his final nine games, which was unsurprising given head coach Sean McVay’s history.
McVay has consistently leaned on a lone back to have more than 15 carries a game – and often more than 20. It started with Todd Gurley and transferred to C.J. Anderson, Sony Michel and Akers. Williams earned his turn last season and averaged 19 carries a game.
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The critical factor is that McVay has always had someone waiting in the wings to replace the starter if he fell to injury or was ineffective. This year is no different. Despite Williams’ monster 2023 season, the Rams created a succession plan in the draft, using a third-round pick on Blake Corum from Michigan. Prior to the draft, several analysts drew comparisons of Corum’s skill set to Williams. On film, they looked like the same player in different uniforms. If something were to happen to Williams, the Rams offense wouldn’t have to change dramatically to switch over to Corum.
Expecting something bad happening to Williams isn’t paranoia. It may be inevitable. Williams has missed time in both of his first two seasons with foot and ankle injuries. Running backs with foot/ankle problems rarely have a long shelf life, because the injuries tend to recur over and over again.
Williams missed OTA practices this spring with another foot injury – attributed to his aggressive offseason workout program. That marked the fourth time since joining the NFL just over two years ago that Williams has been slowed with foot issues.
Fantasy football outlook
There are mixed feelings on draft day about handcuffing the top fantasy running back with his backup. Some believe it’s a critical investment, while others think it’s a wasted pick. In the case of Williams, however, there should be more unanimity about making sure whoever ends up with him also lands Corum (even if it means reaching for him).
McVay has built a history of saddling up one run back and riding him until he drops and then doing the same with his replacement. In 2021, Akers missed the entire regular season until the final game, yet had 67 carries in the postseason – more than twice the carries as the other Rams running backs combined.
Coming off his amazing 2023 season, Williams deserves to be an RB1 – some analysts have him as a top-five back. Given Williams’ troubling penchant for foot/ankle injuries, he can’t be counted on to play the entire season, so grabbing Corum as an RB4 – while too high for a backup – not only makes sense, it might be necessary. Only one of them will be the workhorse, but having both of them is required for sustained success.
