The Los Angeles Rams quietly have one of the most productive running backs in the NFL in Pro Bowler Kyren Williams.
Despite what he has done so far, Williams also remains somewhat under the radar. Heading into the 2026 season, Williams is clearly someone opposing teams must game plan for, lest the dual-threat playmaker turn a contest on its ear in the Rams’ favor.
Moreover, Williams is not the only threat out of the Rams’ backfield.
Rams’ Kyren Williams Gets Recognition Amid Rankings Snub
GettyKyren Williams has been highly productive for the Los Angeles Rams.
The Rams selected Williams in the fifth round with the 154th overall pick of the 2022 draft, and he has been LA’s full-time starting tailback since Week 2 of the 2023 season when he earned Pro Bowl honors. In that span, Williams ranks sixth in rushing yards, per Stathead.
He only received an “honorable mention” in ESPN’s poll of NFL executives, coaches, and scouts on the top 10 running backs in the NFL, but is respected as an impactful player.
An unnamed NFL coordinator called Williams “really underrated.”
“Productive, tough as s—, runs hard, brings the juice, has improved as a pass catcher and really good in protection,” the coordinator said, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on July 6. “Just doesn’t have the high-end traits of some of the others.”
Williams is not the biggest back in the league, but he is not undersized, either, listed at 5-foot-9 and 207 pounds on the Rams’ official website.
Still, he has long been profiled as someone who would be at his best in a multi-faceted role.
Rams Have Yet to Maximize RB1
GettyThe Los Angeles Rams could make better use of Kyren Williams’ skill set.
NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein projected Williams as a sixth- or seventh-round pick in the 2022 draft. That would have made the Rams’ selection a reach, but Williams has proven otherwise.
“Williams has been a worker bee with a willingness to do the heavy lifting on all three downs and has premium third-down talent both in blitz pickup and as a route-runner out of the backfield,” Zierlein wrote ahead of the 2022 draft. “The Patriots’ usage of James White, Dion Lewis and Brandon Bolden might be the blueprint for how to utilize Williams in the NFL.”
And yet, Williams ranks 29th among running backs in receiving yards over the past three years.
That is an area in which The Athletic’s Nate Atkins argued the Rams could take better advantage of the veteran’s skill set, noting he “isn’t the flashiest,” but produces “consistently.”
“I still think there’s more to tap into here as a receiver,” Atkins wrote on July 1, adding that the Rams “should transfer more of his touches to that department with Blake Corum’s emergence as a second rushing option.”
Rams’ RB2 Emerging
GettyBlake Corum emerged for the Los Angeles Rams in 2025.
If there is a threat to Williams sustaining his recent run with the Rams, it is Corum, the 83rd overall pick of the 2024 draft, who lacks the vet’s receiving chops but is just as tough a runner.
“Corum’s growth was mighty impressive last season,” Atkins wrote. “He’s found a great feel for the run game, and another step as a receiver and pass protector could pull him close to a 50-50 split with Williams.”
Heading into the season, Williams and Corum rank as the top RB duo, per CBS Sports.
“Williams and Corum became the first teammates since at least 1950 to string together three consecutive games in which both tallied 70 rushing yards and a touchdown, according to league research,” CBS Sports’ Carter Bahns wrote in March. “They work together perfectly. Pairing these two with Matthew Stafford and Puka Nacua is just unfair, but that’s the firepower it takes to compete in the NFC West nowadays.
Jarquez Hunter, a fourth-round pick in 2025, and undrafted free agents Ronnie Rivers, Jordan Waters, and rookie UDFA Dean Connors are all expected to have bit roles at best.
Hunter and Rivers are the most likely players to crack the 53-man roster, but the Rams’ backfield belongs to Williams and Corum. The distribution of touches looms as something worth monitoring in 2026.
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