1 NFL Insider shares an update that many Rams fans already feared to be true

The Los Angeles Rams have continued to report that progress is being made along plans to extend featured running back Kyren Williams beyond the 2025 NFL season. You see, this is the final year of his four-year rookie contract, and the team wants him to know that they want him around for the foreseeable future. Perhaps that claim should be caveated with phrasing 'at the right price,' and 'on team-friendly terms,' to be more accurate.

Let's start by admitting that Kyren Williams is a productive running back in this offense. He has broken the 1000+ rushing yards barrier in each of the past two NFL seasons, and even with a running back room packed with talented competition, almost all NFL analysts agree that he will do so again in 2025. The Rams have not had that much dependability in the running back position since former running back Todd Gurley was churning out yards for the Rams.

So just pay him the money, right? It's not as simple as that.

Making progress on complicated contract negotiations is good news, but the Rams have many reasons not to rush into signing an extension with Kyren Williams. After all, the Rams' offense from 2024 cannot be the offense designed for 2025. The Rams were at the bottom of the heap in terms of breaking 20+ yard runs, only getting two big bursts.

Yards per carry dropped significantly in 2024, but fumbles skyrocketed. The Rams ran most of the rushing offense through Kyren Williams last season but did not get much more juice from that extra effort. Perhaps that is why the Rams have continued to add to the running back room with talented teammates to help Williams share the load.

We'll discuss that option in more depth in the future. For now, we have some insight from ESPN's NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler to share. In essence, he surveyed multiple NFL executives, coaches, and scouts to compile a list of the top-rated running backs for the upcoming 2025 NFL season.

So how does the panel of NFL experts view Rams running back Kyren Williams?

NFL executives, coaches, & scouts have differing view of Kyren Williams

Whenever NFL executives, coaches, and scouts are assembled to share their views of an NFL player, it's not going to be biased to NFL Fantasy Football statistics or impacts. Surveys of this type tend to weigh the locker room as heavily as the football field and give a 360-degree perspective about all football scenarios, not just niche roles carved out for that specific player.

Still, RB Kyren Williams clocks in as the 11th-ranked NFL running back in terms of Fantasy Football production, so that has to count for something, right? Well, not in the eyes of the NFL experts.

ESPN's NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler surveyed NFL experts in his article to identify the top-10 ranked running backs for the upcoming 2025 NFL season.

He even goes on to mention another five running backs who qualify to make the list as Honorable Mentions. But even as the list expands to the Top 15 running backs projected in the NFL for the 2025 season, Rams RB Kyren Williams is nowhere to be found. He does finally appear as a footnote in the category of Also Receiving Votes.

Does that surprise Rams fans?

Perhaps some Rams fans are mildly surprised by the news. But I don't think that I am the only one who has been lobbying for a slow, meticulous, and comprehensive approach to crafting Kyren Williams's next contract. And judging by the time it has taken so far, I am guessing that both sides realize that.

Yes, Kyren Williams is a touchdown machine. Yes, he deserves an extension. But he is not the all-purpose running back that the offense has attempted to turn him into. The fact that the Rams have drafted both RB Blake Corum and RB Jarquez Hunter to compete for offensive snaps and carries suggests that the offense still hasn't found what it's looking for.

After all, Kyren Williams is simply not a running back who bursts free for big gains. He is the epitome of a scoring running back, a guy who can stay in the shadows of much bigger offensive linemen and use their size until he can burst over the plane at the last second into the end zone.

But when he sees daylight on a football field, he is often run down from behind.

NFL experts do not view RB Kyren Williams as an NFL Top 15 running back. But with a carefully written contract and an offense that deploys the right running back in the right scenario, he doesn't need to be.

The Rams may be able to generate a top-rushing offense in 2025. But it starts with limiting featured running back Kyren Williams to the right role. Many Rams fans understand that already. Many NFL experts understand that as well. Hopefully, the Rams coaching staff figures that out in 2025, too.

As always, thanks for reading.

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