Kyren Williams' superpower will keep on being what makes Rams' run game go

Kyren Williams has carried the Los Angeles Rams' ground game for the last three seasons and counting. Blake Corum emerged in 2025 as a worthy partner in the backfield, elevating the rushing attack to another level. But Williams remains top dog and that shouldn't change soon. It's his consistency and goal-line efficiency - his superpower - that really makes the offense hum.

His quarterback, Matthew Stafford, said it best. Actually, he was describing receiver Davante Adams, but he then applied everything he said to Williams, too: 

"The best comes out of them the closer they get to the goal line. … You want those guys on your team. I think about Kyren Williams the same way: nose for the goal line. This guy, you hand it off to him, he's just finding ways to knife in. … You look up at the end of the year and, sure enough, [he's] got 10, 12, 15 touchdowns." 

Williams has reached that benchmark in each of the past three years. Time and again, he punches it into the promised land when Sean McVay's play-calling creativity has hit a rare wall or the defense has simply wised up to it with an effective counter. 

Fourth and goal from the one-yard line. The defense knows it's coming. Good luck stopping Williams.

Rams will continue calling on Williams when it counts the most

Williams gets his way more times than not. Last season he produced a career-best 62.9 percent success rate, per Pro Football Reference. 28.57% of his runs resulted in a first down. His 74 total first downs finished third among all running backs. 

Williams makes up for his lack of explosive plays - he hasn't had a carry of 35-plus yards since 2023 -  with his reliability. He was tackled for a loss just 4.63% of the time. Among backs with at least 175 carries, only the Bills' James Cook posted a lower TFL rate, at 4.53%.

His 1,252 rushing yards last season ranked sixth in the league, and he hasn't finished lower than seventh in his three years as a starter. In 2023, he led the NFL with 95.3 yards per game. 

Williams keeps the chains moving. He gets the ball across the goal line. While the Rams offense is known for McVay's innovative wrinkles and Stafford's no-look dimes, Williams is, somehow, an underappreciated component of it as the no-nonsense pilepusher and master of four-to-six-yard gains. 

Is it really fair to call him underappreciated? Well, he only has one Pro Bowl (2023) and this season he went down four spots, to 89th, in the NFL's Top 100 rankings. That despite setting a career high with 1,533 scrimmage yards, which includes 281 receiving.

Williams' total touches and volume may dip this season depending on how McVay balances his workload with that of Corum, an emerging star. What won't change is his importance as the go-to option when the Rams need a first down or a score. 

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