5 unstoppable offensive stars who must carry the LA Rams into the postseason

RB Kyren Willaims

While we can hope for a healthy Cooper Kupp in 2024, the same can be said for third-year running back Kyren Willams. Williams played in just 12 games in 2023, and still ended up shocking the NFL by rushing for 1,144 yards and 12 rushing touchdowns. Imagine what those numbers might have been had he been healthy in 17 games?

The offense really seems to operate on a completely different level when both Kyren Williams and Matthew Stafford are healthy, a fact that ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes cited when touting the Rams offense as one of the NFL's Top-10 offenses in 2024. But what about Williams's style of running unlocks the offensive overdrive? Let's break it down by the numbers:

3: He optimizes his blocks

Perhaps it's due to his size at 5-foot-9. Maybe it's due to his sleek greyhound-like build of just 194 pounds. But whatever the cause, Kyren Williams is a master ninja of stealth, hiding in the shadows of his much larger offensive lineman teammates, and racing to daylight at the last possible moment. He can slink, elude, and then scurry which makes him such a dangerous running back. He does not try to do it all with speed alone. Instead, he slips into the rocking chair slot of his convoy, letting his powerful peers create a crack in the line of scrimmage, and then slips right on through for big gains.

2: He gains yards in chunks quickly

Another factoid about Kyren Williams is the fact that while he is just beginning to excel in his NFL career, his 5.0 yards per carry average in 2023 is the best rushing average of any running back since the team hired HC Sean McVay in 2017. Not even the masterful RB Todd Gurley matched that performance. So how well did he do in the NFL Playoffs? He still averaged 4.7 yards per carry.

While you might expect defenses to prepare more effectively to negate a repeat performance in 2024, keep in mind that the team has not stood idly by in the offseason. The team has reconfigured the offensive line to be even more dominant in 2024, with improvements expected from more experience under the belt of both center Steve Avila and left tackle Alaric Jackson.

!: He forces defenses to think run first, opening full range of passing plays

What we witnessed over time is that defensive coordinators have mastered ways to defend this offense. Sean McVay-inspired offenses continue to be cloned and permeate the NFL, allowing defensive strategies to develop over trial and error. Defenses have learned better ways to thwart a passing game that can explode with as many as five eligibles running routes on any given play. They simply pin their ears back and attack the quarterback.

With Kyren Williams in the backfield, the Rams offense hopes that is the case. With a wave of the hand and a loud check out of the original play, the offense can convert a vulnerable pass play that is doomed to fail against a huge blitz, and turn it into a quick hitter for a big gain that punishes over eager pass rushers.