Rams first player appears among NFL's Top 100 (and you may be surprised who)

Some fans want the Los Angeles Rams to extend veteran running back Kyren Williams at any price. Other fans want to see what the backlog of talented rushers on the roster can do before making a financial commitment to him. Perhaps the best strategy lies between the two viewpoints. Even as the Rams have loaded up on other running backs like Ronnie Rivers, Cody Schrader, Blake Corum, Jarquez Hunter, and Jordan Waters, there is no confusion over who will get the most carries this season.

The same running back who scored all the rushing touchdowns for the team in 2024.

The Rams are interested in extending RB Kyren Williams, but it's not a simple thing to do. After all, even as the Rams engaged Williams at the negotiations table, you could argue that they drafted a talented rookie who could very much be groomed to replace him if negotiations do not succeed in an acceptable contract for everyone.

And then there is the feedback from a panel of NFL executives, coaches, and scouts who do not even view Rams RB Kyren Williams as worthy to be included among the top 15 running backs in the NFL. Well, now, that's not good.

But it's not a consensus viewpoint. Even as the Rams appear to be leaning towards lessening Williams's back-breaking workload for the 2025 NFL season, he shows up in a way that suggests that he is not going to give up part of his workload quietly.

And now, we find evidence that perhaps the viewpoint that Kyren Williams is regressing may have been premature. What do I mean? Well, LA Rams RB Kyren Williams is the first Rams player to appear in the NFL's Top 100 players of 2025, and comes in at 85.

Now, you should probably know that the players are being revealed in reverse order so that some other Rams players could appear on the list at a higher ranking. But Williams is the first player to make the NFL's Top 100 list

If all NFL rosters were equal, the Rams should emerge with three players or possibly four players on the list. But you need only look at the final records of all 32 teams from 2024 to realize that not all teams are equally talented and healthy. And there is an East Coast bias among these sorts of honors, accolades, awards, and projections

As you can see from the listing of Rams running back below, Williams was milked for every yard possible last season.

• RB Blake Corum | 5-foot-8 | 210 pounds | 4.53 seconds 40-yard dash | 58 carries | 207 yards | 0 TDs | 14.6 % carries | 12.9 % yards
• RB Ronnie Rivers | 5-foot-9 | 192 pounds | 4.60 seconds 40-yard dash | 22 carries | 99 yards | 0 TDs | 5.5 % carries | 6.2 % yards
• RB Cody Schrader | 5-foot-9 | 214 pounds | 4.61 seconds 40-yard dash | 1 carry | 3 yards | 0 TDs | 0.8 % carries | 0.2 % yards
• RB Kyren Williams | 5-foot-9 | 202 pounds | 4.65 seconds 40-yard dash | 316 carries | 1,299 yards | 14 TDs | 80.0 % carries | 80.8 % yards
• RB Jaquez Hunter | 5-foot-9 | 204 pounds | 4.44 seconds 40-yard dash | Rookie
• RB Jordan Waters | 6-foot-0 | 225 pounds | 4.57 seconds 40-yard dash | Rookie

Despite his high standing among his NFL contemporaries, Williams and the Rams offense would be well-served to involve other running backs more frequently this year for two reasons. On one hand, the offense should try to preserve the best of Kyren Williams for the NFL Playoffs to ensure that he can bring his A game when competition stiffens. And the team should have other running backs warmed up and ready to take over if anything happens to Williams along the way.

Nearly 1300 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns in 2024. But if he ran less frequently in 2025, he could do just as well, if not better.

As always, thanks for reading.

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