Tag: Kyren Williams

These 5 Rams players are getting snubbed in Pro Bowl fan voting

None of these five Rams players are in the top 10 at their positions in Pro Bowl fan voting, but they definitely should be

The Los Angeles Rams have generated some buzz in the NFC thanks to their three-game winning streak and 7-2 record since Week 7, but that hasn’t translated to their players earning recognition as potential Pro Bowlers.

After three weeks of Pro Bowl fan voting being open, only one Rams player ranks in the top 10 at his position in total votes received: Braden Fiske, who’s No. 4 among all defensive tackles. Not a single other Rams player is in the top 10 at his position, which is shocking to see.

They have plenty of deserving candidates for the Pro Bowl, too. Matthew Stafford is playing well, Byron Young is applying consistent pressure on the quarterback and Alaric Jackson has been an underrated stud at left tackle.

These five players have especially strong cases for the Pro Bowl, yet they’re not in the top 10 at their positions.

RB Kyren Williams

Williams may not be putting up eye-popping numbers or leading the NFL in rushing yards per game like he was last season, but he’s still been one of the more productive players in football from a yardage and touchdown perspective.

He currently ranks fourth in rushing yards with 1,121, fourth in rushing touchdowns with 12 and his 14 total touchdowns are tied for third in the NFL. Najee Harris, who’s ninth in Pro Bowl voting among running backs, ranks 14th with 891 rushing yards and only has five total touchdowns.

WR Puka Nacua

Nacua may have missed five games with a knee injury but he’s been incredibly productive in the games he has played. He has 805 yards and three touchdowns this season, ranking third in receiving yards per game (89.4). That includes two games where he suffered a knee injury and was ejected.

Somehow, Jayden Reed of the Packers is 10th among wide receivers despite only having 727 yards in 14 games.

DT Kobie Turner

Turner is perhaps the biggest snub of them all. He has seven sacks this season, which is fifth among all defensive tackles. He also has nine tackles for a loss, 11 quarterback hits and 60 total tackles, stuffing the stat sheet as one of the Rams’ best defensive players.

According to Pro Football Focus, Turner has 49 total pressures, which is the sixth-most among interior defenders. No player in the NFL has more pressures against double teams since 2023 than Turner, which shows how dominant he is even when getting extra attention.

He absolutely deserves to be a Pro Bowler, but fans aren’t giving him his due.

OLB Jared Verse

Verse has been outstanding as a rookie, even if he has slowed down a little bit in the last few games. There are only three edge rushers in the NFL with more pressures than him (64), according to PFF, and he’s been credited with six sacks by the analytics site.

There aren’t many edge rushers with his combination of power and speed, and he’s only a rookie. With the overall talent at edge rusher in the NFL right now, he probably won’t get in as a rookie, but he’s a future star.

RG Kevin Dotson

There are only five guards in the league with a higher overall PFF grade than Dotson this season, who’s earned an 81.1 mark thus far in 2024. He’s allowed 22 pressures, which isn’t an impressively low number, but his 84.1 run-blocking grade shows where his greatest impact is.

The Pro Bowl is often a popularity contest, and that’s even more evident on the offensive line. Four teams have two guards in the top 10 of vote-getters so far this year (Lions, Chiefs, Eagles and Steelers), with the Packers and Browns having one guard each in the top 10.

Lions WR Jameson Williams casually revealed he’s Kyren Williams’ cousin

Did you know Kyren Williams and Jameson Williams are cousins?

It’s often said that football is family, but for Kyren Williams and Jameson Williams, they are quite literally family.

During a press conference last week, Jameson Williams was asked about the wild Rams-Bills game from Week 14 that ended with Los Angeles winning 44-42. He during his response, he casually brought up the fact that he and Kyren Williams are cousins.

“I actually got a cousin who plays on the Rams,” he said. “Kyren Williams, that’s my cousin, so I watch a lot of his games. I wanted to see, like, the similarities in our offense and the Rams’ and what they do and stuff like that.”

@nfl

family ties #jamesonwilliams #nfl #detroitlions #losangelesrams #kyrenwilliams

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Who knew? Certainly not us, and based on some of the reactions on social media, no one else was aware of the two players’ family ties, either.

It’s a pretty athletic family when you consider how good both of those players are. Kyren Williams is one of the top running backs in the NFL and Jameson Williams just hit 20.45 mph on a 28-yard reception in Week 14, which was the fastest speed of any ball carrier in Week 14.

This season, Jameson has 42 catches for 747 yards and five touchdowns, while Kyren has 1,280 yards from scrimmage and 14 total touchdowns in 2024. Not bad for a couple of cousins.

It’s been more than 15 years since a Rams RB had a two-game workload like Kyren Williams’

Kyren Williams had 29 carries in back-to-back games, seeing a workload that no Rams RB has had in at least 15 years

The Los Angeles Rams drafted Blake Corum in the third round to ensure Kyren Williams stays fresh and healthy throughout the year but Sean McVay just can’t take his guy off the field. Williams has been a workhorse back for the Rams since early last season and there are no signs of that changing.

Thursday night was a perfect opportunity to take some carries off of Williams’ plate after he just carried it 29 times and played 64 snaps against the Bills four days prior. It seemed like a chance for Corum to get some run, knowing Williams’ legs might not be as fresh after an insanely heavy workload less than a week ago.

Instead, the Rams piled another 29 carries and 56 snaps on their bell cow and he delivered with 112 yards from scrimmage.

In today’s NFL, it’s almost unheard of for a running back to see 29 carries in back-to-back games, let alone two games within five days of each other. According to Stathead, Williams is the first player since Derrick Henry in Oct. 2022 to have consecutive games with 29-plus carries. It’s just the fifth time since 2019 that a player has done it, showing how rare such a heavy workload is.

The only other players to have consecutive 29-plus-carry games since 2019 are Henry (three times) and Jonathan Taylor. It’s now been done only 11 times since 2010.

You have to go back even further to find a Rams running back who’s had at least 29 carries in back-to-back games. The last player to do it was Steven Jackson in 2008; he also did it in 2006.

Prior to that, Jerome Bettis (1994), Charles White (1987, twice) and Eric Dickerson (1986) are the only other Rams running backs to see two straight games with that many carries.

Query Results Table
Rushing
Rk Player Team Streak Streak Started Streak Ended
▼		 Active Att Yds Y/A TD 1D Ind. Games Link
1 Kyren Williams LAR 2 2024-12-08 2024-12-12 * 58 195 3.4 2 11 Games List
2 Steven Jackson STL 2 2008-12-21 2008-12-28 62 269 4.3 2 16 Games List
3 Steven Jackson STL 2 2006-12-17 2006-12-24 64 277 4.3 3 11 Games List
4 Jerome Bettis RAM 2 1994-09-25 1994-10-02 64 249 3.9 0 14 Games List
5 Charles White RAM 5 1987-11-15 1987-12-13 156 723 4.6 8 Games List
6 Charles White RAM 2 1987-10-11 1987-10-18 64 321 5.0 1 Games List
7 Eric Dickerson RAM 2 1986-10-26 1986-11-03 59 281 4.8 0 Games List
Provided by Stathead.com: Found with Stathead. See Full Results.
Generated 12/13/2024.

If the Rams give Williams 29 carries again next Sunday against the Jets, he’ll be just the second NFL player with three straight games of at least 29 rush attempts since 2006.

Williams leads the NFL with 280 carries and he’s averaging exactly 20 carries a game after averaging 19 last season. He’s the definition of a workhorse back in an era where there aren’t many left in the NFL.

Kyren Williams sent a strong message after Rams’ sweep of 49ers

Kyren Williams had a strong message after the Rams’ third straight win over the 49ers

There appears to be a new team that runs the Rams-49ers rivalry. Los Angeles had lost nine straight regular-season games to San Francisco before snapping that skid in Week 18 of last year, and now the Rams have a winning streak of their own.

By beating the 49ers on Thursday night, the Rams have now won three games in a row against their rival, sweeping them for the first time since 2018. There’s no question the 49ers had the Rams’ number for several years but the tide has turned, Kyren Williams says.

After the game, Williams said in the locker room that the win makes the Rams feel “like we’re the big brothers now.”

Not only did the Rams keep their playoff hopes very much alive with Thursday’s win, but they essentially ended the 49ers’ season by sending them home with a 6-8 record.

It doesn’t get much better than that for a team that’s had its fair share of struggles against Kyle Shanahan’s group. This was a huge win for the Rams, even if it wasn’t the prettiest victory.

Kyren Williams and Blake Corum: The NFL’s next great rushing duo

Kyren Williams and Blake Corum may be in the infancy of their partnership but the numbers are pointing to potential long-term success.

The NFL has been defined by great running back duos. Harris and Bleier, Czonka and Morris, Brown and Williams. Even the modern NFL is being dictated by lighting-and-thunder rushing duos such as in the case of Detroit’s David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, Seattle’s Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet, Pittsburgh’s Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren and Baltimore’s Derrick Henry and Justice Hill.

In Los Angeles, a new tandem is slowly forming between Kyren Williams and Blake Corum. Corum, sidelined for most of the season due to a coaching decision, has finally been allowed to shine, breaking open the once-stalled Rams’ rushing attack. In back-to-back weeks, Corum has been fed eight carries for a total of 76 yards. That comes out to 4.7 yards per carry.

As a result, Williams put up a season-high 104 yards against the Saints and 87 yards against the Bills. The Bills, thanks to the success of Corum and Williams’, had to dedicate more resources to stop the run. Matthew Stafford then gashed the Bills for 320 yards through the air.

Once Corum becomes a better pass blocker, he’ll see more snaps but his carries need to go up. The Rams have found an effective formula for their run game: use Corum on the second drive to give Williams the energy to put the game away in the fourth quarter.

While Williams is a straight one-cut running back, Corum likes to weave his way in between defenders. Those rushing methods when paired together exhaust defenders as it keeps them on their toes. Williams and Corum tire out the defenders’ bodies, then their minds, then their spirits. Once you take their spirit, it’s all over. And that ideology has contributed to the Rams’ two-game winning streak.

This is the beginning of a terrific tandem and with both players signed through at least 2025, expect Williams and Corum’s numbers to balloon, especially with Stafford getting older. A QB’s best friend is a solid rushing attack and that’s exactly what Williams and Corum provide.

Kyren Williams is in all-time great company with impressive start to career

Kyren Williams is in the company of some all-time greats with the numbers he’s put up in his first three seasons

Kyren Williams didn’t exactly get off to a roaring start in the NFL. As a rookie, he broke his foot during OTAs and then suffered a high-ankle sprain in Week 1, causing him to miss significant time during the offseason and then seven games during the regular season.

As a fifth-round rookie, expectations were low to begin with, but Williams endured some adversity early on in his career.

Since then, however, he’s been one of the most productive backs in football. He had 1,144 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns in 2023 despite missing five games, leading the NFL with an average of 95.3 yards per game.

This year, he’s rushed for 1,013 yards and 12 touchdowns, giving him back-to-back seasons with at least 1,000 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns. As uncovered by J.B. Long of the Rams, Williams is the first running back since Adrian Peterson in 2007-2009 to have at least two seasons of 1,000-plus rushing yards and 12-plus rushing touchdowns in his first three years.

That’s impressive enough, but when you dig even further, you see just how rare Williams’ start to his career has been.

According to Stathead, only 16 players in NFL history have ever had two seasons of 1,000 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns in their first three seasons. Three players accomplished it in all three years: Barry Sanders, Eric Dickerson and Earl Campbell, all of whom are Hall of Famers.

Of the other 13 players who accomplished it twice, seven of them are Hall of Famers, and that doesn’t include Peterson, who’s a future Hall of Famer.

That makes 10 Hall of Famers out of the 14 who are eligible for Canton.

Query Results Table
Rk Player Count
▼		 From To
1 Barry Sanders 3 1989 1991
2 Eric Dickerson 3 1983 1985
3 Earl Campbell 3 1978 1980
4 Kyren Williams 2 2023 2024
5 Adrian Peterson 2 2007 2009
6 LaDainian Tomlinson 2 2002 2003
7 Clinton Portis 2 2002 2003
8 Shaun Alexander 2 2001 2002
9 Edgerrin James 2 1999 2000
10 Fred Taylor 2 1998 2000
11 Terrell Davis 2 1996 1997
12 Curtis Martin 2 1995 1996
13 Emmitt Smith 2 1991 1992
14 Billy Sims 2 1980 1981
15 Walter Payton 2 1976 1977
16 Jim Brown 2 1958 1959
Provided by Stathead.com: Found with Stathead. See Full Results.
Generated 12/11/2024.

Williams doesn’t always get praise as one of the top running backs in the league but there’s no denying how productive he’s been in his first three years with the Rams. And if not for injuries in his rookie season, he’d have even better numbers than he already does.

Rams want to continue giving Blake Corum opportunities behind Kyren Williams

Blake Corum has gotten 16 carries in the last two games and Sean McVay made it clear he’s going to maintain a role in the offense behind Kyren Williams

Blake Corum waited a long time to get meaningful snaps in the Rams’ backfield but he’s finally getting an opportunity to show why he was a third-round pick in the draft.

After playing 11 or fewer snaps in each of the Rams’ first 11 games, Corum has played 18 and 13 snaps in the last two weeks. More importantly, he’s carried the ball eight times in each of the last two games, so he’s finally carved out a role behind Kyren Williams.

This won’t just be a two-week flash in the pan, either. Sean McVay made it very clear on Monday that Corum will continue getting work behind Williams as the RB2. McVay thinks it’s best for the entire backfield if the Rams lighten Williams’ workload a bit by utilizing Corum, which has paid dividends in the last two games.

” I think it’s good to be able to get both of those guys some work. You can really maximize – obviously, Kyren is our starter, but continue to take advantage of Blake,” McVay said. “I think he’s done a nice job each of the last two weeks getting a few more opportunities. I think it keeps Kyren fresher throughout the course of the game. Obviously, as games go on, there are some different scenarios, especially when you’re in a tight game like what yesterday was that elicits a little bit different response. Blake being out there is something that I think’s been earned and I think it’s best for the group overall while keeping Kyren as fresh as possible while still allowing him to impact the game. You’re accurate on that for sure.”

Corum has gradually seen his role grow, going from third-string to playing sparingly on the third drive of games to now seeing carries on the second possession. He’s averaged a healthy 4.75 yards per carry in his last two games, which has given McVay confidence in the rookie running back.

As McVay said, Williams will remain the starter, but Corum has had a positive impact as the No. 2 back behind him.

Watch: Kyren Williams caps off perfect opening drive vs. Bills with 13th TD of season

It was a picture perfect opening drive for the Rams, grabbing an early lead over the Bills

The Los Angeles Rams have been terrible in three areas this season: first-quarter scoring, third down and red zone. On Sunday’s opening drive against the Buffalo Bills, they were perfect in all three spots.

They went 3-for-3 on third down and scored a touchdown on their first drive, going 70 yards in 12 plays and capping it off with a Kyren Williams 3-yard score. It was Williams’ 13th touchdown of the season, giving the Rams an early 7-0 lead over the Bills.

Williams powered the drive with seven carries for 27 yards and the touchdown, picking up where he left off after last week’s win over the Saints.

Former Notre Dame running back is Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee

Congrats, Kyren!

Former Notre Dame running back [autotag]Kyren Williams[/autotag] has done well in his three seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. He made the Pro Bowl last year and is closing in on his second straight 1,000-yard season.

But Williams also has given a lot back to the community since he joined the NFL, and the Rams decided it was time for him to be recognized for that. Specifically, he has been selected as their 2024 nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year.

The Rams chose to reveal this news to Williams in a very personal way. They invited team legend Steven Jackson to do the honors during a team meeting. The screen at the front of the room showed a photo of a younger Williams posing with Jackson while the team was based in St. Louis, where Williams grew up. Jackson felt it appropriate to gift his fellow running back with a pair of cleats.

Here’s how it all went down:

Congratulations to Williams, and here’s hoping he can add to his trophy case.

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Watch: Steven Jackson surprises Kyren Williams with Walter Payton Award nomination

It was a full-circle moment for Steven Jackson and Kyren Williams in this wholesome video

Kyren Williams grew up in St. Louis, so he was unsurprisingly a Rams fan as a kid. He even got the chance to meet Steven Jackson when he was younger, taking a photo with the Rams legend at the Edwards Jones Dome that he’ll never forget.

That’s what made this full-circle moment so special for both running backs.

Jackson surprised Williams during a team meeting recently to share the news that he is the Rams’ nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. Williams, a player who’s always giving back to the community, is following in Jackson’s footsteps in that regard.

So when Jackson shared the news of Williams’ nomination, it made for an awesome moment between the two running backs. Jackson gave Williams a pair of gold cleats, too, which was a special touch for the Rams star.

“These shoes went over my head when I was a kid when you threw them up in the stands and some dude grabbed them from me. My mom’s going to cry when she sees these,” Williams said.

Check out the full video below, which will probably bring a tear to your eye.

Here’s a closer look at the gold cleats Jackson gifted Williams.