Turf Show Times
Over the offseason, the Los Angeles Rams made the decision to extend running back Kyren Williams to a three-year, $33 million extension with $15 million guaranteed. In average per year, it made Williams the eighth-highest paid running back in the NFL with the seventh-most guaranteed money for a running back.
At the time, there were questions about whether or not the Rams were doing the right thing. This is a running back that had the third-most fumbles with five while being one of the least explosive and least creative players at the position. He ranked 30th out of 31 qualifying running backs in explosive run rate and 27th in missed tackles forced per attempt. However, he kept the offense on track, ranking fifth in success rate.
On Thursday night against a division rival in the San Francisco 49ers, Williams’ fumble at the one yard line while trying to win the game was a major contributor in the loss.
To put it simply, Williams is fine and he does a lot of things well. However, it was always fair to question whether or not he’s the all-around running back worth giving an extension to. Williams is a singles hitter and rarely gets more than what’s available. He’s had fumbling issues and has struggled with break away speed going back to college at Notre Dame. It’s simply who he is. That’s who he’s been his entire career.
For the Rams, it was enough to warrant an extension. Given the apparent value to their offense and run game, Williams was someone worth extending. However, even if they were favoring an extension, there never should have been a rush for the Rams to get a deal done. His value was never going to increase significantly.
The Rams running back was said to have worked on his speed and explosiveness in the offseason. Rams running back coach Ron Gould said,
“The first thing that stood out to us was his explosiveness. One of the things (I noticed) was just his ability to stay grounded through some of his runs that was really, really evident in the work that he’s put in, so really, really pleased with that…He’s gotten his speed back, so his explosiveness has come back.”
It would have been more than understandable for the Rams to see how much that came to fruition on the field. Through the first four games of the 2025 season, Williams had an explosive run rate of just 1.5 percent while ranking 31st out of 43 running backs in missed tackles forced per attempt. Among 43 qualified running backs, Williams ranks 23rd in runs in which he’s exceeded 15 miles per hour. It’s a rate of approximately 10.3 percent. For comparison, JK Dobbins has reached 15+ miles per hour at a rate of 14 percent and has an explosive run rate of 10.5 percent this season.
Kyren Williams is the David Montgomery of a backfield. He is the complementary piece used in short yardage and inside the...
