What the Rams saw in Notre Dame RB Kyren Williams to prompt a trade up to draft him
Les Snead grew tired of waiting.
Enough was enough. The Los Angeles Rams general manager decided there would be no more standing pat and hoping Notre Dame running back Kyren Williams would fall to them late in the fifth round at 175th overall.
When the clock started on pick No. 164, Snead made the move. He sent the Las Vegas Raiders the Rams’ fifth-round pick and a seventh-rounder to jump 11 spots and snag Williams.
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“There were some teams that maybe had brought him in on visits who hadn’t picked a running back yet and might pick him,” Snead told reporters Saturday after the draft. “You try to beat those teams to the punch.”
The price of certainty was the No. 238 overall pick. The way he and Rams head coach Sean McVay discuss Williams, though, it sounds like they view it as a bargain to acquire a player they see making a smooth transition to the pros.
“He’s an easy eval because you look at the [Notre Dame] system with Tommy Rees as the offensive coordinator, a lot of concept carryover for some things we do,” McVay said. “I think he’s a really complete back. One of the things you love the most is you see versatility on all three downs.
“He’s great in protection. He’s fearless where he will stick his face on people and stay connected on those. He has a great feel in the screen game. I think he’s an excellent off-set gun runner. You see great contact balance, ability to produce in both phases, run and pass. He’s an elite competitor.
“Everybody who has been around him can’t speak highly enough about the human being, and the way he plays the game, it sure makes sense what you hear about his personality and the mental and physical toughness he possesses. He seems like he’s one of our kind of guys.”
The Rams made Williams the 15th running back picked in the 2022 NFL Draft and their third selection in it. Their anxiety about him making it to 175th overall rose when three backs went in a six-pick span, starting with the Falcons choosing BYU’s Tyler Allgeier at No. 151.
“This guy is right there, there’s kind of a run on backs right around that time,” McVay said. “You don’t want to miss out on him.”
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Williams joins a Rams backfield that has two contributors who are age 24 or younger: three-year veteran Darrell Henderson and 2020 second-round pick Cam Akers. Henderson (149 carries, 688 yards) is the leading returning rusher. Akers missed all but one regular season game due to an Achilles injury, but totaled 67 carries in the Rams four postseason outings. He had a team-high 13 rushes in the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI win over the Bengals.
There is an opening, though. Sony Michel, the Rams’ leading rusher in 2021, is a free agent. The Rams found roles for Michel, Henderson and Akers when all three were healthy. They did not draft another running back or sign any veterans during free agency.
Most draft analysts saw Williams as a rotation player who could be an effective third-down weapon as a rookie, citing his pass-catching skills (77 receptions from 2020-21) and willingness to pass block. A common usage projection among analysts was New England Patriots running back James White, who has 62 more catches than carries in eight NFL seasons.
If that’s where the Rams use him, he will lean into it. But he feels he can offer more. The idea he’s only a third-down back irked him when it was brought up in pre-draft media appearances. He didn’t run for 2,127 yards the last two years in spite of average rushing ability, even if his 4.65 40-yard dash underscored a lack of top-end speed. His tackle-shedding proficiency, after-contact production, improvisation skills and pound-for-pound strength were assets.
“There were a lot of runs where he gets strung out in the backfield and he’s able to circle the defense and create big plays,” McVay said. “He’s one of those guys who can get to full speed very quickly. He has that immediate acceleration. It’s a combination of all the factors that enable you to work edges on people, whether it’s contact balance, slash running and the overall elusiveness and quickness that helps you be a productive runner. I think a lot of those things will translate to this league.”
