Will Kyren Williams Continue to Feast Even Alongside Blake Corum and Jarquez Hunter?

Ever since Kyren Williams took over as the starting running back of the Los Angeles Rams in 2023, he's been one of the most productive backs in fantasy football. With 1,350-plus scrimmage yards and 15-plus touchdowns in back-to-back seasons, Williams has been the RB7 or better in half-PPR formats in each of the last two years.

Williams hasn't dealt with much competition for touches out of the backfield since he became the starter, but he now has second-year back Blake Corum and rookie Jarquez Hunter sitting behind him on the depth chart. Could Corum and Hunter make it more difficult for Williams to return value in fantasy football drafts?

Let's take a look at Williams' 2024 production and discuss what his outlook looks like in 2025 with Corum and Hunter potentially in the mix for touches.

Kyren Williams' 2024 Stats

After turning 260 touches into 1,350 scrimmage yards and 15 touchdowns in 2023 en route to a RB6 finish in fantasy football, Williams followed that up by totaling 350 touches, 1,481 scrimmage yards, and 16 touchdowns with a RB7 finish in 2024. While those numbers look impressive, Williams took a major step back in his explosiveness, and he continued to struggle with fumbling the ball.

During the 2023 campaign, Williams tallied the seventh-most rushing yards over expected per attempt (0.65), per NextGenStats. However, just last season, Williams had the 19th-lowest rushing yards over expected per attempt (0.00) among 47 qualified running backs while ranking 33rd in yards per attempt (4.2) and 26th in yards after contact per attempt (2.75) of backs with 50-plus rushing attempts, via PFF.

As for the fumbles, Williams has accrued nine fumbles over the last two seasons (including the playoffs), and six of those occurred throughout the 2024 season. If Williams fails to generate more explosive plays and is unable to avoid giving the ball away, then head coach Sean McVay may have no choice but to give more opportunities to the other backs on the roster.

The Rams' Backfield With Williams, Corum, and Hunter

Although Corum saw limited work as a rookie in 2024, there were glimpses of him being a viable back in McVay's offense despite the fact he finished with only 265 scrimmage yards on 65 touches before suffering an arm injury. Corum is entering his second year in the NFL as a third-round pick by McVay and general manager Les Snead, and he proved he's plenty capable of handling a massive workload after logging 4,148 scrimmage yards and 61 touchdowns on a whopping 730 touches at Michigan.

Meanwhile, Hunter could provide some explosiveness for the Rams as a fourth-round pick in this year's draft, as he notched the 22nd-most yards per attempt (6.5), 8th-most runs of 10-plus yards (42), and 19th-most missed tackles forced (59) among college backs with 50-plus attempts last season. Hunter is also a capable pass-catcher out of the backfield, accumulating 68 receptions, 558 receiving yards, and 4 receiving touchdowns across his four years at Auburn.

There's no doubt that Williams adds value to LA's offense with his far-from-passive pass protection and his versatility, but the Rams desperately need more home-run ability from their running back room moving forward.

Kyren Williams' 2025 Fantasy Football Outlook

For most of the offseason, there have been reports that the Rams and Williams are working on a contract extension, but there's yet to be a deal agreed upon. Regardless if both sides come to terms on a new contract, all signs point toward Williams being the starting back for the Rams in Week 1 when the 2025 campaign kicks off.

That being said, Sean McVay praised Liam Coen (former offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and current head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars) for his personnel groupings and how he utilized multiple running backs to help the Bucs record the fourth-most rushing yards per game (149.2) and second-most yards per attempt (5.3) in 2024. Could we see McVay somewhat shift away from his philosophy of leaning on one primary back in hopes to inject some life into LA's rushing attack?

According to FantasyPros' Consensus ADP (average draft position), Williams carries an ADP of 29.3 (RB12) in half-PPR leagues in drafts right now. While there is a path out there for Williams to finish as a RB1 again in fantasy football for the 2025 season, I won't have much interest in him this year due to his lack of explosiveness and the fact he's entirely reliant on getting immense volume -- which may no longer be a surefire thing with Corum and Hunter lurking behind him.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.