.jpg) Williams with Notre Dame in 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 23 –Los Angeles Rams | |||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Running back | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | (2000-08-26)August 26, 2000 (age 24) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 202 lb (92 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | St. John Vianney (Kirkwood, Missouri) | ||||||||||||||
| College: | Notre Dame (2019–2021) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2022: 5th round, 164th pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2024 | |||||||||||||||
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Kyren Lawrence Williams (born August 26, 2000) is an American professionalfootballrunning back for theLos Angeles Rams of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theNotre Dame Fighting Irish and was selected by the Rams in the fifth round of the2022 NFL draft.
Williams grew up inSt. Louis,Missouri, and attendedSt. John Vianney High School.[1] Williams rushed for 922 yards and 22 touchdowns and also had 51 receptions for 774 yards and 12 touchdowns in his junior season.[2] As a senior, Williams rushed for 2,035 yards and 26 touchdowns caught 55 passes for 725 yards and was named the St. Louis Metro Area Offensive Player of the Year. He also recorded 92 tackles, eight tackles for loss, five sacks and eight interceptions on defense.[3] Williams was rated a three-star recruit and committed to play college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish over offers fromMichigan,Michigan State,Stanford andWisconsin.[4][5] He is a cousin of Lions receiverJameson Williams.
Williams joined the Notre Dame Fighting Irish as an early enrollee.[6][7] As a true freshman in 2019, he played in the first four games of the season before sitting the rest of the year in order to preserve an extra year of eligibility, rushing for 26 yards on four carries and catching one pass for three yards.[8]
Williams was named Notre Dame's starting running back going into his sophomore year in 2020.[9][10] He was named theAtlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Running Back of the Week for the first week of the season after rushing 19 times for 112 yards and two touchdowns while also catching two passes for 93 yards.[11] Williams finished the season with 1,125 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on 211 carries while also catching 35 passes for 313 yards and one touchdown and was named second-team All-ACC, the ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year, and the overall ACC Rookie of the Year.[12]
Going into his junior season, Williams remained Notre Dame's starting running back. His biggest games came in the middle of the season when he had 25 carries for 138 yards and two touchdowns and six receptions for 42 yards in a 31–16 victory over USC, followed by 21 carries for 199 yards and a TD in a 44–34 win against North Carolina. Williams finished the season with 204 carries for 1,002 yards and 14 TDs with 42 receptions for 359 yards and three touchdowns. On December 10, 2021, Williams declared for the2022 NFL draft and opted out of playing in theFiesta Bowl.[13]
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Games | Rushing | Receiving | ||||||||||
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 2019 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 26 | 6.5 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 12 | 12 | 211 | 1,125 | 5.3 | 65 | 13 | 35 | 313 | 8.9 | 75 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 12 | 12 | 204 | 1,002 | 4.9 | 91 | 14 | 42 | 359 | 8.5 | 55 | 3 | |
| Career | 28 | 24 | 419 | 2,153 | 5.1 | 91 | 27 | 78 | 675 | 8.7 | 75 | 4 | |
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft9+1⁄4 in (1.76 m) | 194 lb (88 kg) | 28+5⁄8 in (0.73 m) | 9 in (0.23 m) | 4.65 s | 1.57 s | 2.69 s | 4.33 s | 7.07 s | 32.0 in (0.81 m) | 9 ft 8 in (2.95 m) | ||
| All values fromNFL Combine/Pro Day[14][15] | ||||||||||||
Williams was selected by theLos Angeles Rams in the fifth round (164th overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft.[16] On June 7, 2022, it was announced that Williams had suffered abroken foot in practice and had undergone surgery.[17]
After not playing in the preseason, on September 8, 2022, Williams suffered ahigh ankle sprain on the firstkick return in the Rams' season-opening 31–10 loss to theBuffalo Bills.[18] He was placed oninjured reserve on September 13, 2022.[19] He was designated to return from injured reserve on October 26, 2022.[20] He was activated from injured reserve on November 12, 2022.[21] As a rookie, Williams appeared in ten games and received significant offensive snaps in eight of them. For theseason, he recorded 35 carries for 139 yards and nine receptions for 76 yards but did not score a touchdown.[22]
In the season opener against theSeattle Seahawks, Williams carried 15 times for 52 yards and scored his first two career touchdowns in a 30–13 win on the road.[23] The following week at home againstSan Francisco, he supplantedCam Akers as the Rams' starting running back and had 14 carries for 52 yards and a touchdown while also catching six passes for 48 yards and another touchdown in the Rams' 30–23 defeat. He became the first player in franchise history to score multiple touchdowns in each of his first two games of a season.[24] On the road atIndianapolis in Week 4, Williams recorded his first career 100-yard rushing game, totaling 103 yards on 25 carries with two touchdowns in the Rams' 29–23 overtime victory against the Colts.[25] During Week 6 against theArizona Cardinals, Williams finished with a season-high 158 rushing yards and a touchdown on 20 carries as the Rams won 26–9 but sprained his left ankle in the process.[26] He was placed on injured reserve on October 21, 2023.[27] He was activated from injured reserve on November 25, 2023, after missing four games.[28] Returning to the starting lineup in Week 12 at Arizona, Williams finished with 143 rushing yards on 16 carries, 61 receiving yards on six catches with a pair of touchdown receptions as the Rams won 37–14. This performance earned Williams NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors,[29] and was the start of an impressive six-game stretch in which he averaged 5.3 yards per carry and 114.7 yards per game. Williams ran 21 times for 88 yards and a touchdown in a 36–19 win over theCleveland Browns, then had 114 yards on 25 carries in a 37–31 overtime loss at theBaltimore Ravens.[30][31] Against theWashington Commanders, Williams had 27 carries for 152 yards and a touchdown run in the Rams' 28–20 victory.[32] Four days later, Williams turned in his third straight 100-yard rushing game, totaling 104 yards (including a 10-yard TD) on 22 carries as the Rams defeated the visitingNew Orleans Saints 30–22.[33] In the game, Williams became the first Rams running back to surpass 1,000 yards rushing sinceTodd Gurley in2018.[34] In Week 17 at theNew York Giants, Williams had 87 yards on 20 carries but scored a career-high three touchdowns in the Rams' playoff-clinching 26–25 victory.[35] The following week, Williams was named to thePro Bowl for the first time in his career.[36] He was named as a second team All-Pro.[37] Williams was held out of the Rams' 21–20 victory over San Francisco in the final week of the regular season.[38] He finished the 2023 season with 228 carries for 1,144 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns to go along with 32 receptions for 206 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns in 12 appearances and 11 starts.[39] Williams ran for 61 yards on 13 carries in the Rams' 24–23 loss to Detroit in an NFC Wild Card Game. He was ranked 78th by his fellow players on theNFL Top 100 Players of 2024.[40]
Beginning the season as the starting running back, Williams scored one touchdown in each of the Rams' first two games, both losses on the road. Playing at home againstSan Francisco in Week 3, Williams scored all three of his team's touchdowns in a 27–24 victory. He ran 24 times for 89 yards and two touchdowns while also catching two passes for 27 yards and a touchdown which came on a 15-yard reception where Williams somersaulted over 49er strong safetyTalanoa Hufanga at the goal line in the second quarter for L.A.'s first points.[41] In a 24–19 loss toGreen Bay, Williams had 22 carries for 102 yards and a TD as the Rams fell to a 1–4 record. Following a bye week, Williams ran 21 times for 76 yards and two scores in the Rams' 20–15 victory over theLas Vegas Raiders. Four days later, Williams had 23 carries for 97 yards while also catching five passes for 19 yards including a 5-yard TD, which gave Williams a touchdown in 10 straight regular season games. AtNew Orleans in Week 13, Williams ran for 104 yards on only 15 carries with a touchdown in the Rams' 21–14 victory. A week later, Williams scored two touchdowns as L.A. outlasted theBuffalo Bills 44–42, and his 29 carries for 87 yards put him over 1,000 yards rushing for the season. Williams followed up that performance by running for 108 yards (again on 29 carries) as L.A. gutted out a 12–6 victory overSan Francisco, and a season-high 122 yards (on 23 carries) and a touchdown in a 19–9 win against theNew York Jets.[42] In Week 17, Williams totaled 56 yards on 13 carries with a touchdown run in L.A.'s 13–9 win over Arizona that led to the Rams clinching theNFC West title. After sitting out the team's regular season finale, Williams had 76 yards on 16 rushing attempts while also catching three passes for 16 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown reception for the Rams' first points in their 27–9 victory againstMinnesota in an NFC Wild Card Game. A week later in an NFC Divisional Playoff againstPhiladelphia, Williams ran for 106 yards on 19 carries but lost a critical fumble in the fourth quarter of the Rams' 28–22 loss.[43]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Y/G | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2022 | LAR | 10 | 0 | 35 | 139 | 4.0 | 13.9 | 17 | 0 | 9 | 76 | 8.4 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | LAR | 12 | 11 | 228 | 1,144 | 5.0 | 95.3 | 56 | 12 | 32 | 206 | 6.4 | 24 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 2024 | LAR | 16 | 16 | 316 | 1,299 | 4.1 | 81.2 | 30 | 14 | 34 | 182 | 5.4 | 26 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| Career | 38 | 27 | 579 | 2,582 | 4.5 | 68.3 | 56 | 26 | 75 | 464 | 6.2 | 26 | 5 | 8 | 5 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Y/G | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2023 | LAR | 1 | 1 | 13 | 61 | 4.7 | 61.0 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | LAR | 2 | 2 | 35 | 182 | 5.2 | 91.0 | 30 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 3.8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Career | 3 | 3 | 48 | 243 | 5.1 | 81.0 | 30 | 0 | 5 | 24 | 4.8 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
Kyren is first cousins withDetroit Lions wide receiverJameson Williams.[44]
