Kyren Williams is working smarter while producing similar numbers for Rams’ potent offense

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kyren Williams is sharing more carries and catching more passes this season for the Los Angeles Rams.

If both of those trends continue, he expects to be fresher and more prepared for the games that count the most.

“I feel like I’ve still got everything I need to be successful come Sundays, and that’s all I can ask for,” Williams said Wednesday.

Williams spent the previous two years as the workhorse running back for the Rams (7-2), getting nearly every important carry whenever he was healthy. He produced a pair of 1,100-yard-plus seasons and earned a Pro Bowl selection while twice finishing among the NFL’s top seven rushers.

Williams is still the Rams’ No. 1 running back this fall, but he’s not working quite as extensively with the emergence of second-year backup Blake Corum, who is receiving increased responsibility over the past month. Corum has 38 carries in the last three games, including a career-high 13 in both of the Rams’ victories since returning from their bye.

Rams coach Sean McVay quickly quashed the notion that he’s made a significant change in his backfield hierarchy. Williams is still getting roughly two-thirds of the snaps, which was the Rams’ approximate target before the season — and Corum’s increased workload allows McVay to get the most out of Williams with the least attrition.

“We have two backs that we feel great about,” McVay said. “Kyren is the lead dog. … Kyren is the starting running back, but man, I have a ton of confidence in Blake Corum. He’s only getting better. This is going to be better for Kyren throughout the course of 17 games, and if you earn the right to play after that.”

For the first time since he became the Rams’ No. 1 back in 2023, Williams has essentially been sharing the backfield in recent weeks — but his statistics are still strong, and he doesn’t miss the extra punishment. He’s just glad to be working smarter.

“I feel great physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually,” Williams said. “I’m taking care of my body even better than I was last year when I was getting those 20-plus carries dang near every game, but I feel great.”

Williams has had 20 carries in a game just twice this season after hitting the mark 15 times in the previous two seasons. He’s still ninth in the NFL with 146 carries, and he sits 11th with 659 yards rushing.

He also has 22 receptions for 177 yards and three more scores, putting him on pace to hit career highs in every receiving category during Matthew Stafford’s MVP-caliber start to the season. Stafford played with only one 1,000-yard rusher in his first 14 NFL seasons before Williams hit the mark in each of the past two years.

Williams takes particular pride in improving his pass-catching abilities after he took a year or two to become a consistent receiving threat out of the backfield.

“This year, Coach McVay and Matthew, I feel like they have more trust in me to be able to catch the ball and come out of the backfield,” Williams said. “Early on in my (Rams) years, it seemed like I would always tip the ball, and it’d get picked off. I just wasn’t catching the ball because I was trying to turn up before I even caught the ball. Now I do see the trust. I see them knowing I can go out there and make those plays.”

Williams scored his fifth rushing touchdown of the season last week at San Francisco, giving him 30 in 47 career games. Only Eric Dickerson (30) and Todd Gurley (46) reached that milestone faster among Rams running backs.

Williams is quick to credit his production and his health to his offensive line, which has been largely superb this season both in run blocking and in protection for Stafford — a job in which Williams also contributes heavily.

“They’re dominating the line of scrimmage and getting removal to where I don’t even feel like I’m getting touched until I’m 2 yards, 3 yards down the field,” Williams said. “When that’s where the first contact is made, we’re already ahead of the chains at that point. I just feel like it’s a little bit of me and a lot of my O-line.”

NOTES: WR Davante Adams missed practice to rest the oblique injury incurred at San Francisco, but McVay is confident it’s not serious: “He’s feeling good, and I trust the man. He’ll be ready (for Sunday). … DE Kobie Turner also missed practice with a back injury, but CB Darious Williams was a full participant despite his nagging shoulder injury.

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