The importance of running backs has been a hot topic of debate for football fans over the last 20 years, and those arguments haven’t cooled off recently. If anything, the success of teams with star running backs, including Saquon Barkley’s 2,000-yard season in 2024 and Kenneth Walker III’s Super Bowl MVP award in 2025, has only brought the importance of having a quality starter back to the forefront.
Do running backs matter?
Many of you will say no. Many of you will say that it depends on who are talking about. Even more
of you will argue that running backs do matter, but that Kyren Williams isn’t one of the special ones who does. Others will say that he’s proven enough, rushing for about 1,200 yards and 12 touchdowns every season.
Who will win the argument today? Well, if this Tournament of Ram-points bracket is any indication–I have literally NO idea.
In the last round, we pitted Kyren Williams against Quentin Lake. The results so far:
- Quentin Lake, 51%
- Kyren Williams, 49%
There’s not enough of a gap to firmly establish a winner. I took the poll to Twitter, and Lake had a slight lead there too. Maybe Lake is going to win. Maybe not.
I think it deserves a deeper look, and so we will now face both players off against Kevin Dotson, the player who soundly defeated Kobie Turner, 66% to 34%.
Whoever does the best against Dotson will advance. Or, if Dotson beats both of them soundly, then Dotson is moving onto the next round himself.
Williams vs Dotson
Do you think that it would be easier to survive the loss of Kevin Dotson or Kyren Williams? Which position are the Rams more suited to handle a change? For what it’s worth, Dotson missed three games last season. Williams has been relatively healthy since suffering a rookie injury.
Do you think Williams or Dotson is the more irreplaceable player?
Let’s see if Kyren would even beat Dotson even if he did advance.
Lake or Dotson?
Very different positions, very different players. I know, it’s an abstract concept without an easy answer. Try. Do you think that it would be easier to replace Dotson or Lake?
We’ll tally the votes and determine who, if anyone, is going to get one more chance to face someone in our final-four of the tournament: Stafford, Garrett, Puka, and McDuffie.
