Through three games, Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams ranks ninth in the NFL with 214 yards rushing. That’s not an eye-popping number, but the underlying stats show he’s been one of the best running backs in football.
He leads the league in rushing success rate (63.2%), is fourth in yards per carry (5.6) and is tied for 10th with 10 missed tackles forced, per PFF. His overall grade of 81.5 ranks fifth among all running backs, according to PFF.
What’s perhaps most impressive is that he’s doing all this against loaded boxes a good portion of the time. Williams has faced a box with at least eight defenders 36.84% of the time, which is the fourth-highest rate for any running back. David Montgomery leads the league at 40.54%, per Next Gen
Stats.
That’s by far the highest rate Williams has ever faced in his career. Last season, the box was stacked against him 22.78% of the time. In 2024, it was 14.24% of the time (sixth-lowest). And in 2023, no running back faced fewer loaded boxes than Williams (4.82%).
It’s a sign of the respect he’s earned from opposing defenses. They’re paying more attention to him as a runner, putting more defenders in the box to stop him. That’s a dangerous game to play with Matthew Stafford at quarterback and Puka Nacua and Davante Adams at wide receiver, but Williams is doing an excellent job of making those defenses pay by still churning out big chunks of yardage.
The other part of it is that the Rams are running much more 13 personnel than they have in the past, which naturally brings more defenders into the box to cover the tight ends. Even with the extra defenders in the box, Williams is making them miss and bouncing runs outside.
His improved explosiveness and speed allow him to bounce runs off-tackle when there’s too much congestion on the inside.
Williams is “only” averaging 71.3 yards per game, which is his lowest since his rookie year when he barely played. But when you dig deeper, he’s making defenders miss at a higher rate, breaking off more long runs and is leading the NFL in success rate for the second straight year.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Kyren Williams is producing like a top RB despite defenses stacking the box
