Rams RB Kyren Williams logged 10 carries for 38 rushing yards in Week 3’s loss vs. the Bengals. The second-year back once again completely dominated the RB workshare, though he lost out on some fantasy points by only catching 2 of 7 targets for 27 receiving yards in the primetime contest. Looking ahead to Week 4 vs. the Colts, it’s fair to assume Williams will see major involvement again. Perhaps there’s a bounce back on the horizon.
On Monday, ESPN's Sarah Barshop tweeted that Rams HC Sean McVay told reporters that GM Les Snead has spoken with "a handful of teams" regarding a trade for RB Cam Akers and "that's the direction" the Rams are headed. This would seem to indicate that RB Kyren Williams will remain the most fantasy-relevant back in Los Angeles for the time being. Even so, there's nothing stopping the Rams from adding another back to the depth chart at some point down the line. We'll keep an eye on how this situation continues unfolding in the coming days.
Rams RB Kyren Williams has racked up 2 TDs in each of the first two games. His 4 total TDs leads the NFL through two weeks, pending the Monday night games. Williams posted a 14-52-1 rushing line in Sunday's loss to the 49ers, a tough matchup for rushing production. He added 6 catches for 48 yards and a TD on 10 targets, second most on the team. No other Rams RB got a carry in the game, and Ronnie Rivers garnered the only other RB target. The Rams made both Cam Akers and rookie Zach Evans healthy scratches for this game. Williams looks like a potential workhorse going forward and easy weekly fantasy starter until further notice.
Rams WR Puka Nacua snagged 15 catches for 147 yards in Sunday's loss to the 49ers. That gives the rookie 25 receptions through his first two games, a new NFL record. Nacua drew a whopping 20 targets in the game, doubling his nearest teammate and accounting for 36.4% of Matthew Stafford's 55 pass attempts. RB Kyren Williams ranked second, catching six of 10 targets for 48 yards and a TD. WR Tutu Atwell ranked third with 9 targets. He snagged 7 catches for 77 yards. Nacua now stands as a must-start at least until Cooper Kupp returns. We'll see how the WR corps changes at that point.
Rams RB Cam Akers is a healthy scratch for today's game vs. the 49ers, as Fox Sports' Jay Glazer reported would be the case a few minutes before 1 pm ET this afternoon. RBs Kyren Williams, Ronnie Rivers, and Royce Freeman are active for Los Angeles. Williams figures to handle the majority of the backfield work.
Rams RB Cam Akers will be a healthy scratch for this afternoon's game vs. the 49ers, according to Fox Sports' Jay Glazer. Glazer adds that some teams believe Akers is on the trade block. Hopefully you weren't counting on him in Week 2 fantasy lineups. The news makes RB Kyren Williams easier to trust in fantasy lineups, despite the negative matchup.
The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue writes that Rams RB Kyren Williams "could have a bigger impact" on the team's passing game in 2023. Williams has reportedly "excelled throughout training camp" in this capacity, and QB Matthew Stafford "seemed to get comfortable" targeting him as a receiver. Perhaps the biggest takeaway from Rodrigue is the belief the Rams will "probably feature both [Cam] Akers and Williams," meaning that whatever hopes existed for rookie Zach Evans to seize a fantasy-relevant role are dwindling. Williams was used sparingly as a rookie last season, only seeing 50%+ of offensive snaps twice in 2022, but this potential uptick in usage could vault him into deep league PPR consideration. See where the Rams RBs appear in our current RB rankings.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler confirms that the Rams view Kyren Williams as their No. 2 RB. Fowler adds that the Rams "like Williams a little bit more as a pass protector than they do [Cam] Akers." That suggests that Williams will steal passing-down work from Akers, which we've been projecting all along. Williams is unlikely to have fantasy value behind a healthy Akers, but an Akers injury would turn him into a volume-based fantasy play.
Rams RB Sony Michel informed HC Sean McVay that he intends to retire, The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrique reports. Michel turned just 28 in February but has endured a litany of injuries. With Michel out of the picture, the Rams are back to Cam Akers, Kyren Williams, and Zach Evans as their top three RBs.
The Rams traded up to grab Ole Miss RB Zach Evans late in Round 6 of the NFL Draft. Our guy C.H. Herms is a big fan of Evans' film and has liked Evans' dynasty value all along. And he's far from the only Evans film fan. Evans bounced from TCU to Ole Miss and dealt with multiple injuries. He finished with just 290 carries and 30 catches through three seasons. But he also averaged 6.9 yards per rush and 10.8 per catch for his career. That included 6.5 yards per carry and 9.9 per reception in his lone SEC campaign. Going to the Rams likely puts him in competition with 2022 rookie Kyren Williams for the No. 2 spot behind Cam Akers. The situation presents opportunity, with neither Akers nor Williams having proved much as a pro to date. We'll be watching this backfield competition through training camp. He's worth a look late in your dynasty rookie draft. See where he lands in our dynasty RB rankings.
Rams RB Cam Akers racked up 118 yards and 3 TDs on 23 carries in Sunday's beatdown of the Broncos. The numbers mark big jumps over his previous season highs. Akers has scored 6 rushing TDs over his past 4 games, though, and topped 5.0 yards per carry in 2 straight games. He now looks much more attractive as a Week 17 fantasy football option at the Chargers than we would have expected even heading into Week 16. RB Malcolm Brown added 19 yards on 2 carries. RB Kyren Williams rushed 6 times for 18 yards.
Rams RB Cam Akers easily led Sunday's backfield in the loss to the Seahawk, rushing for 60 yards and 2 TDs on 17 attempts. Kyren Williams handled the only 3 other RB carries for the team. He watched his lone target fall incomplete. Akers added a catch for no gain as he beat Williams 19-11 in routes, according to Pro Football Focus. This backfield remains wildly inconsistent and near-impossible to predict for fantasy use. The Rams do get an upside matchup, though, with the Raiders on Thursday night.
Rams rookie RB Kyren Williams more than doubled RB Cam Akers' snap count in Sunday's loss to the Chiefs. Williams led the backfield with 11 carries, 3 more than Akers, and drew all 3 RB targets for the game. He caught all 3 for 25 yards but managed just 35 yards on his 11 rushes (3.2 per carry). That trailed Akers' rushing production (37 yards on 8 attempts), but the playing time is noteworthy. Ideally, you're not playing any Rams RB the rest of the way. But if you need to, Williams looks (for now, at least) like the guy.
The Rams waived RB Darrell Henderson. You could have gotten big odds a month ago on Henderson getting cut from this roster before RB Cam Akers. Henderson played just 4 snaps last week. HC Sean McVay said Monday that the limited playing time was due to a knee issue, but there must be more to this story. We'll see where Henderson lands, but he's unlikely to be a fantasy factor the rest of this season. His release leaves Los Angeles' moribund backfield to Akers and Kyren Williams. RBs Malcolm Brown and Ronnie Rivers are on the practice squad.
Rams HC Sean McVay said that RB Darrell Henderson's snaps were limited by a knee issue in Sunday's loss to the Saints. Henderson ended up playing just 4 snaps and carrying twice. Kyren Williams actually led the backfield with 35 snaps (55%), finishing with 7 carries and 2 targets. Cam Akers played 25 snaps (39%) and carried 14 times. We'll track Henderson's status this week, but this remains a backfield to avoid in fantasy lineups.
The Rams started RB Darrell Henderson in Sunday's loss to the Saints, as usual. But he logged just 4 snaps for the game. That gave way for RB Cam Akers to lead in carries (14) and rushing yards (61). Rookie RB Kyren Williams followed with 7-36 rushing and saw the only 2 RB targets. He caught 1 for 8 yards. We'll see if HC Sean McVay offers any insight into this prize-less Whac-a-mole game that is the Rams backfield.
Rams RB Kyren Williams (ankle) will be activated from IR and play vs. the Cardinals this weekend, HC Sean McVay said. The rookie has been out since going down in the opener. There were reports that he was slated to play a significant role before that ankle injury. We'll see how much action he gets against Arizona on Sunday. We'd try to avoid this backfield in Week 10 fantasy lineups, but Williams is worth stashing in leagues of 12+ teams.
Rams RB Cam Akers will play vs. the Bucs today, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. "How much he plays will be predicated on the flow of the game," Schefter adds. RB Kyren Williams was not activated for this one, so Akers, Darrell Henderson, Ronnie Rivers and Malcolm Brown are Los Angeles' available RBs. We'll see who's active around 3 pm ET, but you should try to avoid this backfield in fantasy lineups.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports that the Rams "turned down multiple offers for RB Cam Akers before Tuesday's trade deadline and now are working with Akers' agent in hopes he'll play for them again this season." Akers doesn't seem to have much choice, unless he's trying to force the team to release him. We'll see where this goes -- and how the backfield will shake out if Akers does return. The Rams also expect to get rookie Kyren Williams healthy soon, and HC Sean McVay has talked up his potential role. This looks like a backfield to avoid if you can, especially given how disappointing the offense has been on whole.
Rams RB Kyren Williams (ankle) has been designated to return from IR. He went down with a high-ankle sprain in the opener that required surgery. He's now eligible to practice, but HC Sean McVay said that Williams won't play vs. the 49ers this weekend. That should keep RB Darrell Henderson in the lead role. We'll continue to monitor Williams' progress. He's worth stashing in deep fantasy leagues.
Search
