Rams RB Kyren Williams ends season on a low with costly fumble vs. Eagles
The Los Angeles Rams fell to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Divisional round, putting an end to their 2024 season. A big reason for the loss was the difference at running back. Kyren Williams’ lack of explosiveness and breakaway speed in the open field were apparent. Paired with his fumbling issues, it puts the difference between him and Barkley in perspective. Here is this week’s stock up, stock down.
Stock Down: RB Kyren Williams
For most of the season, my take on Kyren Williams has remained pretty consistent. He is a good running back that does provide value to the offense. Williams is a good fit for the Rams offense. At the same time, he is a limited player. He’s not explosive, doesn’t create in the open field, doesn’t have breakaway speed, and doesn’t offer much as a receiver.
Williams can’t be all of those things and also have a fumbling problem. He has 15 fumbles going back to 2020 at Notre Dame. Is it possible he fixes it? Of course it is. However, it’s also been who he is. Something has to give. Williams would be a great complementary piece in a backfield, but it gets complicated given the Rams drafted Blake Corum who is his clone.
Stock Up: Jared Verse and Rams pass rushers
The Rams pass rushers took over another playoff game. They sacked Jalen Hurts seven times and held him to a net of 65 passing yards. While Verse got involved and created havoc, it was others as well. Six different players had a sack, including run defender Neville Gallimore.
This Rams defensive line took over back-to-back playoff games and this is a group that is going to be a problem moving forward. Verse and Fiske are only going to get better in year two. Byron Young and Kobie Turner remain solid building blocks as well. This is a group that is going to be devastating over the next few years.
Stock Down: Beaux Limmer and the interior offensive line
After investing so much in the interior offensive line, it’s what let the Rams down on Sunday. They spent a second round pick on Steve Avila who had a few rough moments. Kevin Dotson who was re-signed to a large contract in the offseason had a false start and gave up a pressure on the final drive. Jonah Jackson has been out of the lineup for a while, leaving Beaux Limmer at center.
There’s no shame in getting beat by Jalen Carter. He is a first-team all-pro caliber player for a reason. Still, there were times where Limmer looked lost and was clearly the weakest link on the offensive line. He can continue to develop and with a full offseason locked in as the starter, that may benefit him. This is a group that needs to be better if the Rams offense is going to take a step forward next year.
Stock Up: Rams future
Following the 2021 season, the Rams’ future has never been brighter. They have core players to build around on both sides of the ball in Puka Nacua and Jared Verse. This is a group that now has playoff experience having played in three playoff games over the last two years. To top it all off, they have a lot of resources to spend this offseason.
It’s unlikely that the Rams go with a “F Them Picks” approach again. However, they also shouldn’t be afraid to put some chips into the middle of the table. They will have cap space to go with another first round pick. The last two years have been about rebuilding and retooling. Next year will be about taking that next step and being a serious contender.
Stock Down: Run Defense
Coming into the game, the Rams needed to stop the run and Saquon Barkley. It was very clear that wasn’t going to be the case on the opening drive when Hurts ran 44 yards for a touchdown. Over the back half of the season, the Rams defense improved, but the Eagles running offense proved to be too much to handle.
Part of this was players in the secondary taking bad angles. At the same time, it was also the Eagles taking advantage of favorable looks that the Rams gave them. The Rams defensive line is small, even their bigger guys. They need to add some size up front and get some better linebacker play. This is a promising group that can build on this year, but getting better against the run needs to be a priority given the competition in the NFC with the Eagles, 49ers, and Lions.
