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USATSI

The Rams signed Kyren Williams to a three-year contract extension Tuesday for $33 million, including $23 million guaranteed. And now, Fantasy managers can draft Williams with confidence. Or will they?

Williams has been a polarizing Fantasy running back so far in the early drafts we've done this season. It seems that Fantasy managers are either willing to draft him with confidence toward the end of Round 2 or beginning of Round 3 in the majority of leagues, or they want nothing to do with him until the end of Round 3 or later.

The positives for Williams are obvious. He's had consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons and scored 31 total touchdowns in 28 regular-season games. He also has 66 catches for 388 yards on 88 targets over that span, and he averaged 20.5 PPR points per game in 2023 and 16.1 PPR points in 2024.

Despite all of that, Fantasy managers were concerned about him this season. The Rams drafted Jarquez Hunter in Round 4 of the NFL Draft this year, and last season, Los Angeles selected Blake Corum in Round 3.  

The thought was Williams could lose some work, especially to Hunter, who just had 187 carries for 1,201 yards and eight touchdowns and 21 catches for 155 yards and a touchdown in 2024. Hunter is an explosive runner, and he had more rushes of 10-plus yards last season at Auburn (42) than the Rams did as a team (37) on 450 attempts.

But Williams has been one of the best workhorses for the past two years. In 2024, Williams averaged 21.9 touches per game, which was third best in the NFL behind only Saquon Barkley (23.6) and Jonathan Taylor (22.9). In 2023, Williams was No. 1 at 21.7 touches per game.

Even if Williams does lose some work, he can still be a borderline No. 1 Fantasy running back in all leagues. And that's how I'm viewing him.

It's a little concerning that Matthew Stafford (back) is hurt in training camp. And left tackle Alaric Jackson (blood clots) remains without a timetable to return. Hopefully, both will be fine for Week 1, and the Rams offense can operate at a high level.

Williams is locked in as the starting running back with his new contract. And while Hunter and Corum -- in that order for me -- are worth late-round picks, Williams should be drafted toward the end of Round 2. It's clear that based on the contract extension that Williams is the Rams' best running back for 2025.