Random Ramsdom: Rams want to use Kyren Williams like this former Patriots star

According to SI’s Albert Breer, the L.A. Rams “see a lot of James White” in second-year running back Kyren Williams. That would put Williams much more in a receiving role than a rushing role as a complement to Cam Akers.

In his training camp report with the Rams on Saturday, here’s what Breer had to say about the running back situation:

The running back room had its issues in general in 2022, but that’s another spot where there should be a turnaround. Cam Akers has had a nice start to camp, and second-year man Kyren Williams has managed to turn heads for the second straight summer—his rookie year was short-circuited by a broken foot Williams suffered just before the season began. The Rams see a lot of James White in Williams’s game, and that sort of player fits nicely as a complement to the bruising Akers.

White, a fourth round pick out of Wisconsin in 2014, had 40 catches for 410 yards in his second season with the New England Patriots. He only had 22 rushes for 56 yards but was on his way to a huge role on the Patriots offense. The next year, White was targeted 86 times, then in 2017 he was targeted 72 times (in two fewer games), then in 2018 he had 87 catches for 751 yards and seven touchdowns on 123 targets.

White had a career-high 1,176 total yards and 12 touchdowns that season, en route to winning his third Super Bowl championship with New England. He finished his career with just 1,278 rushing yards but 381 catches for 3,278 receiving yards.

It sounds like Sean McVay sees Williams as more of a receiver and pass blocker than runner.

Breer’s report also mentioned that Ernest Jones “looks like he’s taking another step from a leadership standpoint” and that Derion Kendrick, Cobie Durant, and Russ Yeast have “prominent roles” in the secondary.