Williams totals 67 yards, 3 catches vs. Cardinals

After complaining about the team’s backfield split last week, Williams was out-carried by Blake Corum, 17 to 16, with Corum scoring a touchdown and having two others called back on penalties. Though Williams lost a fumble in the second half, the Rams leaned on him late in the fourth quarter following a short-lived Vegas comeback. He ran 18 pass routes to eight routes for Corum — a season long trend that makes Williams less sensitive to game script than Corum. Williams will be a locked-in top-15 running back option next week against the Chargers.

Williams has yet to see more than the 16 carries he saw against the Bills this season but the team’s recent pass-heavy nature has left the veteran lead back with six or more receptions in three straight games, including 27 total targets in that span. The elite-level aerial volume made it three consecutive games with 20 or more opportunities for Williams, who continues to return RB1 fantasy weeks while playing in one of the league’s top offenses. Williams remains a middling RB1 ahead of a Week 6 divisional showdown against the Cardinals at home.

Williams’ 10 receptions were a new career high, while his 26 touches were tied for his seventh most. This, as Blake Corum handled the ball only six times. With Matthew Stafford having trouble against a stout Eagles defense in the rain, he focused on Williams checkdowns, and the strategy actually paid off as the Rams erased a 20-10 halftime deficit. Williams now has 47 touches over the past two weeks after that number was 28 for Weeks 1 and 2. With the Rams off to a shaky start, it’s not surprising they’ve started concentrating touches on their most established weapons. Corum is going to hang around as a nuisance, but Williams has returned himself to the low-end RB1 mix ahead of a likely Week 5 shootout with the Bills.

Atkins believes Puka Nacua’s (groin) impending return will lighten the box, in turn making life easier on the run game and preventing the opposition from blitzing as frequently as the Broncos did last week. Corum has not established himself as a reliable weekly contributor in fantasy. Perhaps positive impacts from Nacua’s return trickle down to the Rams’ No. 2 running back. Kyren Williams remains a locked-in starter. Keep Corum stashed for now.

Williams’ 70 yards through the air were a career-high mark in receiving for a single game, returning yet another RB1 fantasy performance despite sharing backfield work with Blake Corum. Corum managed only 15 yards on six carries and caught two passes for zero additional yards. Furthermore, Corum has still not seen a carry inside the red zone through three games of the 2026 season. Williams remains a surefire RB1 ahead of a difficult matchup against the Eagles in Week 4.

Williams has opened the season with touchdowns in consecutive games after hitting pay dirt 15 times or more the previous two seasons. The difference this season is that he’s doing it while Blake Corum has been much more involved in the weekly game plan. Williams continues forward with an elevated weekly floor due to his robust red zone role, albeit with a shakier ceiling than in recent years due to the presence of Corum. He remains a back-end RB2 when the Rams travel to Colorado to face the Bronco in Week 3.

Williams’ day was salvaged with a short-yardage score. He finished with one more rushing attempt than Blake Corum, but Corum did look spryer with 54 yards on those attempts. The Rams’ offense just didn’t have it in the Australian showdown, and Williams should see a better box score in Week 2 against the Giants; even if Corum remains a fantasy adversary.

Corum took a nice leap in his second season as a pro, posting a 145-746-6 rushing line over 17 games while competing with Kyren Williams for touches every step of the way. Like Corum, Williams was also healthy for 17 games, but that didn’t stop Corum from popping up for a few top-24 PPR finishes last season. Corum’s 9.4 opportunities per game weren’t enough to make him a reliable option in start/sit leagues, as he managed only one double-digit PPR performance from Weeks 1-12, but his production could pave the way for a more even split with Williams this season. It may take some time to determine whether or not we can view Corum as a player who has standalone value this season, but he remains one of the best handcuffs in fantasy playing in an elite offense that could feature him in a high-volume role should Williams ever miss time.

Back on May 1st, Atkins predicted Rams coach Sean McVay would deploy starting RB Kyren Williams and Corum in a 50-50 split, with Williams operating as the “primary third-down back and between-the-tackles runner,” while Corum functions as “a change-of-pace option with explosive capabilities.” With spring workouts complete, Atkins is doubling down with minor clarifications. Corum has made strides as a pass protector and receiver, and could “earn more playing time in an offense that wants to blur the run and the pass,” but Williams still remains the superior passing game player and should out-snap Corum because of this. Williams’ “consistency and short-yardage skills” could also keep him on the field in goal-line situations. Williams posted a 259/1,252/10 rushing line while Corum went for 145/746/6. Atkins thinks the two backs could split carries almost 50-50, which would seemingly make a 1,000-yard season doable for Corum. However, Corum’s ceiling outcome is limited if Williams indeed remains the primary player on passing downs and in goal-line situations.

Atkins still expects Williams to be the starter. Playing on third down and in the two-minute drill gives running backs an edge in PPR formats. Atkins did not specify which back will play in the latter scenario, but we imagine Williams will get the first crack at the gig. If Williams is also set to be the interior runner, it likely means he gets the first chance in the red zone. He out-snapped No. 2 RB Blake Corum in the red zone, 26-6, during the playoffs last year. That said, losing touches to the point of a 50-50 split hurts his upside.