Williams an "integral part" of offense?

Rams RB Kyren Williams (foot) was cleared to play in Saturday's preseason finale, but HC Sean McVay opted to hold him out. Asked about that decision afterward, McVay said it's because Williams is an "integral part of the plan this season," according to The Los Angeles Times' Gary Klein. The 5th-round rookie's most likely contributions figure to come in the passing game. He'd still likely need Cam Akers or Darrell Henderson to miss time to be a fantasy factor -- but both of those guys have had trouble staying healthy and are currently sidelined with injuries. Williams is only worth considering in deep fantasy drafts, but keep him on your waiver-wire watchlist.

Rams RB Kyren Williams had surgery to repair a broken bone in his hand, HC Sean McVay said Wednesday. Williams hurt his left hand in the fourth quarter of the Wild Card loss to the Lions. We'll look for more details on the procedure and timeline for return. Williams could miss some of the offseason program, but this injury shouldn't impact his 2024 campaign.

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Rams HC Sean McVay has ruled out RB Kyren Williams, WR Cooper Kupp, and DT Aaron Donald for Week 18's contest vs. the 49ers. Once the decision was made that backup QB Carson Wentz would be the Rams' starter on Sunday, it was reasonable to expect we'd see more of these big-name players sit out. Los Angeles gains nothing from playing all their starters in a game that doesn't alter their playoff hopes. This news leaves rookie WR Puka Nacua as the active playmaker of note for season-long managers who play into Week 18 -- although we are not expecting Nacua to play a full slate of snaps. Veteran Demarcus Robinson sits highest among Rams in the Week 18 WR Rankings.

Congratulations if you started Rams RB Kyren Williams in your fantasy championship. The second-year back exploded in Week 17 vs. the Giants, tallying 101 scrimmage yards with 3 rushing TDs on 22 touches. Those who remained patient with Williams in dynasty or picked him up off the waiver wire in season-long leagues were handed a player who ranked second among RBs in PPR points per game (21.2) with a massive average of 23 touches per game in 2023. It’s fair to proclaim him as a true “league winner” this season despite missing four games due to a high ankle sprain. He’ll assuredly be treated as a bonafide RB1 in 2024, regardless of format.

Rams RB Kyren Williams returned from IR in Week 12. You might say he did so with a bang. Handling 16 carries, the Notre Dame product tallied 143 yards – the second-highest mark of his career. He added a 6-61-2 receiving line on an 18.1% target share. A positive matchup with Arizona helped. But it’s clear Williams is back near 100% coming off an ankle injury. Also note: Royce Freeman mixed in for 13 carries, 77 yards, and 1 score. So Williams doesn’t look like a true workhorse as we advance. The next two weeks turn up difficult matchups vs. Cleveland and Baltimore.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero hears that Rams RB Kyren Williams will return as the lead back vs. Arizona today but that RB Royce Freeman will stay involved. "They wanna be careful about not overworking" Williams, Pelissero says. "Look for a roughly 2-to-1 ratio between Williams and Royce Freeman. Game flow is gonna dictate a lot of that." Our current projections have Williams for 16.7 carries to Freeman's 7.5 -- close to that 2-to-1 split. Williams should handle the majority of the passing-down snaps, though, and remains a strong RB2 play today. Freeman is really only in play in non-PPR fantasy leagues.