Kyren Williams has spent three straight seasons proving his doubters wrong. Every knock on him has been answered, and he has finished as a productive fantasy back regardless of the circumstances. Yet the situation in Los Angeles keeps evolving in ways that complicate his ceiling. Fantasy managers have to weigh a rock-solid floor against a genuinely capped upside.
Should You Draft Kyren Williams in Fantasy Football?
For me, the answer on Williams in 2026 is a no.
I get that the dude’s been good for double-digit rushing touchdowns for a while now, and this offense is legit. They’re the Super Bowl favorites. I don’t doubt any of that. They’ve got the reigning MVP at quarterback. They’ve got one of the best receivers. They’ve got Davante Adams. They’ve got a lot to like in this offense. I’m not telling you somebody else should be favored to win the Super Bowl. They’re great, but with that comes a lot of responsibilities.
I don’t think they’re getting to the red zone 76 times like they did a season ago. You dial that back by a half per game, maybe even a full one per game, and you’re looking at a lot fewer opportunities. Adams is a red-zone vulture in this offense. That took food off the plate of Williams a season ago, and I think he could do the same this year. If you’re looking at a reduced number of red-zone trips, that shows up in the touchdown department.
Let’s not sleep on Blake Corum. I don’t want to say a committee, and I don’t think he pushes Kyren for the RB1 role, but he averaged over 5 yards per carry last season. He’s a dynamic rusher. He can do a little bit of everything. If they’re going to do this in-and-out, drive-by-drive situation, what’s to say touchdowns don’t swing in his favor? They’re not bringing in Williams as a touchdown vulture, as a short-yardage savant. They’re not taking Corum off the field if he’s cooking and they’ve got him in the red zone.
For me, there’s a lot of risk and not a lot of reward in a mid- to late-3rd-round pick here for Williams. The post-contact numbers are dipping a little bit. I guess you could read into that as signs of aggression. I think realistically LA’s looking for reasons to get Corum more involved.
You’ve got guys like D’Andre Swift going in this range. I have Swift ranked in this range, but he’s not going that direction. I would rather have him around a round and a half later than Williams this season.
I think you see marginal growth anywhere and more regression in the scoring department. If he scores 6 to 8 touchdowns instead of 10 to 12, there’s no way he’s paying off this ADP. Running back volume is so valuable at this point in the draft. Scoring drives his value. I’m dialing that back, which means I have no Williams this season.
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Kyren Williams’ Week 1 Fantasy Outlook
Even if you’re a Blake Corum stan, it’s hard to think this is a 50/50 split in September. Not because he doesn’t deserve such usage, but because everything went right for this offense last season, and I think they’ll need to come back to earth before tweaking anything significant.
Williams handled 17+ carries in 3 straight games to open 2025, and if he gets anything close to that level of volume against the sixth-worst pre-contact rush defense, an RB1 week is certainly within the range of outcomes this weekend.
At the very least, Williams appears to be the clear featured option in terms of routes, and I do still think they default his way when in close. I have Williams ranked half a dozen spots higher this week than I did during the preseason: he could well be a pump-and-dump option come Monday morning.
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Where Williams Ranks Among 2026 Running Backs
- Ashton Jeanty | LV
- Javonte Williams | DAL
- Travis Etienne Jr. | NO
- Breece Hall | NYJ
- D'Andre Swift | CHI
- Kyren Williams | LAR
- Cam Skattebo | NYG
- David Montgomery | HOU
- Bhayshul Tuten | JAX
- Quinshon Judkins | CLE
- Jadarian Price | SEA
More rankings can be found in PFN's PPR Running Back Rankings.
