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Los Angeles Rams select Notre Dame running back Kyren Williams in fifth round of NFL Draft

IMG_9992by:Tyler Horka•04/30/22•

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notre dame kyren williams
Former Notre Dame running back Kyren Williams is set to begin his NFL career. (Photo: Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

Few running backs have electrified crowds at Notre Dame Stadium quite the way Kyren Williams did in his three years as a Fighting Irish tailback. Stiff-arms. Broken tackles. Leaping, lunging touchdowns. Williams was a walking highlight reel in blue and gold.

Carrying the ball in the NFL is a totally different animal. There is more too it than the flashy plays that led Williams to wind up on SportsCenter routinely. But for years, the 5-9, 199-pound Williams has been out to prove his game is made up of more than just the big play.

Now he’ll have the chance to do so at the highest level.

Williams was selected by the Los Angles Rams with the No. 164 overall pick in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He’s the first former Notre Dame running back to get picked since Dexter Williams in 2019 and the sixth since 2000. He joins Julius Jones (2004), Theo Riddick (2013), C.J. Prosise (2016) and the other Williams on that list.

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Still, Williams had to wait a while to join those former Golden Domers as NFL draftees. Fourteen other running backs were taken before Williams, who was once viewed as a fringe second-day selection. That’s just more fuel for the fire for a fervent competitor like Williams. Plus, he’ll get to join the defending Super Bowl champions in LA. The Rams traded their fifth and seventh round picks to snag him.

Notre Dame’s official Twitter account tweeted a video of an emotional Williams on the phone with the Rams coaching staff.

“Coach, you got the one, I promise you,” Williams said. “I swear to goodness I’m going to go in there and do everything. I promise y’all are going to get everything from me.”

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ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said the slide wasn’t entirely surprising.

“We know what he is. He’s a backup, rotational player,” McShay said on the broadcast. “He’s going to help on special teams as well.”

Williams has been much more than that for most of his playing career to this point. He arrived at Notre Dame as the No. 295 overall player in the class of 2019 per the On3 Consensus Ratings. He was the No. 26 running back and the No. 5 player in Missouri as a product of Saint Louis St. John Vianney high school.

Williams scored at least one touchdown in the final eight games he played in a Notre Dame uniform. He had multiple scores in four of those games. He rushed for at least 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons, becoming just the fifth back in Irish history to ever accomplish that feat and the first since Darius Walker in 2005-06.

In all, Williams finished his college career with 2,156 rushing yards and 27 rushing touchdowns. He added 675 more receiving yards and an additional four scores through the air. Williams racked up those numbers largely over the course of two seasons. He redshirted during his freshman season after running four times for 26 yards. He recorded at least 200 carries in each of his sophomore and junior seasons.

“He’s quick, he’s shifty, he has really good vision as a runner,” McShay said. “He runs with suddenness and urgency.”

Had Williams stayed for his senior season, he would have likely had a chance to become the seventh running back to ever rush for 3,000 in a Notre Dame career. Only Autry Denson (1995-98), Allen Pinkett (1982-85), Vagas Ferguson (1976-79), Walker (2004-06), Josh Adams (2015-17) and Jones (1999-03) have ever reached that mark.

The only thing left for Williams at the college level was to try to win a national title, though. He already showed his full bag of tools. And, again, he’s more than the back who stiff-armed a North Carolina defender in the backfield and sprinted down the sideline for a 91-yard touchdown last fall. He can pick up blitzes as a pass-blocker. He’s a receiving threat, and he’s probably faster than his 4.65-second 40-yard dash time would lead many to believe.

“He’s not afraid at all to put his face in the fan in pass protection,” McShay said. “He really takes a lot of pride in that. Everyone I talked to inside Notre Dame said he has great football IQ. Mature, tough. Self-motivator. He was a team captain at Notre Dame. I think you’re getting a really good value.”

The Rams have given him the chance to prove it. And all he needed was a chance.

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