‘Crazy how things circle around’ — Notre Dame RB Kyren Williams starts his NFL career with childhood favorite team

St. Louis native Kyren Williams harbored no hate when the Rams skipped town for Los Angeles.

Rams owner Stan Kroenke is persona non grata in “The Lou” these days for moving the franchise west after a 21-year stay. The area’s feelings toward the Rams are apathetic at best. There’s more scorn and dislike than can fit in any riverboat that chugs down the Mississippi River past the team’s old home.

Not from Williams, though. The memories he made as a Rams fan growing up in the 2000s and early 2010s are too sweet to stain with contempt. He tagged along to most home games with one of his youth football coaches who had season tickets. His favorite player was running back Steven Jackson, the franchise’s all-time leading rusher. He has a picture with Jackson from his youth. He dressed up as Jackson for Halloween.

And now, he’s a Rams running back himself.

“I grew up in the Edward Jones Dome watching the Rams,” Williams told reporters after he was drafted. “It’s so crazy how things circle around. God’s plan, everything.”

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If there were any old grievances, getting drafted ought to have wiped those out. Williams is smart enough not to fire jabs at the team that just took him in the fifth round and made him its third selection. His excitement, though, supports his statement that “it was all love” after the Rams left St. Louis. All it took for him to ooze enthusiasm about his new home was a greeting from the first reporter on his post-draft video conference.

“I can’t even explain how I’m feeling right now,” Williams said. “It’s literally a dream come true. Starting in St. Louis, the Rams being there and now in LA.”

Williams waited 58 picks and nearly three hours into Day 3 of the draft to get the call from the Rams. Nerves crept into his draft-day gathering in Las Vegas with family and friends before the Rams called. They immediately turned into raw euphoria when his name was announced.

“We woke up this morning expecting the call might come early, get the day started early with a good phone call,” Williams said. “But time kept ticking, there was no call. A lot of back and forth.

“Couldn’t imagine being in a better place.”

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Williams’ goal is now to find a place in the Rams’ backfield. There’s an opening with 2021 leading rusher Sony Michel’s departure. Three-year veteran Darrell Henderson and 2020 second-round pick Cam Akers, though, are rotation mainstays. Henderson ran for 688 yards and caught 29 passes last year. Akers had a team-high 67 carries in the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI run.

Williams will play wherever he’s asked and thinks he can handle any role. He’s hoping to earn the coaching staff’s trust with his intangibles first.

“I’m bringing leadership that motivates people to push themselves to be better that day,” Williams said. “But on the field, the versatility to be a complete running back out of the backfield, catch passes, run inside and outside of the tackles and also line up in the slot.”

And, as even the casual Notre Dame fan can attest, he’s willing to pass block.

“The biggest thing as a running back in pass pro is having a mindset,” Williams said. “You can’t be shy or timid. You have to be able to deliver the blow first to the linebacker. That’s something I’ve always been taught. Growing up, my dad always had me play linebacker on his defense. I had no options but to go hit some people.”

If blitz pickups are his ticket to playing time as a rookie, he will lean into it. It’s second nature to him by now.

So is proving himself and outdoing expectations.

Williams’ 2020 breakout at Notre Dame came after an anonymous redshirt freshman season. He was the 15th-highest ranked player in Notre Dame’s 22-man 2019 signing class. The Rams made him the 15th running back chosen in this year’s draft, even though he was considered a top-10 back heading in. If he emerges as contributor or difference-maker, it will exceed what’s expected from a mid-fifth-round pick.

“Nothing is going to change,” Williams said, “now that I’m here.”