The Los Angeles Rams used one of their eighth selections in the 2025 draft on Auburn Tigers running back Jarquez Hunter. Pro Bowler Kyren Williams could have chosen to receive the Rams’ move poorly.
Hunter joins a talented Rams backfield that also includes Blake Corum, Cody Schrader, and Ronnie Rivers. Hunter has been lauded for what he could bring to the backfield.
Rather than be threatened by Hunter’s presence, Williams is ready to embrace the rookie.
“I haven’t talked to him,” Williams told RG.org’s DJ Siddiqi in an interview published on May 1. “But I’m always excited for new teammates, new people to go work with, people to grind with and compete with. I’m excited for when those guys do come and get to work with them.”
“The back they got from Auburn (Jarquez Hunter) is explosive, will be a good kick returner, and when you talked to SEC coaches, his name always came up,” an anonymous executive told The Athletic’s Mike Sando in comments published on May 2.
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler ranked Hunter as his RB11, calling the high school state champion power lifter a “weight-room demon.”
Hunter’s running style and special teams ability could “separate” him from the pack.
“His physical, balanced run style makes him a chore to tackle,” Brugler wrote in April. He isn’t the most creative or elusive runner at the line of scrimmage or in space, but he keeps his legs pumping to carry tacklers draped on his back.
“Hunter’s vision and tempo tend to run hot and cold, but he is a hammerhead with downhill burst to run through holes and into contact without gearing down. Along with his hungry run style, his impact on special teams will separate him on an NFL depth chart.”
Hunter is another weapon for the offense.
The Rams boast plenty at multiple positions, including ahead of him on the depth chart in Williams.
Kyren Williams Embracing Leadership Role
GettyKyren Williams is looking to establish himself as a leader for the Rams.
If Williams has his way, Hunter’s path will be right behind him. The veteran is taking another step in his career. Specifically, Williams is eager to grow and show his worth as a mentor for the next wave of players.
“I’ve been in the league since I was 21 years old,” Williams told Siddiqi. “Being able to be surrounded by the type of vets that I was surrounded by earlier in my career, it makes it easier. It makes it exciting to be a young leader, I can take these guys underneath my wings and show them the way.”
“I figured out my way, my own way,” Williams said, per Siddiqi. “Nobody really showed me how to do it. Once I was able to get to where I’m at, it’s only right that I put it on the people who are going to be after me. I’m just going to take from the mistakes and everything that I learned from my work here to where I’m at now, try to put them on game.”
Williams also said he plans to “be cheerful and be happy for them for whatever they do.” Moreover, he is “determined to make this my best season.”
“I don’t feel like I’ve touched my peak yet,” Williams told Siddiqi.
“However that looks, whether that’s pass blocking, catching the ball, breaking long runs, converting first downs, do everything I can to make sure that I’m the best I can be consistently this year.”
Kyren Williams, Rams Have Unfinished Business
GettyKyren Williams is in line for a significant payday on his next contract.
This is a big season for Williams. He set career highs in 2024, recording 1,299 yards and 14 touchdowns on 316 carries with 32 receptions. Williams turned those grabs into 182 yards and 2 more TDs.
Williams is in the final year of a four-year, $3.9 million rookie scale contract.
Rams general manager Les Snead said they would like to work out an extension with the 2023 Pro Bowler. The two sides have yet to resolve the matter.
“Kyren’s a great human, we all want this to work out, it’s just, can we agree upon a contract where we both feel like (it) is a win-win moving forward,” Snead said, per TheRams.com’s Stu Jackson in March. “And if it doesn’t happen this year, it doesn’t mean that Kyren’s not going to be a part (of the Rams) next year. It doesn’t mean we don’t do something a year from now.”
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