Kyren Williams Injury Fantasy Football Impact | How Rams’ Backfield Will Shake Out | Should You Add Zach Evans?

A day after the Los Angeles Rams topped the Arizona Cardinals, the injury to running back Kyren Williams didn’t look like one that would keep him out for long, and there was a slim chance he could even play in week 7. Backup Ronnie Rivers also got injured last week, and was expected to miss several weeks and maybe even land on injured reserve. 

I wrote about who might fill in during week 7, but now need to address the situation again.

Why? It’s now being reported that Williams is going to miss multiple weeks with an ankle sprain.

With that in mind, the Rams made several roster moves to bolster their backfield. Fantasy owners are wondering which player or players are going to lead the backfield, so let’s dive into things and try to answer the question.

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The State of the Backfield

At the time of publication, Williams and Rivers are still on the active roster. Los Angeles also signed Royce Freeman to the active roster and added Darrell Henderson to the practice squad. 

Zach Evans is also on the active roster, and he was my guess for who might serve as the team’s lead back these next few weeks. He was third on the depth chart behind Williams and Rivers.

Assuming the team doesn’t make any more roster moves before gameday, I’m guessing that Evans will be the lead back, with Freeman also active. I’d also expect Henderson to be elevated to the active roster to give the team a third option.

Running Back Fantasy Outlook

Evans is the only guy of the trio to log any offensive snaps this season. He’s only played six snaps, receiving four touches.

Evans has rushed for 10 yards on four attempts. He hasn’t been targeted in the passing game. 

Evans was the sixth-round pick of the Rams in the 2023 NFL Draft and has only appeared in the team’s last two games. He’s played more special teams snaps (9) than offensive snaps.

Freeman gives the Rams some more experience in the backfield, but again hasn’t played an offensive snap across three games with the team this season. All 37 of his snaps have come on special teams.

Freeman has been in the NFL since 2018, playing 68 games and making nine starts while playing for the Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers and Houston Texans. He’s averaged 3.7 yards per attempt and scored eight touchdowns, with his most productive seasons coming in Houston.

Freeman also is a pretty good pass catcher, averaging 6.1 yards per reception. He’s scored once through the air.

Henderson actually is more familiar with the Los Angeles offense than Freeman, even though Henderson was just signed. Henderson has been in the NFL since 2019 and played all of his games for the Rams.

Henderson has played in 50 career games, making 28 starts. He averages 4.4 yards a carry and has scored 13 times. He’s also a decent pass catcher, averaging 7.2 yards a catch. Henderson has scored four times through the air.

Coach Sean McVay hasn’t spoken about what kind of rotation the team might use with its running backs, so it’s all speculation at this point.

Given what we know at this time, Evans still looks like the guy who will get the first crack at being the No. 1 option until Williams or Rivers return. I don’t think we can expect Evans to immediately take on the workhorse role Williams had been in. Williams had gotten at least 12 touches in each game, including three weeks at 20 or more touches.

Seeing as Evans has just four career touches, all coming last week, I’d anticipate him getting 10-15 touches in week 7.

While Freeman has been with the team more than Henderson this year, Freeman not earning any offensive snaps essentially puts them in the same boat coming into the next game. I actually think Henderson has the chance to serve as the No. 2 back, and potentially play more than Evans if he’s able to produce close to what he has during his NFL career. That all depends on whether or not his body is ready for the grind of an NFL game, but I don’t think the Rams would have signed him if he wasn’t capable of immediately stepping in and playing.

I’d guess Freeman gets some offensive snaps this week, but Henderson to play more and finish with several more touches. I’d also guess that it won’t be enough touches for Henderson to really make a big impact, unless he breaks off a big play or two, or finds the end zone.

Who to Add/Who to Start

According to our charts, most of the Rams’ backs are still available on the waiver wire in most leagues. Evans is shown at just 7% owned, while Freeman is at 3%. Henderson is barely owned, although that makes sense seeing as he was just signed to the team’s practice squad.

My thoughts on how the backfield situation will unfold have already been discussed, so now we need to talk about what guys to consider adding and playing in week 7.

Let’s talk about who to add first. I’d take a stab on Evans first in typical redraft leagues, and target Henderson in deeper leagues. I’d consider Freeman in deeper leagues, but probably would stay away from him for now.

The Rams will be playing the Pittsburgh Steelers, which sets up favorably for the backs that play. Pittsburgh’s defense sits in the bottom 10 spots when it comes to defending opposing running backs, allowing 23 fantasy points a contest. The Steelers are better against the pass, but still not all that great, so I’d anticipate quarterback Matthew Stafford and the wide receiving trio of Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua and Tutu Atwell to carry most of the offensive burden.

Seeing as to how involved Williams has been this season, it’s hard not to want to start one of the Rams’ backs against a poor Steelers’ defense. I’d do my best to avoid starting any of them though, as their usage is simply too tough to project. If you have a couple of the LA backs and need to start one, then I’d go with Evans. I wouldn’t feel great about his chances though.

I think the Rams, who already rank near the top of the league in passing attempts, will be an even more pass-happy offense this week. They can simply use a short-passing game approach and spread the targets between Kupp, Nacua and Atwell to offset the lack of bodies in the backfield. LA will obviously have to run here and there to keep the defense honest, so one of Evans, Freeman or Henderson will likely be on the field every snap, but I think it will be mostly for show. One of the backs would need to score to put up a solid point total, and I just don't know who that could be, so I'd avoid them all.

Our running back rankings tell you everything you need to know about the situation, as no Rams' back ranks inside the top 55 for week 7. Stick with our projections and try to find a better option to play, even in deeper leagues.

We’ll revisit the situation prior to week 8, at which time we’ll have a week 7 contest to use as reference.