Kyren Williams: The 2022 5th-round pick had a breakout year in 2023, rushing for 1,144 yards and 12 rushing touchdowns, leading the NFL in rushing yards per game (95.3). His yardage production has fallen off a bit in his third season, registering 664 yards, but his eight touchdowns illustrate how he’s maintained his effective scoring pace. The Rams rushing offense has been mostly stagnant this season, ranking 26th in yards, 31st in yards-per-attempt and 18th in DVOA, but Williams is an effective running back, especially in the red zone, who will gash the Patriots if they don’t bring similar effort to what they demonstrated last week against the Bears.
“Kyren [Williams] does a good job. He’s in there the majority of the time,” said Mayo. “Anytime a back is in there over 80 percent of the time, you look at this guy as a three-down back and really can do it all. He can do it all.”
Cooper Kupp & Puka Nacua: This is one of the most dangerous receiving duos in the league and, after combining to miss nine games, both are now getting back up to speed within the Rams offense. They combined for 16 catches for 178 yards against the Dolphins, a sure sign that Kupp and Nacua will be a major problems for the Patriots to deal with. Last week against the Bears, New England’s coverage was outstanding for the entirety of the game. They’ll need to play up to the same level this week with special attention for the Rams two studs.
‘The receiver position, those guys are definitely good competitors,” said Mayo. “[Cooper] Kupp’s been doing it for a long time, multiple hundred reception seasons. He’s just an all-around good player, but it’s not just him, the other guys. Turned the Seattle game on, the plays they made at the end of the game where they just refused to be denied as far as catching the ball, and obviously they pulled that one out.”
Byron Young: After bursting onto the scene as a rookie and picking up eight sacks and 19 QB hits, Young has continued to emerge in his second season, leading the team with five sacks and 10 QB hits. Young is particularly hot coming into this game against the Patriots, registering a sack in each of the last three games with six QB hits. The Patriots offensive line allowed just one sack last weekend in Chicago, they’ll need a similar effort to contain Young, who will line up on both sides of the offense.
Kobie Turner: With Young on the edge, they also found a disruptive interior defensive tackle to go next to him in the 2023 draft with third-round pick Kobie Turner. Like Young, Turner was immediately productive as a rookie, registering nine sacks and 16 quarterback hits. Similar toYoung, Turner is on a bit of a hot streak with sacks in both of his last two games along with four total QB hits. Young and Turner are among a group of talented Rams defenders who are getting better each week, with rookies Braden Fiske and Jared Verse also near the top of the team’s sack leaderboards. Aaron Donald might no longer be causing problems for the Rams defense but they’ve been quickly rebuilding with quality draft picks over the last three seasons that have all been productive.
“I would argue to say this is one of the best fronts that we have seen all year,” said Mayo. “It’s a young group, and they do it the right way. They play the right way. They play together. They hustle. They’re all over the place. Our offensive line, they’ve got to step up.”