Jamaal Williams is the most successful NFL running back to come from BYU.
His 4,122 career rushing yards are second all-time among BYU alums, trailing quarterback Steve Young by just 117 yards. Third on the all-time rushing list is former BYU quarterback Taysom Hill with 2,437 rushing yards. The next pure running back is Tyler Allgeier with 2,362 yards. No other former BYU running back has exceeded 750 career rushing yards in the NFL, so what Jamaal has done in his career is truly remarkable and should be lauded by the BYU fan base.
It was just two seasons ago back in 2022 when Jamaal Williams, then with the Detroit Lions, ran for 1,066 yards and an NFL-leading 17 touchdowns. It was his sixth NFL season and at age 27 at the time the former BYU star seemed to have at least a couple of really good seasons left in the tank.
With Williams excelling in Detroit and the Lions actually winning for a change, the entire football universe got exposed to his fun, engaging personality, and his love of Pokemon. There are few things in the NFL as delightful as Jamaal Williams' megawatt smile. As BYU fans have known for years, Jamaal is a joy.
In 2023 he signed with the New Orleans Saints on a 3-year, $12 million contract with $8.2 million guaranteed and the clear understanding he would be playing behind Pro Bowler Alvin Kamara. While Jamaal got paid by the Saints he quickly went from being the big-time feature back he was in Detroit to a small-time role player. And good for Jamaal for getting paid when so very few NFL running backs can say the same, but it came at the steep cost of a reduced workload.
In 2023, his first season with the Saints, in 13 games he rushed for just 306 yards on 106 carries, averaging a mere 2.9 yards per carry.
Unfortunately for BYU fans, In 2024 Jamaal’s opportunities in New Orleans declined even more.
2024 Statistical Summary
14 games, 1 start
48 rushes, 164 yards, 3.4 YPC, 1 TD
9 receptions, 57 yards
11 kick returns, 288 yards, 26.2 yard average
Jamaal Williams’ Season Overview
With 57 touches and 221 scrimmage yards, Jamaal was an important contributor for a Saints team that struggled its way to a 5-12 season. He gained 11 first downs as a power runner who can still move the sticks.
Williams’ season started off strong as the Saints began the year with back-to-back blowout wins and the backups played significant snaps. In Week 1's 47-10 win over the Carolina Panthers, he had 11 carries for 38 yards and a touchdown. In a Week 2 44-19 victory against the Dallas Cowboys he rushed eight times for 39 yards. But those were by far the two best games of his 2024 campaign. He rushed for 77 yards in those two games and would manage just 87 more yards the rest of the season.
What was most discouraging for BYU fans who love to cheer for Jamaal is as the season progressed the carries normally allocated to him started going to second-year backs Kendre Miller (39 carries) and Jordan Mims (20 carries). As the Saints season derailed, the priority shifted to giving the younger guys more carries.
One positive development is with the changes to the kickoff rules the Saints frequently used Williams as a kick returner. He returned 11 kicks for 288 yards (26.2 yard average) after having only returned six kicks in his career before this past year.
Jamaal Williams wants in on the touchdown party 🥳
— Saints Nation (@SaintsNationCP) September 8, 2024
Saints are ROLLING in the season opener!pic.twitter.com/4UpMXOaqot
Jamaal Williams’ Next Steps
It will be interesting to see if the Saints retain Jamaal in 2025 on the final year of his contract with the team. His 2025 cap hit will be $3.9 million while the dead cap for releasing him will be $2.3 million, meaning New Orleans will save $1.6 million against the cap by letting him go. Given how little he was used in 2024 and the Saints stable of younger running backs, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Saints release the eight-year veteran.
If New Orleans does let him go, BYU fans can only hope there’s a market for a 30-year-old running back who has averaged 3.1 yards per carry over the last two seasons. With so many young, cheap running backs available, it might be an uphill climb for Jamaal to potentially find a good situation next year.
I’m hoping we haven’t seen the last of Jamaal Williams in the NFL. He has had a fantastic career with 1,069 carries for 4,122 yards (3.9 YPC) and 32 rushing touchdowns. Throw in another 1,310 receiving yards and eight touchdowns through the air and in total he has racked up an impressive 5,432 scrimmage yards and 40 scores. That’s a stellar NFL career.
If the Saints release him this upcoming offseason there may be a contender who could use his services as a power back in 2025. We saw Kyle Van Noy’s career nearly come to an end two years ago, and today he’s playing the best football of his career. Here's to hoping Jamaal Williams has a similar career resurgence next year.