RB Blake Corum could end up being a total steal for the Rams

When the LA Rams entered the 2024 NFL Draft, I overlooked the need at the running back position on the team's draft shopping list. I don't think that I was alone in that oversight, either. After all, the Rams roster certainly seemed to have the running back role staffed adequately enough for the 2024 NFL season. The team had just enjoyed a breakout year for second-year running back Kyren Williams. The team re-signed his prodege Ronnie Rivers. And the team had rookie RB Zach Even returning for another NFL season.

If the team, and coaching staff, needed more help, there are still plenty of veterans who are looking to take on some carries for 2024.

But the Rams certainly fooled me by using a lofty draft pick to select former Michigan running back Blake Corum with the 83rd overall draft pick in Round 3 of the 2024 NFL Draft. While that is a spot normally reserved for a player who will compete for a starting role. I do not expect that Corum is on track to compete for the starting role head-to-head with Kyren Williams

The LA Rams anticipate the need to have a second running back who can seamlessly take over for Williams at running the football for the team when the Rams need to give Williams a rest, and in the unfortunate circumstances of an injury to Kyren Williams. Michigan RB Blake Corum checks so many boxes for the team that they could not resist waiting to select a running back on Day 3.

Perhaps the best and most lovable attribute about Corum is the fact that the Rams have added another passionate prospect to this roster who will be around for years to come. Whether that means a running back who serves as a backup, as a second option in a running-back-by-committee approach, or as a rusher who is truly competing to earn a starting and feature role in the Rams offense.

Blake Corum will be a workhorse in this offense

Unlike some other rushers who have been part of the Rams history at the position in recent years, Corum is equipped to be a true all-down offensive weapon for this team. He is most certainly an accomplished runner who can drive the football forward between the tackles, as well has run over defensive backs by attacking defensive perimeters.

He is also equipped to handle the role on passing downs as well. He knows how to block for his quarterback, and pick up defenders who blitz or break through the offensive wall. But he is also a capable receiver, a guy who can slip through the line or scrimmage or out to the flat to put up yards and move the chains as well.

Corum is a fine addition to this team, both with his on-field production and his off-field commitment to community service. And that sets him up to become a total steal for the Rams. After all, we know that the team shopped for red zone upgrades, and Blake Corum's 28 touchdowns in 2023 stands prominently for that objective.

it's that fundamental fit at what the Rams love to do on offense on any down that makes Blake Corum especially dangerous. When the Rams had RB Royce Freeman on the football field, they were not scaring defenders into believing that the guy would get his number called as a receiver. So they knew that they could stack the box without penalty. Defenses will not be afforded that cheat code in 2024 with Blake Corum in the backfield.

Draft for tomorrow, coach for today

What I love about the Rams front office, and what is often undervalued by analysts, is the fact that the team prefers to use the NFL Draft as an opportunity to land players who will shine most brightly in opportunities that will appear on the roster in two seasons. If that player does earn a chance to play snaps in their rookie season, or even start in Year 1, great.

But the team is not about drafting as a reaction. Ironically, the draft grades that you will find awarded to teams most often try to match the tactical advantages that rookies bring to their respective team this year. That flies directly in the face of how everyone knows that the true value of any rookie is not this year, but how well that rookie will contribute in the future.

With the Rams entering Year 3 for Kyren Williams, and durability concerns already beginning to show up, the team got ahead of the problem by adding a Mighty Mouse at running back this year. And it just so happens that scoring touchdowns is this guy's forte, as he put up 28 TDs in just 15 games in 2023. That is nearly two touchdowns per game.

Still, we are not naive to presume that whatever any player accomplishes in college football will organically and automatically be the case in their NFL career. But, much like the arrival of Puka Nacua in 2023 to the wide receiver room, Blake Corum has been greeted by the Rams with an unexpected opportunity to assume the lion's share of opportunities to work due to the minor foot injury to Kyren Williams.

Could Corum be an offensive diamond in the rough?

It is safe to presume that the Rams offense since hiring HC Sean McVay has been primarily a pass-centric offense. Throughout Coach McVay's tenure, the closest example of a season with multiple rushing stars on the offense was 2020, when the Rams boasted RB Cam Akers with 625 yards and two touchdowns, and RB Darrell Henderson Jr. with 624 yards and five touchdowns. Compare that to the wide receiver position that routinely boasts two players who flirt with or exceed 1000 receiving yards per season to see what I mean.

Could rookie RB Blake Corum help this offense to put up two rushers who flirt with or exceed 1000 rushing yards in 2024?

All Corum needs to impress his coaching staff is an opportunity to do so. He's got it, and that is exactly what he's done. LaFleur starts to discuss Blake Corum at the 17:05 make in the video below:

Rams Offensive Coordinator Mike LaFleur finally had a chance to talk about the Rams new iteration, and it was clear that in his press conference that he has noticed his new rookie running back, and that he is quite pleased with his work so far.

"What is most impressive about him, besides what he can do on the field and what he put on tape at Michigan and really since he has been here, is what kind of a man this guy is. I mean, this is a grown dude. He is a sponge, like a lot of these guys. His intentions are right. You never want to put expectations on rookies. You just say, hey, just come out and you be the best every single day, you can be in the meeting room, carry it to the field. He has done that thus far."

OC Mike LaFleur about RB Blake Corum

The Rams appear to be making a number of fundamental shifts that bode well for the running game. For starters, the team invested heavily into upgrading the offensive line this offseason. The team has arguably one of the best offensive lines projected to start in 2024 in the NFL. Meanwhile, the team invested heavily into the tight end position, adding veteran TE Colby Parkinson who is an expert at blocking, as well as a skyscraper target for the passing game.

The team also invested heavily into the running back room. Not only did the team select a running back early in Round 3, but the team signed a very versatile and underestimated veteran in Boston Scott.

Meanwhile, despite a very deep WR class in the 2024 NFL Draft, the team was content to select just one receiver, former Texas WR Jordan Whittington, on Day 3. Has the tide turned for the Rams in 2024?

Based on what RB Blake Corum has shown so far in OTAs, you should be on the lookout for a rushing revival in this offense. And nobody on this team will benefit more, and be more responsible for, from the change than the former Michigan running back.

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