Rams' debatable draft pick just poured gasoline on doubt

Spending a third-round pick on running back Blake Corum roughly three months following incumbent starter Kyren Williams' All-Pro Second Team campaign has never felt right. The Los Angeles Rams' Week 5 Thursday Night Football clash with the San Francisco 49ers was a revisionist history reminder.

Corum committed a costly fumble in the second quarter of the Rams' primetime bout with the 49ers. It was entirely his fault, too, despite what the box score tells us. He made a boneheaded mistake at a crucial moment of a game the Rams had no business trailing 14-0, let alone losing outright.

While Corum surely wishes he had a mulligan on this play, the Rams probably wouldn't mind a mulligan on the 2024 No. 84 selection.

Rams' questionable Blake Corum pick ages poorly with costly fumble vs. 49ers

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford pitched an outside toss to Corum, who ostensibly ate the greasiest, butteriest popcorn possible before checking into the contest. The ball slipped right through the latter's hands and onto the ground before 49ers linebacker Trevis Gipson fell on it. Talk about a brutal turn of events for Los Angeles.

Technically, Stafford was credited with the fumble, though it's hard to blame him. Nevertheless, a prime chance to help his team get on the board and stay within striking distance was instead a death knell. However, the Rams notably recovered from Corum's blunder on their ensuing offensive possession -- thanks to Williams.

Williams reeled in a wide-open 14-yard receiving touchdown to cut the deficit to seven. He benefited from a Rams approach that shifted drastically after Corum's turnover. Los Angeles leaned on the former and Stafford's arm from then on. Yet, it feels like that shouldn't have been the club's first pay dirt trip of the evening.

The Rams attempted nine consecutive passes in immediate response to the Corum miscue (h/t Nate Atkins of The Athletic). Moreover, as Pro Football Focus' Nathan Jahnke called attention to, the 24-year-old was relegated to two out of 24 possible snaps in the first half

Spending respectable draft capital on someone who felt more like a luxury than a necessity is one thing. But using said player in a limited fashion and being proven right about doing so is a whole new level of organizational malpractice.