RB Blake Corum among Rams players in danger of being benched for a rookie

When it comes to the Los Angeles Rams roster, there are bound to be some surprises from the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft. After all, the team enters a draft loaded with starters, not stars. And the Rams have declared that one of the goals of this offseason is to create the foundations for a more explosive offense. Oh, really?

That is a fantastic goal, and certainly one that I agree needs to be one of the alterations to an offense that has grown tired and predictable. After all, former Rams quarterback Jared Goff led the Detroit Lions to the top of the NFL in terms of scoring points in 2024 with an average of 33.2 points per game. The Rams offense, even bolstered with an opportunistic defense that added plenty of points, could only must 21. 6 points per game. That was only good enough to come in as the 20th-best scoring offense last season.

While the Rams are pleased with the production from featured running back Kyren Williams, the overall rushing offense was not nearly as impressive. The Rams ran for 15 touchdowns, only good enough to tie as the 15th scoring rushing offense. The Rams lost three fumbles when running the football, tying them for the 18th rushing offense in fumbles lost. And the Rams rushed for an average of 103.8 yards per game, which was only the 24th-best rushing offense in the NFL. The longest run all season was just 30 yards from the line of scrimmage.

That ended up as the 31st longest run by any NFL offense. Only the Dallas Cowboys with a 27-yard run was worse.

Why didn't the Rams use Blake Corum?

Why didn't the Rams use rookie running back Blake Corum more often in 2024? I do not have the answer. I do know that there were two types of dominating rushing attacks in 2024. If you happened to be the Baltimore Ravens (with RB Derrick Henry) or the Philadelphia Eagles (with RB Saquon Barkley), you simply handed the football off to the running back and let his grind it out.

But for the other run-dominating offenses, it was a bit more complicated. The Washington Commanders boasted QB Jaylen Daniels and RB Brian Robinson Jr., The Tampa Bay Buccaneers boasted rookie RB Bucky Irving Jr. and Rachaad White. The Green Bay Packers boasted RB Josh Jacobs and Emanuel Wilson. And finally, the Detroit Lions boasted RB Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.

In every example, the rushing attack was effective because the teams who did not boast an elite rusher split the workload effectively. The Rams fixated on rushing Kyren Williams too much, at the expense of the team's overall rushing effectiveness.

Rookie RB Blake Corum's selection to the Rams roster was applauded throughout the NFL as the foundation of a one-two punch in the running game that would dominate defenses. But the Rams offense seemed to tie one hand behind its back, as Corum was never unleashed. He rushed just 58 times for 207 yards and 0 touchdowns. Those are the numbers from a Round 7 running back, not the 83rd player selected in the draft.

Corum did not fumble the football. And yet, per Lineups.com, he only saw action on 119 offensive snaps. RB Ronnie Rives played 81 offensive snaps. Reserve RB Cody Schrader played two offensive snaps. Feature RB Kyren Williams consumed 888 offensive snaps. Of course, an injury to Corum in Week 18 forced him to the bench, and promoted Ronnie Rivers to handle the carries that week. But that merely amplified the disparity of workload.

Compare that distribution to that of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense. The Bucs divvied out offensive snaps evenly: 516 offensive snaps to rookie RB Bucky Irving, 591 offensive snaps to Rachaad White, and 112 offensive snaps to RB Sean Tucker.

Why might Blake Corum be benched in 2025?

When the Rams chose former Michigan RB Blake Corum with the 83rd overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, he was viewed as the eighth-best running back with a draft grade of 6.15. Despite his magnificent college production, he was very similar to Kyren Williams in terms of size and speed. In essence, he offered little in the way of variety in terms of skillset by way of speed, power, or elusiveness.

12 rookie running back prospects are up for grabs in the 2025 NFL Draft who have a draft grade of 6.15 or better. And of that group, there are many versions of players. Some are big and powerful. Some are as swift as the wind. And some are both. While the Rams have declared that explosiveness is the goal for 2025, that will mean changes are afoot for the running back room.

The Rams' running backs are a bit homogenous in terms of size and speed. What do I mean? Here are the Rams' current running backs:

• Kyren Williams - 4.65 seconds 40-yard dash | 5-foot-9 | 202 pounds
• Blake Corum - 4.53 seconds 40-yard dash | 5-foot-8 | 210 pounds
• Ronnie Rivers - 4.57 seconds 40-yard dash | 5-foot-9 | 197 pounds
• Cody Schrader - 4.61 seconds 40-yard dash | 5-foot-9 | 214 pounds

There simply is not enough difference among the four players to distinguish anyone likely to be more effective in terms of down and distance scenarios. So the Rams simply stick with the veteran RB Kyren Williams.

But what happens on offense if the team suddenly discovers a need for speed? Are there running backs in this year's draft who can run swiftly? You bet there are. One of the more prominent attributes of running backs in the 2025 NFL Draft is the number of incredibly fast runners are available:

Of the ten rookie running backs listed above, all are significantly faster than any running back currently on the Rams roster.

There are no guarantees that the Rams will draft a running back. Still, many draft analysts and fans alike suspect that this draft class is so talented that the Rams will be lured into adding one more running back to the roster. If that happens, Blake Corum is up for a huge fight to remain the backup rusher.

If the Rams have options, the team is likely to lean toward speed. And Corum is almost identical to Williams in terms of size and speed. The entire Rams running back room is too homogenous to make any distinction. Should the Rams draft a bigger or faster running back, now there are specific differences that warrant playing the rookie over existing veterans. A faster rookie warrants seeing opportunities to put up big gains. A bigger and more powerful running back warrants moving the pile in short-yardage and goal-line scenarios.

Neither of which are Blake Corum's wheelhouse.

Of course, even adding a rookie running back is no guarantee that he will see much playing time. The Rams invested a valuable pick in Blake Corum, only to keep him on the bench for much of the 2024 NFL season. But if the Rams are committed to a more explosive offense, and follow through with a speedy rookie running back, Corum might struggle once again to see significant playing time.

As always, thanks for reading.

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