Is Blake Corum ready to challenge for RB#1?

L.A.’s running back depth chart should be hotly contested

With three exciting, young prospects competing for time, the Los Angeles Rams running back room appears well-stocked for 2025. Kyren Williams was recently voted by his peers as the 85th best player in the NFL, while rookie Jarquez Hunter had some of the best big play numbers in all of college football last year. And then there’s Blake Corum.

Corum came into focus last year, drafted within the Top 100 and was worked into the offense slowly, gaining only 119 offensive reps. He was given a big chance in the season final mop-up game versus the Seattle Seahawks, but broke his arm on a kickoff return only 12 plays into the game. His season stats were modest on the ground, 207 yards rushing on 58 carries (3.6 YPC). He snared seven of eight passes for 58 yards and although he didn’t record a touchdown, chipped in 186 yards on kickoff returns.

What Corum brings to the table

One of the first things that stands out on film is that he’s a natural runner, with a good feeling for the flow of the play. Just a shade under 5’ 8” and 205 lb. at the 2024 NFL Combine, Corum has stated he likes to play around 210 lb.

While not a a scat back, he possesses the ability to make quick darting moves and jump cuts. Very flexible and loose, Corum shows plus lateral agility, burst, balance, and change of direction skills that lends credence to his stellar 3cone (6.82) and shuttle (4.12) numbers at the Combine. His long speed (4.53) and 10 yard split (1.58), although not outstanding, are still on the plus side of NFL parameters. His film tells a different story on both.

Nor is Corum a true power back. Not a bruiser play style, although powerfully built and compact. He looks like an old-time fire hydrant, short, squatty and forged out of cast iron. He put up an amazing 27 bench press reps at the Combine. Running with a natural low center of gravity and behind his pads, he presents very little for defenders to latch onto. If would-be tacklers, do not put a body on him and wrap up, his leg churn drives right through arm tackles.

He presses the line of scrimmage and is blessed with exceptional vision to identify holes and read blocks. Once identified, Corum does not tarry, he hit’s the creases. But he’s not a bull in a china shop plowing forward, he shows patience and is nimble waiting for blocks to set up and explodes tightly off them. This shows particularly at the second level, where time and time again, he attains extra yardage by taking the routes given by blockers.

Most all of Corum’s draft previews questioned his receiving ability, mostly because the Michigan didn’t throw to him much. His film shows good hands, looking the ball in and quick transition from run to catch. He handles check downs just fine, appearing to be in position where the quarterback expects him to be and looks the ball in. Room for improvement? Sure, but the simple truth is that the Rams do not do not have their backs running extensive route trees.

Snead/McVay are always on the hunt for running backs

In every draft since their union, Snead/McVay have taken a running back and the results have been middling overall. Kyren Williams has certainly proven a Round 5 bargain, but the others have created more smoke than fire. L.A. did squeeze some mileage out of Cam Akers (Rd2 #52) and Darrell Henderson (Rd3 #70), but not equal to their draft pedigrees.

While it is too early to clearly pass judgement on the past two drafts of Jarquez Hunter (Rd3 #90) and Corum (Rd3 #83), taking running backs relatively early in back-to-back years is not unprecedented. Henderson and Akers were selected 2019 and 20.

The others, Zach Evans (Rd6 #215), Jake Funk (Rd7 #233), and John Kelly (Rd6 #176) were long shots that didn’t pay off. And fullback Sam Rogers (Rd6 #206) became an afterthought when McVay locked in on the three wide receiver formation.

Who’s it going to be, Williams, Corum, or Hunter?

It’s refreshing to see the Rams running back room flush with potential to start 2025.

When it comes to rating the L.A. running back room, some weight has to be given to how the individual pieces fit into the overall scheme. Over the years, Head coach Sean McVay has morphed the offense from a horizontal outside zone attack to a more between the tackles run game that mixes inside/mid and duo/gap concepts. All three of the front runners fit comfortably into the Rams scheme.

Williams play in the past two seasons clearly labels him as RB#1. To go with that on-field production, the L.A. braintrust likes the proven cut of his jib. Toughness, effort, and tenacity. Where the question comes in is ball security, and that has to be underscored. It’s great to say that it has been emphasized in the off-season to improve, but this is not a new skill for backs, it’s been drilled into them since Day 1.

Hunter adds a dimension that has been missing since Todd Gurley, he projects as a threat to score from outside the red zone. I say projects, because in the NFL, holes are tighter, pursuit angles are better, and everybody is faster. Much more so than even the SEC, college football’s most talented conference. It wouldn’t be surprising, draft pedigree be damned, to see Hunter patiently worked into a role. It seems fair to think his use would mirror Corum’s from last year.

Corum is the wildcard. You can see by his pro film that he is an intuitive runner and very similar in style to frontrunner Williams. I would daresay that’s there’s a small breakaway upside to Corum’s game. Not much, if any, space between the two in the receiving game. Pass blocking is a work in progress for Corum and that can be improved with work on better technique and more reps.

To my eye, Corum looks to be an interchangeable piece with Williams, just lacking the on-field experience. Both are vision-based, tenacious runners that fit precisely into an inside/mid zone run game. I’ll call for a two back rotation and lean towards Williams getting the 60-40 snap split, because of his game experience in the scheme, but if his ball security and concentration drops in the pass game continue on, I would feel safe with Corum as the Rams RB#1.