Blake Corum gives Rams insurance for Kyren Williams, but comes at high price

Was RB Blake Corum the right selection for the Rams in the third round with a top-100 pick?

The Los Angeles Rams made a shocking pick in the third round of the NFL Draft when they selected running back Blake Corum out of Michigan. Despite there being a need at the running back position, many would have thought that they would have addressed that on day three.

Instead, with the 83rd overall pick the Rams selected Corum.

Let’s be clear here. Blake Corum is a good player. He’s rushed for 1,000 yards in each of the past two seasons and had 27 rushing touchdowns just last year. That’s the most for a Power 5 running back since Derrick Henry in 2015. At the end of the day, the goal of the draft is to select good players. With that being said, he’s also going to be 24 in November and had 675 rushing attempts in his college career. He’s only entering the NFL and will be three months younger than Kyren Williams who will be in year three.

Sean McVay clearly has a vision and sees Corum in the same mold as Kyren Williams. However, the Rams offense has never really been a two running back offense. The closest in came to that was in 2020 and 2021. However, even in those years, once Cam Akers and Sony Michel took over, they dominated the carries.

Adjusting to more of a split may have been the plan with Cam Akers and Williams at the beginning of last season. It’s possible that was a driving cause to the former second-round pick being traded. Becoming more of a two-running back team could come to fruition with two players who are bought in. The NFL is becoming a two running back league. Unfortunately, it’s simply not something that we’ve seen with McVay as the play-caller.

Again, this isn’t to say that tat the Rams didn’t need a running back. The question here is whether or not that player should have come with one of their four top-100 picks. After the 2023 NFL Draft, Zach Evans was considered a steal when he was selected in the sixth round. Just one year later, is he now a bust? Evans wasn’t even given an opportunity when Williams went on short-term injured reserve last season.

It’s fair to have concerns about Kyren Williams’ injury history. Williams missed four games last year and the offense wasn’t the same without him. He also missed the majority of 2022 with a fluke ankle injury after Brandon Powell rolled up on him on the opening kickoff in Week 1.

It’s true that the value for running backs tends to be on day two of the draft. However, that’s typically for players that would be considered starters. Rachaad White was taken in the third round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2022. The Buffalo Bills took James Cook at the end of the second round. Still, the running back position is one in which players are found aplenty on the draft’s final day. That’s especially the case for running backs that are added as depth. Corum was the the third of four running backs taken on day two.

In 2022, the Rams found Williams in the fifth round. Last year, Williams led the NFL in rushing yards per game and looked to be the future at the position on the roster. Now they’ve drafted a running back with one of their top-100 picks.

Even if the Rams are concerned about Williams’ injury history, this is a draft that had a lot of running back value in the final rounds. Will Shipley, Braelon Allen, Auric Estime, Dylan Laube, Isaiah Davis, Isaac Guerendo, Blake Watson, Dillon Johnson, and Rasheen Ali are all still available.

The Rams have built the offensive line in a way where most running backs with good vision should be able to find success. They ranked fifth in the NFL in adjusted line yards last season and have since added Jonah Jackson at left guard to the mix while moving Steve Avila to center and r-signing Kevin Dotson. Running backs don’t not matter, but the Rams also have built a situation in an offensive scheme that is more favorable than others.

A backup running back for a top-100 selection seems like a steep price with other needs on the roster. The NFL Draft is more fluid than static and teams should be drafting with the future in mind. Williams has just two years remaining on his deal and now it’s fair to wonder if Corum is the eventual replacement for the Notre Dame running back post-2025.

The Rams made two high-price moves on Friday – the first being for Braden Fiske that required trading a 2025 second-round pick to move up 13 places. They then selected a running back with one of their four valuable top-100 selections.

Again, the there aren’t any questions about Blake Corum the player. Corum the player is a good running back who should be an ideal fit in the offense. There isn’t even an issue with taking a running back as that was a position of need. The question here is with the process and whether or not running back was truly the best way to maximize the value of a top-100 pick.