Blake Corum was a little bit of a surprising pick by the Los Angeles Rams in Round 3 considering they already have Kyren Williams at running back, but they want to be a ground-and-pound offense with their bulked-up offensive line leading the way. Corum was by far the most productive back in the 2024 draft after rushing for 3,737 yards and scoring 61 total touchdowns in his career at Michigan, and he’ll now join an offense that’s been kind to running backs throughout Sean McVay’s tenure.
For the Wolverines, Corum was primarily a runner, only catching 56 passes in his career. However, he expects things to be a bit different with the Rams. Speaking to Rich Eisen, Corum shed some light on what he thinks his role will be in Los Angeles and he plans to be a true three-down back who can do it all.
“I think they’re just going to use me a little differently than Michigan did,” he said. “I was more so a bell cow for Michigan where I was running the ball 20-plus times a game. didn’t really catch the ball much. But obviously, you see how they use Kyren, who’s a great running back. So I think they’re going to use me like a regular three-down running back – a guy that can catch, pass pro and run the ball. Something Coach Ron (Gould) tells us is ‘No block, no rock.’ So we take blocking here seriously. They want a guy that can do it all and I can do that for them.”
One trait he’s eager to show off in the NFL is his ability to catch the ball. Though he wasn’t much of a receiving back in college, he’s confident he can handle third-down duties as a receiver in Los Angeles.
He left no doubt about whether he’ll get opportunities to haul in passes next season, saying he “definitely will be catching the ball.”
“I think whatever they ask me to do, I’m capable of doing,” he continued. “Going into the draft, something I wanted to prove to scouts and coaches that were watching was I’m a three-down back. I can catch the ball. Even though I didn’t really catch the ball at Michigan besides the Rose Bowl. But I caught the ball my sophomore year. I wanted to show them I could do that. I think the coaches saw that. I definitely will be catching the ball. I think they’re going to use me as a three-down back, someone who can do it all. For me, I’m just going to do whatever they ask me to do because I know I’m capable of doing everything.”
With Williams and Corum in the backfield, the Rams are situated nicely to be one of the best rushing offenses in the league. They’re very similar players, something McVay has mentioned since the draft, which will allow the coach to interchangeably use his running backs no matter the situation.