Blake

Corum

Corum’s six touches were tied for his second most of the season. Corum is more regularly mixing in for change-of-pace/breather back usage over the past few weeks, but nowhere close to the level that would produce standalone fantasy value. He’s a high-end insurance back who becomes a flimsier hold with each passing week between now and the fantasy playoffs. You have to play for today, not tomorrow, if you’re fighting for a spot.

Lead back Kyren Williams maintained one of the most robust backfield shares in the league in Week 10, something drafters that speculated on Corum this offseason have grown all too familiar with this season. Corum remains one of the better pure handcuff backs in the league, albeit requiring an injury to Williams to return viable counting stats.

Corum sadly did not receive the classic post-bye rookie bump in usage following the Rams’ Week 6 break. He remains just a high-end bench stash at this time and cannot be started against the Vikings in Week 8.

Corum spelled Kyren Williams, who had 22 rushes, mostly in the second half. For the first time this season, it looked like Corum was the team’s No. 2 back instead of Ronnie Rivers. It would stand to reason Corum would be in line for a decent workload if Williams were to miss any time in 2024.

Rivers rotated into the backfield as the Rams’ No. 2 back in the second quarter of the team’s loss to the Bears. His best run went for 11 yards and he totaled 26 yards on six carries. Meanwhile, Blake Corum was not heard from at all this week. Rivers can be left on fantasy benches heading into Week 5 against the Packers.

It’s the second time in three weeks that Corum hasn’t played an offensive snap. If not for eight garbage time carries in a Week 2 loss to the Cardinals, it’s possible Corum would have even less work to show on the year. The Rams used the No. 83 overall pick on Corum in this year’s draft, leading many to believe he would be part of a backfield committee alongside Kyren Williams. Instead, Corum has mysteriously become an afterthought in the Rams’ offense, with Ronnie Rivers playing ahead of him in a limited capacity. Corum truthers can continue to stash him at their own discretion, but there’s no fantasy value to be had here at this time.

Kyren Williams was still the lead back, but the Rams got a bit of run from Corum, who produced 3.5 yards per carry in garbage time. He also notably returned the opening kickoff for 41 yards, showing his shiftiness throughout the game. Corum is unlikely to see a big workload yet, but is a valuable handcuff to Williams moving forward.

The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue followed up with McVay on the matter, reporting via social media that McVay said “Corum may possibly return kicks.” The news comes after McVay announced the team’s lead RB, Kyren Williams, will also return punts this year. Williams’ punt return announcement initially led to speculation regarding his rushing and receiving workload but Corum’s kick return news muddies the waters. It may indicate that McVay is simply focusing on getting the ball to his most talented playmakers whenever possible.

McVay told reporters on Tuesday that Williams will be the Rams’ punt returner. It’s not necessarily a new job for Williams, who returned three punts for 21 yards last season, but it’s interesting that he was named the punt returner with Tutu Atwell and Xavier Smith also in the mix. This also shows the Rams having confidence in Blake Corum and Ronnie Rivers to spell Williams, indicating he may not be a complete workhorse for 2024. Fantasy managers are likely uneasy hearing this news, but Williams is a mid-to-late range RB1. Corum is cemented as a valuable backfield backup with the potential to see major usage this season.

Specifically, the Rams hope to allow Williams to “stay fresh.” Williams himself admitted to initial worry when the team used a third-round pick on Michigan RB Blake Corum, but the Rams’ exact intentions remain unclear. They have talked up the similarities between the two backs, leading to a belief that coach Sean McVay can “stay in the rhythm and how he calls the game.” That quote is via RBs coach Ron Gould. For his part, Williams seems to be preparing for a different workload this season. “Obviously it’s not going to be good for me (if I take every carry),” Williams admitted. We aren’t entirely sure how to guide fantasy managers here — it’s dangerous to over-interpret summer comments — but at the very least, it seems as if all parties are at least preparing to spell Williams more than they did during his fantasy dominant 2023. He’s a high-reward, moderate-risk proposition as a mid-range RB1.