Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay redesigned his offensive scheme in 2023, opting for a more physical, run-first approach that worked wonders behind a revamped offensive line.
With McVay playing more of an emphasis on gap-scheme concepts, Kyren Williams flourished in the backfield as he was named a Second-Team All-Pro and earned his first Pro Bowl nod. Williams became the lead back for Los Angeles once they traded Cam Akers and he will look to conintue as the workhorse in the 2024 season.
However, Williams has a checkered injury history, which is why the Rams made sure to draft a quality backup in the 2024 NFL Draft in Blake Corum.
Corum entered the draft as one of the most productive backs in college and should compete for snaps early in his rookie season. McVay admitted that he sees a lot of Williams in Corum, via Sarah Barshop of ESPN:
“One of the things that jumped off is there’s a lot of traits that reminded me of Kyren Williams,” McVay said. “Obviously I love Kyren and he’s been so important and just the human being, but then also when you just look at the way he works at it, the production and the things that he was able to bring to our offense last year and even really some of the things that he worked through his rookie year — I think there’s a lot of similarities.
“Kyren will put Blake under his arm and be a great mentor.”
Like Williams, Corum’s a shifty running back that can hit a gap quickly and make defenders miss with jump cuts. While Corum also has his own injury history, he showed he was fully healthy at Michigan last season as he helped lead the Wolverines to the 2024 CFP Championship.
McVay has also previously acknowledged that the team would like to reduce wear-and-tear on their running backs so Corum should get opportunities to spell Williams throughout the regular season. Williams and Corum make for a solid one-two punch in the backfield and it’ll be fun to see how the duo fares once the 2024 season kicks off.
Blake Corum excited to build relationship with Rams’ Kyren Williams/h2>
Kyren Williams isn’t participating in OTAs due to a foot injury, though Sean McVay announced he would be good to go for training camp. Although Williams isn’t currently practicing, Blake Corum is excited about the opportunity to bond with him and build a relationship with him.
