It sure is fascinating that Corum will play this preseason after being held out last year
Sean McVay made the interesting decision last preseason to hold rookie running back Blake Corum out of all three games. He was a third-round pick who still had plenty to prove, but the Los Angeles Rams opted to protect him from any potential injury – a sign that he’d be a key member of the offense.
Corum’s role behind Kyren Williams never really materialized in the regular season, receiving just 58 total carries. There were only three games where he had more than five attempts, and one of those was a blowout loss to the Cardinals in Week 2.
Corum has been viewed as the No. 2 running back behind Williams this summer but he’s facing pressure from rookie Jarquez Hunter. Surprisingly, both running backs are expected to play in the preseason – a notable change from McVay’s approach last year when he sat Corum as a rookie.
“I’m looking forward to watching Blake, watching Jarquez Hunter and Ronnie (Rivers) and those guys run,” McVay said Thursday.
So why is Corum set to play this preseason after being held out last year? It’s an indication the Rams are giving Hunter every opportunity to be the No. 2 option, allowing him and Corum to battle it out in the preseason.
It’s unlikely either player will see significant playing time in the preseason, but the fact that Corum is suiting up at all is fascinating. By all accounts, he’s had a good summer, as has Hunter. But they’re different types of running backs, with Corum being most similar to Williams and Hunter being seen as a change-of-pace back with breakaway speed.
It seems McVay wants to hold an open competition for the RB2 spot and the best way to sort that out is in the preseason when there’s full-on tackling, unlike in training camp and practice.
As for what McVay will be looking for out of the running backs, he wants to see them run physically and help in pass protection, as well.
“I want to see those guys,” he said. “I want to see them be able to pick and choose the right spots. I think one of the things that’s hardest to evaluate in these types of settings is these running backs. You don’t get tackled, so I want to see these guys be able to level their pads off, play well without the football, but do the things that (RBs coach) Ron’s (Gould) coaching snap in and snap out. When you see some of the cool opportunities to be able to create on your own if that presents itself, let’s see that come to life as well.”
Corum and Hunter should both have roles this season, even with Williams getting a hefty $33 million contract. The Rams want to keep everyone fresh and the best way to do that is by utilizing all of them at different points throughout the season.
It’s just unclear which backup will get more carries behind Williams this year. It could be Corum, it could be Hunter. This preseason will give us a better indication of which player leads that competition.