Blake Corum a ‘lot leaner’ in Rams training camp

Corum took a nice leap in his second season as a pro, posting a 145-746-6 rushing line over 17 games while competing with Kyren Williams for touches every step of the way. Like Corum, Williams was also healthy for 17 games, but that didn’t stop Corum from popping up for a few top-24 PPR finishes last season. Corum’s 9.4 opportunities per game weren’t enough to make him a reliable option in start/sit leagues, as he managed only one double-digit PPR performance from Weeks 1-12, but his production could pave the way for a more even split with Williams this season. It may take some time to determine whether or not we can view Corum as a player who has standalone value this season, but he remains one of the best handcuffs in fantasy playing in an elite offense that could feature him in a high-volume role should Williams ever miss time.

Back on May 1st, Atkins predicted Rams coach Sean McVay would deploy starting RB Kyren Williams and Corum in a 50-50 split, with Williams operating as the “primary third-down back and between-the-tackles runner,” while Corum functions as “a change-of-pace option with explosive capabilities.” With spring workouts complete, Atkins is doubling down with minor clarifications. Corum has made strides as a pass protector and receiver, and could “earn more playing time in an offense that wants to blur the run and the pass,” but Williams still remains the superior passing game player and should out-snap Corum because of this. Williams’ “consistency and short-yardage skills” could also keep him on the field in goal-line situations. Williams posted a 259/1,252/10 rushing line while Corum went for 145/746/6. Atkins thinks the two backs could split carries almost 50-50, which would seemingly make a 1,000-yard season doable for Corum. However, Corum’s ceiling outcome is limited if Williams indeed remains the primary player on passing downs and in goal-line situations.

Rams veteran RB Kyren Williams is expected to be the “primary third-down back and between-the-tackles runner,” which could get him most of the high-value touches. Atkins did not address whether Corum will get a chance to compete for the two-minute drill role, though. That would be big for him. If Corum does manage to take on half of the backfield touches, though, that should be enough to keep him in the low-end RB2, thanks in part to the Rams’ high-scoring offense.

Corum took a major step forward in his second season, establishing himself as a weekly threat for 10 touches in a good offense. The rushing line improved from 58/207/0 to 145/756/6, and he had 13.3 rushing EPA to Kyren Williams’ 0.4. That’s the good news. The bad news is that Corum’s role has no real room to grow without an injury to Williams, as Williams signed a long-term extension in August that tied him to the Rams for the near-term future. It leaves Corum as more of an RB3 searching for paths to weekly relevancy. Unless Corum suddenly falls into a Zach Charbonnet-esque red zone role, he’ll be hard to start most weeks in 2026.

Corum has been a fairly safe bet to see double-digit touches this season, but the second-year back was held to just six carries on Sunday and has now seen that total twice in his last three games. The fact that he averaged a meager 3.2 YPC on those carries gave even greater reason for the Rams not trust him too much in Sunday’s do-or-die game. Corum could see his volume bounce back in next weeks Conference Championship road game against the Seahawks, but we would expect Kyren Williams to continue to handle the majority of the work after back-to-back solid performances this post season.

He didn’t score, but Corum went over 10 carries for the fifth time in six games. Neither Corum or Williams found much running room in this one without guard Kevin Dotson, with Corum getting the Rams’ long rushing gain of eight yards. Corum should be involved in the Divisional Round fantasy discussion but is clearly a 1B back looking for a favorable situation to emerge over the next 36 hours.

Corum entered the Rams’ final drive with just eight carries to his name. The team leaned on him to kill the clock and he did just that with five carries for 33 yards. His final attempts saw him go down at the one-yard line. Despite out-carrying Kyren Williams in this game, Corum should still be treated as the backup going into the postseason. He is, however, closing the gap on Williams. Corum will be a dart-throw DFS play for his Wild Card Round date with the Panthers.

Blake Corum is also active. Both players were questionable with ankle issues. Only needing a win to secure the No. 5 seed, Corum and Williams should both see plenty of run versus a weak Arizona defense. Williams is a strong RB1 bet for Week 18 while Corum is a high-risk RB3.

Corum did not practice in either of the first two sessions of this week, so this feels like a wildly optimistic tag. We don’t have Los Angeles’ practice report for today yet, but we’d expected a limited session at best for Corum. He feels like game-time decision from where we stand on Friday.

Corum is firmly on the wrong side of questionable at this point and the Rams have already secured a playoff spot. Starting RB Kyren Williams (ankle) is nursing an ankle injury. If both players are declared inactive, rookie RB Jarquez Hunter could get the start.