Blake Corum Scouting Report  

Standout RBs are hard to find in this weak 2024 draft class.

But Blake Corum is a familiar name. And he tore up the college level over the past two seasons.

Will the Michigan star be able to make an impact in the pros?

The odds are working against him in some areas, but he possesses some intriguing traits.

Let's examine Corum's dynasty value after landing with the Rams.

Blake Corum Draft Profile

Blake Corum Combine Results

Percentiles vs Combine RBs since 1999, per MockDraftable        

Blake Corum College Stats

Better Start Than Numbers Show

Corum was a four-star recruit (RB12 in the country) in the 2020 class from St. Frances Academy in Laurel, Maryland.

The young back was named The Baltimore Sun’s Offensive Player of the Year and Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior in 2019 and chose Michigan over 27 other offers.

Corum tallied just 31 touches as a freshman, but that made him Michigan's No. 2 RB in the COVID-shortened, six-game season.

Corum trailed only future NFL pick Hassan Haskins in touches. He beat future NFL picks Zach Charbonnet and Chris Evans in that category.

Sophomore-Year Progress

Corum continued to trail Haskins in work in 2021 but averaged 12 carries and 2 receptions across his 12 games.

He led Michigan RBs and ranked third on the team with 24 receptions. Corum also dramatically outperformed Haskins in yards per carry: 6.6 vs. 4.9.

The sophomore earned a spot on the All-Big Ten third team.

Corum Breaks Out as Junior

With Haskins gone in 2022, Corum took over the backfield. He ranked third in the Big Ten in:

• carries (247)
• rushing yards (1,463)
• scrimmage yards (1,543)

Corum also concluded the year as Pro Football Focus' top-graded rusher while tying for third nationally in rushing TDs (18) and ranking second in first downs (96).

He earned first-team All-Big Ten honors and was a unanimous All-American.

Injury Delays NFL Career

Unfortunately, Corum tore the meniscus in his left knee vs. Illinois in late November 2022. Michigan shut him down, and he later required surgery.

This injury factored into Corum's decision to return for his senior season.

Corum led the Big Ten as a senior in carries (258) and scrimmage yards (1,362). He led the entire country in rushing TDs (27).

It wasn't all positive, though. Corum saw 2023 decline in these advanced metrics:

• 71st in PFF rushing grade vs. first in '22
• Yards after contact per attempt down from 3.35 to 2.42
• 31.8% breakaway rate vs. 40.9% in ‘22       

Blake Corum Highlights

Games watched: Iowa 2022, Maryland 2022, Penn State 2022, Minnesota 2023, Penn State 2023, Ohio State 2023, Rutgers 2023

Corum is a High-Motor Runner

He possesses one trick, and he makes the best out of it with high effort.

Corum doesn't run with much of an upright gait and is almost always falling forward when tackled. His contact balance is pretty solid for his size as well.

When holes are presented to him, particularly on the perimeter, Corum is able to commit, get up to speed, and maximize the gain. Check out these three examples.

Here, Corum takes off and jukes an Iowa defender for a long TD:

In these next two plays, the first vs. Penn State and the second vs. Minnesota, Corum takes paths to the perimeter and uses subtle agility to crack off long gains:

Although he flashes good long speed on tape, Corum's 4.53-second 40 time is just slightly above average for the position (60th percentile).

He's fast enough. But don't expect a bunch of long TD runs in the NFL.

Trouble In Traffic?

Despite a stocky build, Corum lacks power on inside runs.

He also seems to have trouble identifying rushing lanes at times. And that hesitation costs him yardage.

Check out this example from 2023 against Penn State:

Quicker identification likely would have produced more yardage -- and given the trailing defender less time to catch Corum in the hole.

Can He Keep Scoring in the Pros?

These interior rushing issues are concerning for goal-line situations in the NFL.

Corum scored plenty in college, but he didn't always see stacked boxes on those plays.

Here's Minnesota denying him at the goal line:

It's fair to wonder if Corum has the build and/or power to earn goal-line chances in the NFL.

Was the Knee Still a Factor?

Perhaps Corum remained affected in 2023 by that left knee injury that ended his 2022.

The RB fared much better in missed tackles forced per carry in both 2021 (1 per 2.93 carries) and 2022 (1 every 3.40) than he did last season (1 per 8.6).

Corum ranked 15th in PFF elusive rating in 2021 among 245 RBs with 70+ carries. He finished a still-decent 51st among 247 RBs as lead back in 2022.

Last year? 223rd out of 231.

And the O-line wasn't the problem: PFF ranked Michigan 10th nationally in run-blocking grade.

Watch for References to Knee

It nearly always helps a player to get further beyond a knee repair. So even if Corum didn't feel like the knee affected him in his final season, we'd bet on the joint being stronger for 2024.

We'll be curious to see, though, if there's any discussion of the knee recovery either directly with Corum or by those talking about him heading into the NFL Draft.

Blake Corum Team Fit: Los Angeles Rams

The Rams made Corum the third RB off the board, taking him with the 19th pick of Round 3.

He joins a Rams backfield led by Kyren Williams, who finished second among RBs in PPR points per game last year. That scoring was fueled by big volume: 19.0 carries and 4.0 targets per game.

Williams was never going to match that type of usage going forward, so the Corum pick made plenty of sense for a team that only had Ronnie Rivers and Zach Evans behind Williams.

There's lots of room for Corum to carve out a secondary role behind Williams. The big question is whether he can turn this into a pure committee backfield, or even push Williams for the lead job.