The Rams are better when both RBs get the ball

LOS ANGELES -- The night the Los Angeles Rams drafted running back Blake Corum in the third round in 2024, coach Sean McVay said Corum reminded him of another running back.

He was referring to a running back already on the roster: Kyren Williams.

At the time, Williams had finished up his second NFL season and was firmly the Rams' RB1. In 12 games that season, Williams ran for 1,144 yards and 12 touchdowns on 228 carries and had 32 catches for 206 yards and three touchdowns.

But while Williams and Corum are similar, McVay said he believes the team is better when both are getting the ball. McVay said Williams and Corum are "similar in stature, but I also think they bring some unique things."

"It's like a pitcher changing up his pitches," McVay said.

Through two weeks, Williams and Corum have nearly split the carries exactly. Williams has 23 carries for 126 yards and a touchdown, while Corum has 22 carries for 133 yards. Last season, it was closer to a 65%-35% split in Williams' favor. 

"We look at it like we have two great backs," McVay said. "Those guys being able to spell each other, I think, is when we're at our best."

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford said Corum and Williams are "as alike of two running backs" as he's played with during his 18-year NFL career, saying, "I feel like those two guys, we feel like we can call any play in our playbook at any time with either of those guys in there and feel really confident about it."

"I could imagine as a playcaller that's a really comforting feeling knowing that whoever's out there, everything is up and we're ready to rock and roll," Stafford said. "They give us that great flexibility on offense."

The pair know they'll be alternating drives, Williams said. Corum said there wasn't really a conversation this offseason in which McVay or running backs coach Ron Gould told them they'd be splitting carries, but "more so just building trust."

"It's a long season and so we never really had a conversation [of] how we're going to split carries," Corum said. "It's more so of 'let's keep you guys fresh. You guys play really well off each other. I trust both of you guys and let's go from there.'"

While Corum earned McVay's trust last season, he said his goal during the offseason was to work on being more explosive.

Last year, Corum averaged 2.1 yards before contact per carry, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. That was the highest mark of any running back with at least 100 carries. In two games this season, he has found even more space before contact, gaining 3.1 yards before contact on average.

"I feel like when I hit the hole, I'm hitting it pretty fast," Corum said. "I trust myself. Now it's just a sense of making more people miss, breaking that 60-yarder. Every time I get the ball, I try to be as explosive as I can."

This offseason, Williams changed the way he worked out. In the past, the running back said, he wanted to make sure he was as versatile a player as could be. But during the offseason, he said he didn't do wide receiver drills and instead focused on drills specific for a running back. 

On Wednesday, Williams said he thinks that work is showing up.

"I think I continue to keep being grounded when I'm cutting, having great pad level and continuing to keep pressing those lines of scrimmage and being able to be patient," Williams said.

And while the pair is competitive, Corum said, "it's a healthy competitiveness."

"That's something that you want in a teammate, especially sharing a position," Corum said. "But we want what's best for each other and we truly believe we push each other to be great. On game day, we feel like we really do feed off each other's energy."

Although just a small sample size of two games, the Rams' Week 3 opponent, the Denver Broncos (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC), have allowed 157.5 rushing yards per game, which is the fourth most in the NFL. The Rams rank sixth in rushing yards per game (142.5), despite struggling to get in a rhythm as an offense in their season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

"I think we've been pretty efficient," Corum said. "I think credit to the O-line and tight ends and you see we've been 13 personnel and been getting good removal, allowing Kyren and I to be able to press, be patient, hit our spots.

"But saying all of that, there's still room for a lot of improvement. Maybe we can come out of more tackles and come out more explosive. That's where my mind's at. But it's been good. It's been efficient."