2024 Dynasty Rookie Early Look: Blake Corum, RB Michigan
This is a running back class that doesn’t have a generational talent projected to get drafted early in the first round like we did in last year’s draft. We’ve also seen some running backs like TreVeyon Henderson stay in college for their senior year, impacting the depth of talent of the position group.
Blake Corum is considered one of the top running backs in the 2024 NFL Draft class. There are a lot of people who have him ranked in the top three. Corum has looked like a very prominent prospect throughout his career in Michigan. Now it’s time for him to elevate his stock during the draft season and get drafted to his new NFL team.
Recruitment
Corum was not regarded as a top-tier back in the 2020 recruiting class. 247 Sports had him ranked 232 overall and as the RB19. Their composite rankings had him ranked a little bit higher as the RB12 in the class. He garnered a four-star rating and received offers from 28 different schools which is an indicator that he is talented enough that a sizable portion of college football wanted him. Some of the top Power-5 programs that sent offers over Michigan were Ohio State, Georgia, LSU, USC, and Wisconsin.
Courtesy of 247 Sports.
When you go back and watch his high school highlights from his HUDL tape, you will notice a lot of the traits he displayed at Michigan. Back then he was a very assertive runner who had a cerebral approach towards the line of scrimmage. He has a compact frame that still has room to allow some more mass. The one thing that stands out the most from his HUDL tape is his top-end speed and his burst in the second level of the defense. Corum had a lot of runs where he found the hole or stretched the play to the outside and burned everyone in front of him for a long gain. His vision and lateral ability made it easy for him to chain together moves.
Collegiate Career
Courtesy of Sports Reference.
During his freshman season, he appeared in six games. In his debut against Minnesota, he carried the ball five times for 21 yards. He wouldn’t surpass the 20-yard threshold until his final game against Penn State where he carried the ball three times for 27 yards.
Corum started to get a good feel for the college game during his sophomore season with three straight 100-yard games against Western Michigan, Washington, and Northern Illinois. He would reel off one more 100-yard performance against Northwestern before finishing the year with 952 yards and 11 touchdowns. Corum averaged 3.84 yards after contact per attempt while generating 49 missed tackles.
We would see the best version of Corum during his junior season as he finished the season ranked 12th among running backs with 1,461 rushing yards while crossing the goal line 18 times. Corum had an incredible run of 100-yard games that lasted from week four until the final game of the season against the Ohio State Buckeyes when he had to make an early exit due to a devastating knee injury. Corum forced 73 missed tackles on the season while averaging 3.35 yards after contact per attempt.
The knee injury prevented Corum from entering the 2023 NFL Draft which means we would get to see him rock the maize and blue for one more season. As you would expect for a running back coming back from a knee injury, the season started a little bit quieter compared to his junior campaign. However, he did step up when the team needed him with 100-yard games against Bowling Green, Penn State, and in the Nation Championship Game against Washington. Corum had a tremendous game against the Ohio State Buckeyes rushing for 88 yards and two touchdowns. Not to mention, he had another solid performance against Alabama in the College Football Playoff by hanging 83 yards and one touchdown on the Crimson Tide. He also managed to score a touchdown in every game of the season. Corum finished the season averaging 2.42 yards after contact per attempt while forcing 30 missed tackles.
Strengths
- Very patient with his approach to the line of scrimmage, allowing his blocks to set up before making his initial move.
- Vision is top tier.
- Moves laterally well and can chain together moves in the second level of the defense. This makes him very slippery in the open field.
- Has a compact frame.
- Has proven to be very effective in the red zone.
- A gym rat who repped 225 pounds 30 times on the bench press.
- Displays excellent burst with good top-end speed.
Weaknesses
- Doesn’t run with devastating power
- Injury history could be perceived as a red flag
- Received a 54.3 pass block grade by Pro Football Focus in 2023.
- Wasn’t asked to do much in the passing game, only seeing 18 targets while running 135 routes in 15 games.
Draft Value
Courtesy of Mock Draft Database.
Corum is predicted to get drafted somewhere in the second and third rounds of the NFL Draft. Unless there’s an issue that happens during the NFL Combine, the odds are saying he will get his name called on day two of the NFL Draft.
The fact that the talent pool of running backs is considered a little shallower compared to other years might mean teams might pay more for the running backs they want since the supply of talent is lacking this year. This might bode well for Corum considering he ranked as one of the top running backs in this year’s class.
Dynasty Outlook
The fact that he’s a candidate to get drafted on day two of the NFL Draft means that if he gets drafted into a favorable situation, “Big Dynasty” is going to bump him up the board in rookie draft ADP. If he gets selected in the second round and it looks like he will receive starter snaps sooner than later, then Corum will jump in the first round.
There are many drafts where we don’t see a running back drafted in the first round due to ambiguity among the position group this year. If Corum or any other running back gets day two draft capital and lands in a favorable situation, then you are going to see that running back jump in rookie draft ADP.
Looking at how stacked this year’s draft class is at quarterback and wide receiver, it’s hard to see him jumping to the middle of the first round. The middle part of the first round would be his absolute upside in rookie draft ADP, with it being more likely that he gets drafted around the 1.08-1.12 range if he lands in a good spot.
If Corum lands in a “so-so” spot, expect him to fall in the early-to-mid portion of the second round in rookie drafts. This year’s draft is too talented at the wide receiver position for dynasty gamers to want to pivot from the juice of the draft.
Young running backs tend to hold value in dynasty fantasy football. If he stalemates during his rookie season, then he should hold his value. Corum would need to completely faceplant to see a considerable dip in value. Like with any rookie or young prospect, if they start producing at a high level, then their value will go through the roof.
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- 2024 NFL Draft: What We Expect for Day 1 - April 25, 2024
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