How the Rams Can Unlock the Full Potential of Kyren Williams and Blake Corum

The Los Angeles Rams have one of the better running back duos in the NFL. Over the last three years, Kyren Williams has been the model of consistency. He has three consecutive seasons of 1,000 or more yards and 10 touchdowns. Last season, Blake Corum emerged in the offense and the duo combined for over 2,000 yards rushing.

Heading into the 2026 season, the Rams will look to solve the puzzle of how to maximize Williams and Corum together. While they are both similar runners to an extent, they complement each other perfectly.

Why Williams and Corum Work So Well Together

Williams is the between-the-tackles runner that helps keep the offense on track. He’s very good at creating tough yards with his vision and contact balance. At this stage in his career, he’s also better in the passing game.

Meanwhile, Corum adds explosiveness, creativity, and speed to give the Rams’ run game a thunder-and-lightning type duo.

The Rams’ run game has never been about utilizing Williams or Corum. It’s always been about using both together and how to maximize that. A fresher Williams last season led to a player who became incredibly efficient and helped wear down the defense. After fumbling five times in 2024, Williams fumbled just twice last season. With Corum, the Rams were able to add the explosive plays their run game had been missing.

“I'd be surprised if he doesn't do anything other than get better and impact the team in a positive way,” said Sean McVay on Corum. “I want to see him make people miss like that in the hole like he’s done. He's a stud and he's going to be a big factor in what we're going to do this year. I love everything he's about.”

Corum Brings the Explosive Element

Williams wearing down defenses helped open things up for Corum. On carries in which Corum had one or more yards before contact, 24 percent of his runs went for 10 or more yards. In a league in which explosives lead to points on offense, finding more of that is key. A 2022 data study by PFF found that having one explosive play tripled the expected points value of a drive.

Following that type of production, the Rams should want to find ways to get Corum on the field more.

“He looks a lot more explosive,” said Kyren Williams when speaking on Corum. “I'm excited for Blake and I'm excited for what we do together in this season coming up and sky's the limit.”

Finding the Right Balance

Finding the right balance isn't about taking touches away from Williams to use Corum more. It’s simply about maximizing the skill sets of both players. Williams and Corum both provide some value to the offense, so how do you maximize it?

That may mean using more Corum to cut into Williams’ rushing attemps. However, that doesn’t mean Corum taking over the backfield and that you can’t find touches for Williams in different ways.

“They may have just about identical rushing stats where Kyren just plays more because he’s that third down pass protector and receiver type,” said The Athletic’s Nate Atkins on The Athletic Football Show. “But in the run game, I think they’re gonna lean on those two a ton because for them, that’s what really unlocks everything for Stafford to be able to play in favorable downs and distances, run play action, and run 12, 13 personnel.”

Unlocking Williams as a Receiver

Williams has consistently been underrated and underutilized as a receiver. Some of his biggest plays have come in the passing game. He had a receiving touchdown in the playoff win in 2024 against the Minnesota Vikings and another one last year in the playoff win against the Carolina Panthers.

2️⃣3️⃣ into the endzone! pic.twitter.com/lJkJ7rvI1v
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) August 1, 2026

Over the past few seasons, it’s simply been difficult to use Williams in the passing game as he’s been needed in pass protection. If the Rams move to more 12 and 13 personnel, it potentially frees Williams to become a bigger part of the passing game as they can leave a tight end to help in protection.

When the Rams have used Williams in the passing game, they’ve used him down the field. His average depth of target of 2.8 yards ranked second in the NFL. His air yards share of 2.5 percent was the fourth-most for a running back. There is some potential there and the Rams haven’t used a running back in that way since Todd Gurley in 2017 and 2018.

One of the more valuable parts of Williams’ game is his reliability. It’s part of why the Rams have started trying out Williams as the team’s punt returner. After struggling on special teams last year, Williams may not have the big-play ability, but he’s someone they can rely on to simply secure the return.

Kyren Williams took the first two punt return reps at #Rams practice 👀 pic.twitter.com/PntuQDGuLW
— 𝙏𝙞𝙥𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙨 🐐⛷️ (@ShoGotNow) August 1, 2026

What the Rams' Backfield Could Look Like in 2026

Last season, Williams took 55.7 percent of the Rams' rushing attempts whereas Corum was at 31.2 percent. From Weeks 7 to 18, it was a 51-36 split in favor of Williams. Ideally, that is even closer in 2026 and similar to how the Seattle Seahawks used Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet. Walker had 43.6 percent of the Seahawks' rushing attempts to Charbonnet's 38.8 percent.

As Atkins mention, Williams will likely play more than Corum, which he absolutely should. However, the rushing attempts may end up being much closer than they were last year. If Williams plays more on passing downs, it also open him up more to be used as a receiver.

The Rams have a good problem at running back as they determine how to maximize both players. The NFL has shifted back toward running the football more to take advantage of light boxes. Finding two running backs who complement each other well is a significant advantage and the Rams have that. The best version of the Rams’ run game is using Williams and Corum together. If the Rams can find that balance, they’ll continue to have one of the more dangerous rushing attacks in the NFL.

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