The Baltimore Ravens are rumored to be interested in signing a running back in free agency, but that doesn’t mean the team wouldn’t benefit by selecting a rusher in the NFL Draft.
Michigan Wolverines prospect Blake Corum is one running back who could improve the Ravens’ run game.
Despite speculation that Baltimore could be a landing spot for future Hall of Famer Derrick Henry, adding a back like Corum could make tons of sense on the field, not to mention that he already played with head coach John Harbaugh’s brother Jim in college.
Corum could thrive as either a change-of-pace running back or a lead rusher. Standing 5-8 and weighing 205 pounds, Corum and Henry couldn’t be more physically different, but both have produced at exceptional rates on the field.
Over the past two seasons, Corum has averaged 1,354 yards from scrimmage, 23.5 touchdowns per season, and 5.4 yards per carry. His production this past season en route to the Wolverines winning the College Football Championship is even more impressive when considering that he was coming off of a knee injury as a junior that required surgery to repair his meniscus.
At the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, Corum had a solid performance. He had the 12th fastest 40-yard dash at 4.53 seconds, was tied for 8th fastest 10-yard split at 1.58 seconds, tied for 8th highest vertical at 35.5 inches, was second in the three-cone drill at 6.82 seconds (.01 from tying first place), was third in 20-yard shuttle (4.12 seconds), and had an absurd performance on the benchpress, putting up 27 reps of 225 pounds which tied him for eighth among all players regardless of position and placed him in first among running backs.
Coming off a knee injury, explosiveness typically doesn’t return to its pre-injury form until the second season after returning. If Corum becomes an even better athlete than his numbers indicate right now, he has the potential to become a starter later in his career.
