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Could Rams RB Blake Corum have a breakout season in 2025?
Over the past few years, the Los Angeles Rams have been one of the youngest rosters in the NFL. Heading into last season, only the Green Bay Packers had a younger roster. For the Rams to take a step forward and make a run at the Super Bowl, they’ll need those young players to step up and have a breakout season. Here are five candidates for the Rams in 2025.
It would not be surprising to see Blake Corum get significantly more action in the offense in 2025. Corum got 58 carries last season which was more than Darrell Henderson and Kyren Williams as rookies. Throughout the Sean McVay era, the Rams have typically brought rookies along slowly and developed them in their first year. For this reason, Jarquez Hunter may not see a lot of time in year one. Corum saw more time late in the season. From Week 11 to Week 16, the Rams running back had five or more touches in four out of the six games.
In games that Corum had five or more touches, he had 39 carries for 164 yards. That’s 4.2 yards per carry which was actually slightly better than Kyren Williams’ 4.1 yards per carry on the season. He also had -0.01 rushing EPA per attempt to Williams’ -0.09. Another offseason in the offense and getting more comfortable in pass protection should help get Corum on the field more often in 2025.
Kinchens was one of the more exciting rookies in the 2024 Rams draft class. His ball skills, including 11 interceptions over his last two years at Miami made him an intriguing player. With that said, he had a very up-and-down rookie season. He had the two interceptions and pick-six against the Seattle Seahawks. Kinchens also had the game-clinching interception against the New England Patriots. At the same time, his tackling in the open field left a lot to be desired. Kinchens consistently took bad angles, leading to big plays in the run game.
However, from Weeks 13-18 Kinchens was the sixth-best safety via PFF which included an 80.3 grade against the run. That was the eighth-best mark among safeties. His 7.1 percent missed tackle percentage during those weeks ranked 15th. If Kinchens can carry that level of play into year two and build some consistency, it’s very possible that he has a big year and becomes a staple in the Rams secondary.
There is a lot of context needed for Steve Avila’s sophomore slump. Avila was part of the early-season musical chairs that had him start the offseason at center before moving back to left guard. He also had surgery on his MCL after injuring his knee in September. However, among 59 qualifying guards, Avila ranked 54th in pass protection via PFF. That was a big step down from Avila’s rookie season when he...
