Despite Kyren Williams's breakout season, the Los Angeles Rams wanted to ensure they didn't wear him down by making him the focal point of the team's run game yet again. Of the Rams' 456 "rushing attempts," 228 went to Williams. No other Ram had more than 77.
Given Williams's injury history, it's a reasonably rational decision, although the Rams using their third-round pick to do so came as a surprise. Nevertheless, Rams general manager Les Snead defended the pick and even said the team "would have traded the pick" if Blake Corum hadn't fallen to them.
Snead recently told Erica Tamposi of the team's official website that part of the rationale for the pick was ensuring the Rams didn't overload Williams.
"A lot of people have said he's similar [to Kyren Williams]. They have a very similar play style. They both really, really care about football. That's very important on that side of the ball. That's a sophisticated side of the ball. We're a relatively advanced, veteran offense, so you definitely are going to need to bring a care factor to be able to get up to speed and be able to function and fit right in and keep the thing humming."
The selection of Corum would allow the Rams to keep the run game going. Williams missed time with injuries last season and even broke his hand in their Wild Card game against the Detroit Lions. The Rams went 1-3 over the stretch of time Williams was hurt. Their run game came to a halt, with the team producing one game over that stretch breaking 100 yards on the ground.
With Corum added to the backfield, the Rams can ensure they have a 1-2 punch of similar players.
""It's a tough league; it's a 17-game season plus playoffs, might go to 18 games one day. So we always felt like we needed to have as many quality runners as possible so we don't just totally run down Kyren, and we have one or two, or even three guys that can contribute, keep everyone fresh, and let's go and try to impose our will."
