While waiting for the post-season draft sheets, the editorial staff of DNA of Sports offers you a spotlight on the future nuggets who will join the NFL in 2023.
Blake Corum
Born November 25, 2000 in Marshall, Virginia
1m73 for 90 kilos
Runner, Michigan, junior
If he lacks size, Blake Corum lacks neither power nor explosiveness. His compact physique coupled with his explosiveness make him a very difficult runner to stop. 7 games in 2022 and already 13 touchdowns!
If I were a quality: worker
Blake Corum is recognized as a hard worker. On a field rehearsing his scales or in the weight room, he is always the last to go. While a runner must first and foremost know which breach to take and when, the athletic ability to do so is paramount. #2BeSavage, his twitter handle, is doing everything possible to be able to beat the defenders on Saturday.
“He works constantly, even in the off-season. His dynamism and endurance but also his strength: he is in the weight room all the time! His work ethic is impressive. “said his trainer Jim Harbaugh to the Detroit News.
Loving contact, Blake Corum would like to play gunner and tackle opposing returners on each special team play. His coaches are forced to restrain him, to minimize the risk of injury. He also knows how to reverse the commitments: phase of the game where you have to know how to dodge as much as not being afraid of being violently hit. Blake Corum is the ideal of every trainer because he always wants more!
If I were a fault: receptions
Like Christian McCaffrey, Joe Mixon or Austin Ekeler, runners who know how to contribute in the aerial game are popular in the NFL. Can Blake Corum do it? The question remains open because he very rarely targeted Michigan. It must be said that the attack led by Jim Harbaugh spends an average of 42 times per game on the ground and only 26.6 times through the air! So when his quarterback throws, he primarily targets his receivers and tight-ends.
There is no doubt that Blake Corum will be tested in this area during private training. The reliability of his hands will also be scrutinized during the workshop Gauntlet during the NFL Combine.
If I were a stat: 20 runs of 10 yards or more
In 2022, Blake Corum produced 20 carries of 10 yards or more, in just 7 games. Including 11 of 20 yards or more! Last Saturday against Penn State, he scored a touchdown after a run of 61 yards. The combination of his power, angle grip, and speed make him a runner who knows how to do big damage in one hit. He is one of those so sought after playmaker.
A running-back’s job is to regularly gain between 3 and 6 yards. He must also know how to take a breach and make an impact play. For an NFL staff, Blake Corum would be invaluable because he can do both.
If I was an NFL player: Maurice Jones-Drew (2 times 1st NFL team with the Jaguars)
Physically, the templates are identical. And as his eldest proposed from 2006 to 2014, Blake Corum also has this mix of acceleration and fuss to beat the linebackers.
If I were a limit: an exceptional cuvée
Blake Corum is a talented player but in the 2023 draft, competition will be tough for this position. Bijan Robinson (Texas) and Jahmyr Gibbs (Alabama) are of superior caliber, the kind that could crack a franchise in the first round.
For the Friday rounds (2nd and 3rd round), there are many talented candidates. Many ! Jumbled up are Sean Tucker (Syracuse), Zach Evans (Ole Miss), Deuce Vaughn (Kansas State), Zach Charbonnet (UCLA), Devon Achane (Texas A&M), Chase Brown (Illinois), Tank Bigsby (Auburn), Miyan Williams (Ohio State) and Chris Rodriguez (Kentucky).
And as the NFL staffs like to use a committee for this position, the last rounds of the draft will also offer interesting players: DeWayne McBride (UAB), Tavion Thomas (Utah), Israel Abanikanda (Pitt), Mohamed Ibrahim (Minnesota), Eric Gray (Oklahoma), Xazavian Valladay (Arizona State), Travis Dye (USC) or Isaiah Davis (South Dakota State).
The crop of runners for the 2023 draft is arguably the deepest in talent since 2017. While Blake Corum is unquestionably good, that depth is bound to spur a lot of franchises to invest their top draft picks in other positions.
If I was a draft pick: 60-100
Because the aerial game predominates in attack. Because the vast majority of attacks use a committee of runners. And because quality runners are very numerous every year to present themselves for a draft.
Three good reasons to explain why the majority of franchises wait for the second round for the best, the following rounds for the others. Oh, and this position that is most exposed to shocks is therefore the one with the shortest career duration.
In fact, draft position does not always reflect a player’s intrinsic talent. Blake Corum will be drafted but probably on Friday (2nd and 3rd round), or even at the start of Saturday (4th to 7th round).
If I were an NFL team: New Orleans Saints
In 2022, the Saints’ ground attack is average at best. And if Alvin Kamara is a very good player, his atypical profile requires surrounding him in a committee. At the end of the season, Mark Ingram (31) will be out of contract. Just like Dwayne Washington and Tony Jones. Blake Corum would be a cheap and quality option for this attack.
The Detroit Lions, and their proximity to the Ann Arbor campus, could also look into him: to replace a Jamaal Williams at the end of the contract and accompany “a not always in good health” Andre Swift.
Blake Corum: Take of Ankles pic.twitter.com/GEEuDP1sqZ
— Ryan Roberts (@RiseNDraft) April 12, 2022
I’m in the midst of writing my story, but before my story continues let me tell you how it all started! pic.twitter.com/cx8vE4Ontm
— #2⃣BeSavage (@blake_corum) June 6, 2020
