Williams still looks like the player he was last season and then some, but Corum has hit a wall these past two weeks after a strong start
to the season. Corum has just 29 yards on 11 carries these past two games. On Sunday, his playing time dropped to just 15. 5 percent of the snaps. Whereas Williams can operate in one- or three-tight end offenses and be largely the same player due to his versatility and reputation that confuses the defense about whether a run or a pass is coming, Corum is more limited at this early stage of his career. And the Rams don’t have a third running back they trust to play on offense after losing Ronnie Rivers to IR.
This is not really about Hunter’s play as a running back, as he showed a nice mix of vision, physicality and wiggle in his 12-carry, 68-yard performance against the Saints on Saturday. This is about his path to a role. Hunter is still a distant third rushing option behind Kyren Williams and Blake Corum, both of whom look faster this summer, and he isn’t seeing much special teams work, either. Hunter has worked primarily as a backup to Ronnie Rivers’ spots on those teams, and Rivers’ roles there and as a return option make him very likely this team’s No. 3 running back to start the season. Hunter could be in another waiting game for when either Williams or Corum suffers an injury.
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