Shock and panic set in rather quickly when Sean McVay named Kyren Williams the Rams’ punt returner a week ago. Fans and fantasy owners couldn’t believe the Rams would risk playing their star running back on special teams, causing everyone to wonder what it means for Williams’ workload.
Well, either the Rams are trolling on their first depth chart or Blake Corum is also going to get work on special teams. Corum is listed as the team’s primary kick returner on this week’s depth chart, with Jordan Whittington as the second-stringer.
Are the Rams really going to use their top two backs as their return specialists or is this just a subtle response by the team to all the outrage over Williams’ role? It’s unorthodox to have one starting running back returning kicks or punts, but having the top two backs on special teams is particularly unusual.
If the depth chart is accurate, it probably means Corum is going to get more work in the return game than Williams will. With the new kickoff setup, the goal is to have more returns and while we didn’t see a huge spike in the preseason, those games didn’t count and teams were likely just trying to avoid injuries by booting kicks into the end zone for touchbacks.
Now with the real games starting, teams will likely try to keep the ball in the field of play to prevent touchbacks that move the ball to the 30-yard line. That should lead to more returns overall. On punts, Williams can just call for a fair catch every time if he wants, thus avoiding any extra hits taken.
We’ll see who is back there to return the opening kickoff on Sunday night when the Rams face the Lions. Corum has experience in that area from his college days but it’s not extensive, returning only 18 kicks at Michigan, all in 2020 and 2021.
