Rookie anyone’s guess in fantasy football and ultimately opportunity is more important than talent. In this edition of the 2024 Rookie Faceoff, we compare the second-tier running backs in the class, Trey Benson vs. Blake Corum. To see where they both fall in our rankings, check out our Rookie Rankings Page. Also, check out the 2024 NFL Draft coverage to stay up-to-date. For the sake of this faceoff, we will be comparing the prospects in seven categories. Size, speed, tackle-breaking, hands, college production, and college dominator rating as well as draft capital and landing spot. Welcome to the 2024 Rookie Faceoff: Trey Benson v Blake Corum.
This faceoff features two running back prospects battling out of the second tier of backs. The winner will position himself in the top half of this tier in the 2024 rookie draft class behind the consensus RB1, Jonathon Brooks. Benson and Corum win in totally different ways and possess very different skills. Neither figures to gain enough momentum to make a run at the top tier of receivers but are still solid options. Let’s see which one will stake their claim to the top spot in this faceoff.
Meet Trey Benson
Embed from Getty ImagesTrey Benson is part of the second-tier of rookie running backs that struggled to find a solid landing spot. He is not even 22 years old yet and was a solid producer for the Florida State Seminoles. At the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, he displayed mixed results as far as his explosiveness is concerned with a Vertical Jump score of 122″ which is good for the 74th percentile, and a Broad Jump score of 33.5′ which is good for the 37th percentile.
Meet Blake Corum
Embed from Getty ImagesBlake Corum is a 23-year-old running back from The University of Michigan. He helped Michigan to a National Championship win this past season before declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft. Corum posted a 3-cone Drill time of 6.82 seconds, showing his elite agility and checking in with an 89th-percentile score. Corum was part of a run-heavy Michigan team that employed a running back tandem of himself and Donovan Edwards for most of his time there.
Player Comparables
The two most relevant player comparisons for Corum and Benson are both players from the 2023 rookie class that have at this point been busts. Benson’s profile has him closest to Chicago Bears running back Roschon Johnson in overall size and the way he produces, while Corum is closest to Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Sean Tucker. Neither player has enjoyed much success during their rookie season, although Johnson had brief flashes of brilliance. Hopefully, these two can overachieve their player comps. For now, let’s take a look at the 2024 versions of them to see if one stands out more than the other.
Size Comparison
As usual, this category is cut and dry, Benson checks in at 6’0″ and 216 lbs. Blake Corum on the other hand checks in at 5’8″ and 205 lbs. This one is a clear victory for Benson as he is two inches taller and 11 lbs heavier.
In a lot of these faceoffs, the size isn’t necessarily a deal breaker as they tend to play to role that suits their size. In this case, though, it’s an issue. Benson has a solid size and will be able to play in any scheme. The issue is with Corum. In college, the way he succeeded was as a goal line and short yardage back, the problem is that he was the beneficiary of an elite offensive line. Corum is too small to succeed in the same role against NFL defenders and I worry it will make him completely irrelevant for fantasy football.
The winner here is easily Trey Benson.
Winner: Trey Benson (1-0)
Speed Comparison
As far as speed goes, Trey Benson runs a 4.39 second 40-yard Dash. Blake Corum on the other hand runs a 4.53 second 40-yard Dash. Once again, this category isn’t graded on a curve as both backs were successful in a similar way in college.
Therefore, the easy winner once again is Trey Benson. Benson is more than a second faster and it shows up all over his tape. This is yet another reason why Benson projects to have a far better career than Corum in the NFL.
Winner: Trey Benson (2-0)
Tackle Breaking
This is our third head-to-head category and is yet another decisive win for Trey Benson. Benson graded out to an 81st-percentile tackle-breaker, while Corum scored a 59th-percentile tackle-breaking grade.
Once again we see just how much Blake Corum was aided by an excellent offensive line at The University of Michigan.
Winner: Trey Benson (3-0)
Hands
This is the first category on the board where we see a Blake Corum victory. Neither running back is particularly excellent as a pass-catcher, but Corum was easily the better of the two.
Corum graded out to the 71st percentile for his hands in the receiving game. While Benson received a score in only the 59th percentile.
I do not expect either of these running backs to be much in the receiving game and will likely be running backs who catch the occasional pass.
Winner: Blake Corum (1-3)
College Production
As far as production goes, the winner here is easily Blake Corum. In his three college seasons, Benson never broke the 1,000 rushing yards mark, although he did break 900 on two occasions. Corum on the other hand, broke 1,000 rushing yards twice, putting up a 1,463 and 1,245-yard rushing season.
Corum also put up some monster touchdown numbers with three seasons of at least ten touchdowns. While Benson only accomplished that feat once.
Corum gets the win here with far superior production to Benson despite being in a running back committee at Michigan.
Winner: Blake Corum (2-3
College Dominator
A category that once again goes to Blake Corum and evens up our head-to-head score. The college dominators show just how dominant the Michigan running game was.
Blake Corum posted a college dominator of 33.3% which is elite by any measure at any position. While Benson posted a 25.0% dominator, which is solid but pales in comparison to Corum.
We have a definitive theme developing here. It’s clear that Benson is the more talented player, but the situation for Corum at Michigan allowed him to dominate to a level that many have overrated him. He is the definition of a system player.
Winner: Blake Corum (3-3)
Landing Spot & Draft Capital
The draft capital is fairly cut and dry, Corum was selected 83rd overall by the Los Angeles Rams, while Benson was selected 66th overall by the Arizona Cardinals.
So, Benson gets the not as far as capital goes, going more than 20 picks earlier and a round ahead of Corum.
As far as landing spot goes, both running backs have a solid rusher in front of them, but the edge goes to Benson who has the much older running back in front of him in James Conner.
This age difference between Conner and Kyren Williams should allow Benson a much easier and more immediate pathway to touches. This will be the reverse of college, where Benson is the one who is set up to succeed and not Corum.
Winner: Trey Benson (4-3)
And the Winner is…
The winner here is Benson by a score of 4-3. Don’t get me wrong, as a Michigan fan I loved Blake Corum, but every metric shows he was a product of his system and the beneficiary of a strong offensive line at Michigan.
Benson now has a more immediate pathway to touches, better size, and speed, and should easily be your pick when faced with this decision.
The score may be 4-3 for Benson, but that doesn’t reflect how much better Benson is when compared head to head. If you swap them situations and put Benson behind the Michigan offensive line, he would be the RB1 in this class.
If you would like to learn more about Benson and Corum, check out our 2024 Rookie Sneak Peek videos of both players on The Fantasy Football Universe Podcast.
