Blake Corum is making the kind of noise that gets people leaning forward in camp.
That’s been the early story in Rams practice, where a few young and lesser-known names have pushed themselves into the conversation. Corum is drawing the loudest buzz, but backup quarterback Stetson Bennett and veteran cornerback Alex Johnson have also made strong first impressions as the team works through its summer grind.
For a camp that always carries the danger of inflated optimism, these are the kinds of standouts that actually matter: players showing up when the pads go on and turning attention into proof.
Alex Johnson was one of the first to do it. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, that makes sense.
The veteran defensive back joined the Horns’ practice squad near the end of last season, but he wasted no time making an impression on the first padded day. As Stu Jackson & Zach Edwards reported, Johnson was active early with the second-team defense, staying glued to his man on a slant route to help force an incompletion on the first passing play for the second-team offense.
At 6-foot-0 and 185 pounds, Johnson brings size and flexibility as a defensive back who can move around the secondary. With the Rams dealing with a cornerback exodus after last season, his emergence as a depth option is a welcome development.
Corum, meanwhile, looks every bit like a player who spent the offseason changing his body and his game. Jackson & Edwards noted that after all the attention on his elite workouts and disciplined prep work ahead of the 2026 season, the results were obvious once camp drills got underway. Watching him in individual and team work on Friday, they wrote, “it was apparent that work is paying dividends.”
That’s the headline with Corum right now: he’s bringing more power, but the work has also been aimed at agility, endurance, and elusiveness. The former Wolverine looks ready for a bigger spotlight.
Bennett has given the Rams another encouraging development at quarterback. With the QB2 job behind Matthew Stafford still a major talking point, Bennett keeps stacking good days. His best throws on the day cited by Jackson & Edwards included a 25-yard touchdown down the sideline to Kyren Williams and a deep completion to Mario Williams.
Ty Simpson is still learning the offense, but Bennett is showing a firmer grasp of it. That matters in Sean McVay’s system, where quarterback processing has always been a premium.
The source points back to McVay’s frustration with Jared Goff, when the coach couldn’t simplify reads enough to maximize Goff’s raw talent. Since then, the Rams have leaned hard into quarterbacks who can read defenses and make fast decisions.
That’s why Bennett, Simpson, and undrafted rookie Matt Caldwell are all in the mix. They may differ physically, but they’re all being asked to handle the mental side of the position.
The Rams may be bringing back nearly all of their 2025 starters, but this season still depends on what the rotation can provide. Early in camp, Corum, Johnson, and Bennett are giving the team exactly that.
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