Frank Gore Jr., Blake Corum's Top Landing Spots After Day 1 of 2024 NFL Draft

There was a time when a running back who was an All-American and led his team to a national championship would be a surefire first-round pick.

But today's NFL is different.

While the running back position isn't valued as much as it used to be, Michigan's Blake Corum is sure to hear his name called at some point during the 2024 NFL draft even though he wasn't picked in Thursday's first round.

Neither was Southern Mississippi's Frank Gore Jr., who is the son of former NFL running back and five-time Pro Bowler Frank Gore.

Corum will likely be picked well ahead of Gore, as B/R's NFL Scouting Department ranked the Michigan product as the sixth-best running back and the one with the best vision in its most recent big board of prospects.

Gore was listed as the 25th-best running back.

The question now is which team will take a chance on the running back position in the later rounds and select one of them. With that in mind, here are some potential candidates.

The Dallas Cowboys could certainly use more depth in their backfield after watching Tony Pollard sign with the Tennessee Titans this offseason.

A depth chart of Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn and Royce Freeman isn't exactly an overwhelming one for opponents, so the NFC East team could use another high-upside playmaker at the position.

Corum, who will turn 24 years old during the 2024 season, doesn't have the upside of some other running backs, but he is a proven playmaker who would elevate the floor of any team that drafted him. All he did in his final season at Michigan was run for 1,245 yards and a stunning 27 touchdowns while helping it win the national title.

The Cowboys are in the middle of a win-now window and could use a running back who is ready to step right into the lineup and help them compete.

While Gore could do this also, it is a tailor-made situation for someone like Corum, who could compete for the starting job right away and is accustomed to playing under championship pressure.

The New York Giants lost Saquon Barkley to the division-rival Philadelphia Eagles and will turn toward Devin Singletary this season as the roster currently stands.

Still, someone like Corum or Gore could easily work in a tandem with Singletary, who has split backfield duties at other times in his career. In fact, last season was the first time he reached the 200-carry mark in his career, so he is not exactly someone with a track record of challenging for 300 carries.

This is somewhere that Gore could thrive.

He ran for 1,131 yards and 10 touchdowns while adding 27 catches for 221 yards and three scores as a receiver in 2023. It was his second straight season with more than 1,100 rushing yards.

Gore's career-high marks in catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in 2023 underscored his ability to impact the game in the aerial attack, which would be ideal if he is going to split time with someone like Singletary.

The Cowboys and Giants weren't the only teams to lose star running backs this offseason.

The Las Vegas Raiders watched Josh Jacobs sign with the Green Bay Packers, leaving them with a depth chart of Zamir White and Alexander Mattison. Mattison is someone who previously split carries with Dalvin Cook on the Minnesota Vikings.

What's more, White is relatively unproven and, like Singletary, is someone who could split carries with an incoming rookie.

Las Vegas may not be a championship contender like Dallas, but Corum or Gore could contribute here with plenty of running room. Opposing defenses likely won't be particularly worried about a rookie running back if they have to account for Davante Adams and Brock Bowers, so they will rarely see stacked boxes.

That could help either of them contribute in their first seasons, even if they are splitting carries with White and Mattison.