As with most NFL teams, we know who the Arizona Cardinals’ RB1 will be. It’s the same guy it’s been the past two seasons — James Conner. What remains unclear is who Conner’s primary backup will be. So, who is the Cardinals’ RB2, and does that player have any fantasy football value this season?
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James Conner Is the Arizona Cardinals’ Clear RB1
Let’s start with the obvious. Conner is the RB1 and one of the most decisive RB1s in the NFL. What I mean by that is there is no real threat to his role.
Last season, Conner played 70.5% of the offensive snaps and saw a 71.7% opportunity share. Those numbers ranked sixth and eighth, respectively. He also ran a route on 53.2% of the Cardinals’ pass plays, 10th-most in the league.
Conner is a true three-down back in an era where seldom few remain. That is a very valuable role in fantasy football. It’s also one that comes with a higher injury risk for a 28-year-old who has never played a full season.
I am not in the business of predicting injuries because I don’t think it is possible … most of the time. For someone like Conner, we have a six-year history of him missing time.
Other than his 15-game 2021 season, Conner has never played more than 13 games in a season. That means someone else in this backfield is likely going to get an opportunity to start at some point this season. Who might that be?
Who Are the Cardinals’ Backup Running Backs?
There’s no doubt Arizona’s coaches and players are going to try when preparing for games and out on the field. As for the organization as a whole? It’s pretty evident the tank is on.
The Cardinals are preparing for a fresh start. They have a new coaching staff. Kyler Murray is going to miss at least a portion of the 2023 season — if not all of it. If the Cardinals, who are projected for the worst record in football, do end up with the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, it’s entirely possible they move on from Murray.
This team also released DeAndre Hopkins without signing or drafting a replacement. They also have no future at running back to speak of.
Even if Conner remains effective this season, he will be 29 years old next year. Their running back of the future is not currently on the roster. This team could look very different in 2024.
While all that may be true, that doesn’t help fantasy managers in 2023. If Conner goes down, let’s take a look at who the Cardinals would look to as a replacement.
The most polished of backups is former 2017 UDFA Corey Clement. He spent the first four years of his career with the Eagles before joining the Cowboys for a season and then latching on with the Cardinals in the middle of 2022. Why the middle of 2022? Well, he wasn’t good enough to get a job to start the season.
Despite having no history of success as a receiver, including going back to his college days, that’s largely the role Clement seems to be tasked with on the Cardinals.
It was only a two-game sample size last season, but Clement saw a 42% and 72% snap share in the team’s final two contests. In those games, he only handled seven and eight carries but ran 18 and 16 routes. If Conner misses time, Clement’s role in a committee seems like it would likely be as the pass-catching back. However, there’s no guarantee the new coaching staff views him the same way.
As a runner, Clement has 211 carries in 72 career games. The bulk of those (142) came during his first two seasons. At this point in his career, Clement is unlikely to become even a marginally impactful player.
Next up, we have sophomore sixth-rounder Keaontay Ingram. He appeared in 12 games last season, carrying the ball 27 times for a whopping 60 yards while adding four receptions for 21 yards.
It shouldn’t come as a shock that a sixth-round rookie wasn’t particularly good, but Ingram looked quite overmatched in the NFL. He averaged 2.2 yards per carry and was truly a last resort for this team. Initially, Eno Benjamin played ahead of him. After they cut Benjamin, even when Conner was out, they looked to guys like Darrel Williams and the aforementioned Clement instead.
Ingram is a decent athlete and has a far better receiving profile than Clement. He saw a 19.2% target share in his final season at Texas. It’s possible he could perform well in training camp and establish himself as the Cardinals’ clear RB2. Right now, that is purely projecting, though. Ingram has yet to display any semblance of NFL-caliber skills.
Finally, we have former 2020 UDFA Ty’Son Williams. After not playing his entire rookie season, Williams made waves when he was thrust into the Ravens’ RB1 role following preseason injuries to J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, and Justice Hill ahead of the 2021 season.
Williams had quite the debut, totaling 94 yards and a touchdown in Week 1. He followed that up with 93 total yards in Week 2. Williams, despite no history of being a pass-catching weapon, also caught five passes over those two games.
Despite his seemingly good numbers, Williams quickly fell out of favor with the coaching staff. His role was heavily reduced in Week 3. By Week 9, he wasn’t touching the ball at all anymore. The Ravens cut him after the season.
Williams was unable to land a job to open the 2022 season. He latched on with the Cardinals ahead of Week 6 but didn’t get into a game until Week 18. As of now, he projects to make the team, but I see no path to any meaningful playing time.
Who Is James Conner’s Primary Backup?
Right now, the competition is between Ingram and Clement, but there’s no clear answer. All three of these players are sub-replacement-level backups. Even Conner is a replacement-level talent, if not a little bit better.
If Conner can’t play for whatever reason, the answer to who sees the most work will be whoever plays the best. The Cardinals have no allegiance to any of these players.
This is likely going to be a very bad offense quarterbacked by 37-year-old Colt McCoy or rookie fifth-rounder Clayton Tune, at least for about half the season. If Murray does come back, that would obviously change things. But the Cardinals are not going to be competing for a playoff spot this season. Without Conner, the answer to who you want in fantasy is likely none of them.
Right now, the Cardinals only have four running backs on the roster. One would think they’d sign another one or two for training camp and preseason purposes. Four is a fine number to roster going into the season, but most teams have a couple more for camp.
Ultimately, the answer to who the Cardinals will use at running back if something happens to Conner is not currently on the team. Given where the Cardinals are at as a franchise, they seem like the type to sign a veteran who can go out there and eat carries.
Regardless of who plays running back for the Cardinals, he is unlikely to have much fantasy value, if any at all.
