Fantasy Analyst: Draft Cardinals RB

The Arizona Cardinals have a sneaky running back to watch for in the realm of fantasy football.

Arizona Cardinals running back Trey Benson (33) during rookie mini-camp on May 10, 2024, in Tempe. | Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals feature one of the more underrated backfields moving into 2024, as James Conner and Trey Benson hope to combine for quite the 1-2 punch at State Farm Stadium.

Conner - an established veteran - still claims RB1 duties in the desert despite Benson's presence, though many believe Benson can eat into Conner's massive workload moving forward.

"Cardinals RB1 James Conner averaged 128.6 scrimmage yards per game with seven touchdowns over the final five contests of last season, but he missed four games earlier in the year. He has never played more than 15 games in a season and he missed four games in each of the last two seasons," wrote NFL.com's Adam Rank.

"That's why I'm getting a bunch of shares of third-round rookie Trey Benson . He's a big back who can catch and I would love to see him get a chance. Take a late-round dart throw on this guy, especially if you end up with Conner in your league. Benson didn't run the ball a ton in college, so he should be primed and ready to go this season."

Benson was the second running back off the board in the 2024 NFL Draft, and though this pick was certainly made with the future in mind, the Florida State product could make an impact early and often.

As Rank alluded to, health hasn't always been on Conner's side. Benson is talented enough as a running back to earn a few snaps in order to help preserve Conner, but in the event the Cardinals need him in a larger role, there's plenty of reason to believe Benson could thrive.

Conner himself is pretty excited for what's ahead in 2024 - you can read more about that here.