The Cardinals entered this offseason with a lot of needs, and they haven’t been particularly aggressive in free agency. There were lots of different directions that they could’ve gone with the No. 3 pick, which is why it surprised many when they ultimately landed on Jeremiyah Love. Love was arguably the best overall player in this draft, but taking a running back in the first round feels more like a luxury pick than a need.

Love will join a backfield that already has a lot of mouths to feed. The team signed Tyler Allgeier in free agency, while James Conner and Trey Benson are still in town (for now). Let’s break down how things should shake out in the team’s backfield.

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Arizona Cardinals Backfield Breakdown for Fantasy Football

Jeremiyah Love

It goes without saying that you don’t draft a running back in the first round, let alone the top 3, if you don’t plan on using him extensively. The total value for his rookie contract is set to make him the highest-paid running back in NFL history. According to Spotrac, his contract is expected to check in at roughly four years and $53M, with all of the money fully guaranteed. That eclipses the previous record of $36M guaranteed for Saquon Barkley, and it eclipses the $48M total the Saints and Packers laid out for Travis Etienne and Josh Jacobs, respectively. In terms of AAV, Love will check in at around the seventh-highest paid RB in 2026.

Expect the Cardinals to look to get their money’s worth. The last five first-round RBs have all had bell cow usage (or close to it) as rookies:

• Ashton Jeanty: 321 touches (sixth most in NFL)
• Omarion Hampton: 156 touches in nine games
• Bijan Robinson: 272 touches (12th most)
• Jahmyr Gibbs: 234 touches in 15 games (25th most)
• Najee Harris: 381 touches (most)

With that in mind, our projections for Love feel a bit pessimistic. Dwain McFarland currently has Love projected for just 218 carries, which is tied for 22nd at the position. However, his 56 receptions are tied for sixth most among running backs. Overall, his 274 projected touches are easily the most on the team, but it’s not quite the Jeanty/Harris level that some are dreaming of. If he doesn’t eclipse 275 touches, he could have trouble paying off his current price tags (23.4 ADP, RB13).

Tyler Allgeier

You have to feel a bit for Allgeier at this point. He was buried by a generational talent at running back in Atlanta, and he finally escaped this offseason. Now, he finds himself in the exact same scenario.

To be fair, Love isn’t quite as strong a prospect as Robinson. He grades out as the sixth-best RB prospect since 2017 per the Rookie Super Model, while Lance Zuerlein gave him the seventh-best grade at the position over the same timeframe. Still, Allgeier is going to be relegated to backup duty.

Allgeier still managed to carve out a decent role for himself in Atlanta, thanks primarily to his usage near the goal line. He had the same number of carries from inside the 5-yard line as Robinson last season, which propelled him to a career-best 8 touchdowns. He also benefited from the Falcons’ run-heavy scheme; they were 29th in Dropback Over Expectation (DBOE). Even though Allgeier managed just 32% of the team’s carries, that still resulted in an average of 8.4 attempts per game.

The Cardinals were first in the league in DBOE last year, so the overall volume of carries could be way lower than what Allgeier experienced with the Falcons. If he’s not able to carve out a higher volume of touches, his productivity could plummet. McFarland currently has him projected for just 95 carries and 10 receptions, while his TD projection plummets to 2.7. He still has upside if Love suffers an injury, but he seems like a pure handcuff rather than someone with standalone value.

James Conner

Conner was the Cardinals’ lead RB last season, but an early-season injury limited him to just three games played. He’s been at the Cardinals’ voluntary offseason program, which suggests he should be healthy enough to start the year. He also restructured his contract to stick around another season and has a reputation as a locker room leader and fan favorite. He brings more to the table than what he does purely on the field.

That said, does he really fit with the team’s current roster? He’s now 31 years old, and the Cardinals are at the start of a potentially long rebuild. If he does stick around this season, he will likely be the No. 3 back behind Love and Allgeier. We currently have him projected for just 17 carries and 5 targets.

The best-case scenario for all parties is a change of scenery. In a perfect world, Conner would get to go somewhere where he has a better chance of winning and contributing. I like the idea of grabbing some shares of him late just in case that happens, but that’s purely speculation at this point.

Trey Benson

One other positive of trading/releasing Conner is that it would make keeping Benson significantly easier. Most NFL teams only carry three running backs, so as things stand currently, Benson would be the odd man out.

Benson has game-changing speed, and he had a chance to take over the backfield after Conner got injured last year. Unfortunately, he suffered his own season-ending injury the following week, so we never got to see what he brings to the table. That may have been his best opportunity.

If the Cardinals make no moves, Benson will offer zero value for fantasy purposes. He would need multiple injuries just to get a consistent spot on the field. That said, perhaps another team would take a flier on Benson, who has a third-round draft pedigree and is still just 23 years old.

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