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• Cardinals' James Conner: Rambles for 122 yards plus TD

  4D ago • By RotoWire

  Conner took 21 carries for 122 yards and a touchdown while collecting his lone target for two yards in Sunday's 41-10 win over the Rams. Everything was clicking on offense for the Cardinals against the Rams' undermatched defense in Sunday's blowout victory. Conner was a big part of that success by registering his first 100-yard game and second rushing touchdown in 2024. The bruising back will face a stiffer defensive test when the Cardinals host the Lions in Week 3, but there is virtually no scenario in which Conner's managers should consider other options in Week 3 starting lineups.

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• Cardinals' James Conner: Runs in TD and two-point conversion

  11D ago • By RotoWire

  Conner rushed 16 times for 50 yards and a touchdown while catching three of four targets for 33 yards in Sunday's 34-28 loss to the Bills. He also ran in a two-point conversion. Arizona's first six offensive plays all went to Conner, and he racked up 41 scrimmage yards on six carries and two catches before Michael Wilson punctuated the possession with a five-yard touchdown catch. Conner scored a touchdown of his own in the second quarter from three yards out, then powered in a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter to bring Arizona within three after DeeJay Dallas scored the first kickoff-return touchdown in the history of the NFL's new dynamic kickoff rules. The veteran starter finished with 19 touches compared to four for rookie third-round pick Trey Benson and two for Emari Demercado, so Conner is the clear No. 1 option in Arizona's backfield heading into a Week 2 home game against the Rams.

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• Cardinals' James Conner: Top RB on depth chart

  08/16/2024 • By RotoWire

  Conner is listed as the Cardinals' No. 1 running back on the team's second unofficial depth chart of training camp, Jeremy Cluff of The Arizona Republic reports. This comes as no surprise considering Conner has started all 26 regular-season games in which he's been available for Arizona the last two seasons. He's also coming off a career-high 1,040 rushing yards while tallying 27 catches for 165 yards and nine total touchdowns in 13 appearances during the 2023 campaign. The team bolstered its backfield in the offseason with the selection of Trey Benson in the third round of the draft, and holdovers Emari Demercado and Michael Carter had brief moments of output last season. As long as Conner stays healthy, though, the 29-year-old should remain the top option at running back for the Cards in 2024.

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• Cardinals' James Conner: Leader of improved backfield

  04/30/2024 • By RotoWire

  Rookie third-round pick Trey Benson is unlikely to take Conner's starting job but may eventually force a timeshare in the Cardinals' backfield, according to KC Joyner of The Athletic. Conner has missed multiple games in each of his seven NFL seasons, though never more than six in any one year, so any competition for touches could sort itself out. His 2023 included career highs for rushing yards (1,040) and yards per carry (5.0), with the downside being his fewest targets (33) and catches (27, 2.1 per game) since he was a barely-used rookie with Pittsburgh in 2017. The lack of receiving volume was partially a product of Emari Demercado getting playing time in passing situations, and it's worth noting that the Cardinals have two other backs in Michael Carter, DeeJay Dallas with track records as passing-down specialists. That said, Conner still figures to be the starter and lead runner, with Benson being the main threat to poach carries and TDs even if other guys are in the mix on passing downs.

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• Cardinals' James Conner: Logs first 1,000-yard season

  01/08/2024 • By RotoWire

  Conner finished with 27 carries for 150 yards and a touchdown Sunday, adding four receptions on as many targets for 54 yards in a 21-20 loss to Seattle. Conner nearly wore a hero's cape for the second week in a row after scoring another late touchdown to give the underdog Cardinals a shot at victory. Unlike the Eagles before them, the Seahawks were able to strike back on Sunday and spoil Conner's first 200-total-yard game of the campaign. The veteran workhorse was unconscious over the last quarter of the schedule (104/514/5) to produce the first 1,000-yard season of his career in just 13 games. Conner will enter the final year of a three-year contract with Arizona with little competition for the starting role pending the club's offseason roster moves.

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