Cardinals rookie RB Trey Benson might not be a lock to run second behind James Conner right away. Johnny Venerable of PHNX Cardinals told the Rotoworld Football Show this week that Michael Carter is "the No. 2 back" and that he expects Benson to sit third on the depth chart to enter the season.
Venerable: "Now, what I will say: James Conner goes down, Trey takes James Conner's workload and his, like, style of play. ... I think Trey Benson is the heir apparent to James Conner in 2025. I don't think fantasy enthusiasts are going to get what they want this year. When James is healthy, he's going to get the bulk share of that workload."
This comes off merely the opinion of one Cardinals writer, which may or may not be fed by words from the team's coaching staff. It's also still early. Arizona likely doesn't even have its RB depth chart figured out yet.
That said, let's treat this as a reminder that the third-round rookie isn't guaranteed to play a significant role this season.
We're not betting on any other Cardinals RB vying for fantasy-starter status as long as Conner's healthy. But early ADP has Benson at RB34, just ahead of Brian Robinson Jr., Tyjae Spears, and all RBs for the Chargers and Cowboys -- as well as basically even with Giants starter Devin Singletary.
Benson stands out as a terrible draft value across formats right now, according to our ADP Market Index -- and that's with us projecting Benson way ahead of Carter.
This report shouldn't alter your dynasty outlook for Benson, unless you've had your fingers crossed for him taking over this year. It'll likely take a significant Conner injury for that to happen.
But Benson looks like the best bet to lead the 2025 Cardinals backfield and carries plenty of long-term upside.
Carter is going basically undrafted by best ball ADP. Underdog Fantasy ADP lists him at RB97.
He's not likely to help your team much, given that even Venerable expects Benson would take over as lead back if Conner went down. But Carter could be worth taking in the final round a few times if you're playing high-volume best ball.
We'll see how the Cardinals work things in training camp before making any adjustments to projections here. You'll currently find Conner higher in our RB rankings than the market has him, Benson next among Cardinals but lower than market price, and Carter way behind.
It'll probably also take more to alter the ADPs for Cardinals RBs. If we get more reports like this once training camp starts, though, we could see Benson slide down and Conner potentially move up.
Drafting Conner throughout the summer looks like a good idea.
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