Arizona has a plethora of holes to fill in Mike LaFleur‘s first offseason as the head coach, but their first move was to sign Tyler Allgeier and further complicate a backfield that already included James Conner and Trey Benson. This backfield becomes a nightmare to project for fantasy purposes, particularly given that we don’t know who will be starting at quarterback. Still, let’s analyze this signing from a fantasy standpoint as best we can.
TYLER ALLGEIER
- The Arizona backfield is a mess. Conner was widely speculated to be a cut candidate this offseason but agreed to a restructured deal on Sunday, keeping him in the desert. Conner played only three games in 2025 before suffering an ankle injury. Benson was a third-round pick less than two years ago and has averaged 4.9 yards per attempt on only 92 career carries through two seasons, but he also missed significant time with a knee injury in 2025. There’s no reason to suspect either RB will be impacted by their respective injury for the 2026 season. Conner turns 31 years old in May and has a lengthy injury history; he was terrific in 2023 and 2024, but Father Time comes for everybody. Benson has been efficient on limited touches but hasn’t commanded high-level volume for an extended stretch yet. And now, Allgeier enters just to cloud this backfield further.
- Allgeier posted 1,035 yards (4.9 YPC) as a rookie before backing up Bijan for the past three seasons. He’s flashed more than Benson and has five years of youth on Conner, plus Mike LaFleur and the new Arizona regime sought him out rather than inheriting him like Conner and Benson. With that in mind, he’s likely the most desirable running back for fantasy purposes.
- The Cardinals look like one of the worst teams in the league on paper and have a question mark at quarterback (they did sign Gardner Minshew to a one-year, $8.3 million deal). Allgeier is in a three-back committee and has never recorded more than 23 targets in a season. He had 17 targets as Atlanta’s RB1 as a rookie. Allgeier is the Arizona RB you want the most, but none of them are particularly intriguing.
JAMES CONNER AND TREY BENSON
- Conner was expected to be released, but he presumably took a pay cut to return. He’s been an early-down grinder rather than a real three-down back in recent seasons, and now Arizona has Allgeier to fill that role. Benson hasn’t gotten much of a chance after getting Day 2 draft capital in 2024, and he’ll have to beat out Conner for RB2 duties here, assuming Allgeier gets first crack at the starting gig. Even if one back goes down, it likely remains a committee between the other two. It’s possible Conner or, more likely, given his age, Benson is moved before the season. Conner and Benson both become late-round fodder with the Allgeier addition.
BIJAN ROBINSON
- Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs will duke it out for the 1.01 crown in fantasy leagues this offseason. There’s an interesting parallel between the two this offseason, with Allgeier and David Montgomery each leaving their previous team. Montgomery out-carried Gibbs 14-9 inside the 5-yard line last year; Allgeier matched Robinson with seven carries inside the 5. Both Gibbs and Allgeier will have an opportunity to monopolize goal-line touches, and each of them has a new offensive coordinator as well. The Falcons have Nathan Carter as their RB2 right now, and the Lions have Jacob Saylors. It’s worth monitoring who each team adds as running back depth in the coming months. Regardless, Robinson is entrenched as a top-two pick in fantasy drafts, and Allgeier’s departure opens up an even bigger role for him in 2026.
