James Conner fantasy football owners were delivered a gift on Monday afternoon after it was announced that the Arizona Cardinals were releasing backup running back Eno Benjamin.
This leaves James Conner to handle the bulk of the duties for the remainder of the season.
James Conner Fantasy Football Ranking on the Rise Following Eno Benjamin‘s Release
The release of Eno Benjamin comes as a surprise given how valuable he’s been for Kliff Kingsbury’s offense in Arizona. With Conner dealing with injury in recent weeks, Benjamin stepped up and had several impressive performances, including rushing for 94 yards and a touchdown in a Week 7 win over the New Orleans Saints.
But Benjamin saw his snap count decrease from 74% in Week 8, to 27% and 1% in the next two weeks respectively. And during the Cardinals’ win over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 10, it was Conner who was in the backfield handling the traditional bell-cow duties, running 21 times for 61 yards and two touchdowns, adding three receptions for 17 yards.
“it was time to give him (James Conner) the starting running back reps,” Kingsbury said Monday.
Conner has played in seven games this season, running for just 314 yards and three touchdowns on a mere 3.9 yards per carry. However, he provides the Cardinals with a better blocking and pass-catching option, with 22 receptions on 27 targets for 139 yards.
Conner currently sits as the 43rd ranked running back in a regular ESPN PPR fantasy football league, and had been a fringe option as a starter per our NFL Start/Sit tool. But now, he will likely be in the “must start” category for the remainder of the year, as he’ll likely be at or around the 96% snap count rate he was used at in Week 10 the rest of the way (if he can stay healthy).
Feel free to use our free Player Compare to put James Conner up against any other running back you’re considering on the DFS side and see what our expert projections suggest.
