Conner rushed 19 times for 86 yards and a caught two of three targets for 14 yards in Sunday's 24-23 win over San Francisco.
Conner didn't hit pay dirt in Sunday's upset victory, but he managed to reach 100 combined yards from scrimmage for the third time this season. The bruising back continues to dominate the backfield touches in Arizona, with no other running back receiving a carry behind the 233-pound starter. Conner remains a strong fantasy play ahead of a Week 6 road matchup against Green Bay.
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Cardinals' James Conner: Bounces back with 104 yards, TD
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Conner rushed 18 times for 104 yards and a touchdown while catching his only target for nine yards in Sunday's 42-14 loss to the Commanders.
The Cardinals kept this game close long enough for Conner to get a robust workload on the ground, allowing the veteran running back to post his second 100-yard rushing performance of the season. Conner scored a six-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter, marking his third rushing score through four games. He should continue to play a featured role in Arizona's offense against the 49ers in Week 5.
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Cardinals' James Conner: Shut down by Lions in loss
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Conner rushed nine times for 17 yards and secured his only target for eight yards in the Cardinals' 20-13 loss to the Lions on Sunday.
Conner posted his lowest rushing output of the season by far, as the Lions' vaunted run defense once again was up to par. Additionally, Conner couldn't make up for any shortcomings on the ground with his work through the air, as Kyler Murray primarily focused on his receivers and tight end Trey McBride (concussion) while trailing for a large swath of the contest. Conner should have a good opportunity to bounce back in Week 4, however, as a Commanders defense that's proven inconsistent thus far comes to town next Sunday.
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Cardinals' James Conner: Rambles for 122 yards plus TD
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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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Cardinals' James Conner: Hero of upset victory
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Conner took 26 carries for 128 yards and a touchdown while catching his only target for five yards and another touchdown in Sunday's 35-31 win over Philadelphia.
Conner was the late-game hero of Sunday's upset win over the Eagles after he punched in a two-yard score with less than a minute left on the clock. It was the bruising tailback's second trip to the end zone in the second half after he caught a short touchdown pass from Kyler Murray in the third quarter. The red-hot Conner will carry a scoring streak of four games into the final game of the 2023 regular season.
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Cardinals' James Conner: RBs to Start
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I'm done doubting Conner, and he's proved me wrong for three games in a row. He scored 22.5 PPR points at Pittsburgh in Week 13, 17.9 PPR points against San Francisco in Week 15 and 22.2 PPR points at Chicago in Week 16, and he's excelled in tough matchups. This should be a tough matchup at Philadelphia since the Eagles are No. 4 in fewest Fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs, but they haven't stopped anyone recently. In their past five games, six running backs have scored at least 12.2 PPR points against Philadelphia, and Conner should love going back to Pennsylvania since he's from Erie. He's a solid No. 2 running back in all leagues.
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Cardinals' James Conner: Goes past 100 yards from scrimmage
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Conner compiled 12 carries for 45 yards and five catches (on five targets) for 67 yards and a touchdown during Sunday's 27-16 loss in Chicago.
Sunday's outing marked Conner's first of the campaign with less than 4.0 yards per carry, but he made up for it with his performance as a receiver. Typically, he earns a few targets per game, but his five looks in Week 16 included a 16-yard catch-and-run for a TD and a personal game-high of 20 yards. Conner thus recorded 100-plus yards from scrimmage for the fourth time in 11 appearances this season. He'll aim to keep it up Sunday, Dec. 31 at Philadelphia.
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Cardinals' James Conner: Start Him (Lineup Decisions)
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First we doubted him and then he showed out against his old team. Then he still doubted him in a tough matchup last week against the 49ers and he slashed through them. At what point do we stop doubting Conner, who has averaged 21.0 touches and 20.2 PPR points over his past two games? One of the reasons for his big game last week was a strong showing by his offensive line against a less-than-healthy 49ers set of D-tackles. Chicago's defensive line is great at rushing the passer but not as stout against the run, plus the unit as a whole has allowed 4.4 yards per carry to opposing RBs over the past four weeks with a run of 10-plus yards allowed on 15.3% of their rushes. That's nearly one every six plays; only Arizona is worse since Week 11. No doubt, touchdowns are tied to Conner's upside, but I doubt this plays out as a Bears blowout win (they're four-point favorites), so Conner should have plenty of work, including near the goal line where he's dominated touches this season. I'd start him over Derrick Henry, Ezekiel Elliott, Chuba Hubbard and D'Andre Swift.
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Cardinals' James Conner: Bust Alert (Start/Sit)
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Conner has proven me wrong in each of the past two weeks when I recommended to sit him, and we'll see what happens in Week 16 at Chicago. In his past two games against Pittsburgh and San Francisco, Conner has scored at least 17.9 PPR points in each outing with a combined 39 carries for 191 yards and three touchdowns and three catches for 3 yards on five targets. I'm concerned about his production if he doesn't score a touchdown since he's not overly involved in the passing game, and the Bears have allowed just one touchdown to a running back in their past three games against Minnesota, Detroit and Cleveland. I would only use Conner as a flex option in most leagues in Week 16.
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Cardinals' James Conner: Stays hot with another TD
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Conner rushed 14 times for 86 yards and a touchdown while catching all three of his targets for three yards in Sunday's 45-29 loss to San Francisco.
Conner followed up his best fantasy performance of the season against his old club last week with another strong outing in Week 15. It was especially impressive considering that the 49ers boast the third-stingiest run defense in the league. Conner has contributed 191 rushing yards and three touchdowns over his last two games afterproviding modest results in the three games prior following his return from IR. The bruising back is gaining momentum at a crucial point of the fantasy schedule, making him a hot commodity heading into next Sunday's tilt against Chicago.
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Cardinals' James Conner: Bust Alert (Start/Sit)
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The last time we saw Conner in Week 13 at Pittsburgh he had his best game of the season with 22.5 PPR points. He ran 25 times for 105 yards and two touchdowns against his former team but had no catches on two targets. Don't chase those points because this is a tough matchup for him in Week 15 against San Francisco. The 49ers are No. 5 in fewest Fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs, and only Rachaad White in Week 11 scored double digits in PPR against San Francisco in the past five games, including matchups against Travis Etienne, D'Andre Swift and Kenneth Walker III. Also, prior to Week 13, Conner had scored fewer than 8.5 PPR points in three games in a row. He's only worth using as a flex option at best in Week 15 in most leagues.
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Cardinals' James Conner: Two scores in return to Pittsburgh
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Conner rushed the ball 25 times for 105 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's 24-10 win over the Steelers.
Conner topped 20 carries for the second time this season and for the first time since Week 2, likely in part due to his return to Pittsburgh and also because Emari Demercado (neck) was forced to exit the game. Regardless, he turned in a strong effort, highlighted by a long gain of 29 yards as well as touchdowns of one and nine yards. Conner had failed to top 73 rushing yards in three previous games since returning from a knee injury and will now head into a bye before facing a stout San Francisco defense in Week 15.
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Cardinals' James Conner: Sit Him (Lineup Decisions)
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Kyler Murray's return has changed the math on Conner's expectations. In three games, Arizona has become pass-heavy (63.7% pass rate) -- a stark contrast from Conner's five games before injury (55.6% pass rate). And while Conner has had some red-zone carries in those games with Murray, his O-line hasn't kept him clean, especially near the goal line. Meanwhile Murray has a rushing touchdown in three straight games. Conner will face his former team, one that has held all but four running backs to less than 15 PPR points this year, and the ones who notched 15-plus scored a touchdown. If that doesn't make you feel good about Conner, then you'll especially dislike that he's averaged 0.42 yards before contact on his runs since Murray's return, good for 44th out of 47 running backs (Breece Hall and Derrick Henry had it worse). Pittsburgh's unit held the Bengals and Browns in consecutive weeks to 0.5 yards before contact or less. If you start Conner, don't expect an efficient day and pray to Ye Olde Fantasy Gods for a garbage-time touchdown. I'd rather trust Jaylen Warren, Chuba Hubbard and A.J. Dillon.
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Cardinals' James Conner: RBs to Sit
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Conner gets the revenge game narrative this week as he returns to Pittsburgh, but I would only use Conner as a flex option in most leagues. He's scored 8.3 PPR points or less in three games in a row, and he hasn't scored a touchdown in his past four outings. The Cardinals have just three rushing touchdowns from a running back as a team this year, and the Steelers plan to focus on limiting Conner's production this week. "We can't allow James Conner to do what James does," Mike Tomlin said. I did like that Conner had four catches on five targets in Week 12 against the Rams, but I'm not ready to trust him as a starter in most formats in this matchup on the road.
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Cardinals' James Conner: Quiet day in loss
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Conner rushed six times for 27 yards and brought in four of five targets for five yards in the Cardinals' 37-14 loss to the Rams on Sunday.
Conner's day quickly fell victim to a game script that saw the Cardinals already down by 13 points at halftime. The veteran back also found running room to be mostly at a premium, considering 14 of his rushing yards came on one carry. Conner's yardage tally was a season-low total, and he'll aim to bounce back from the unproductive afternoon against his old Steelers squad on the road in Week 13.
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Cardinals' James Conner: RBs to Sit
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Conner has posted two empty stat lines against the Falcons in Week 10 and the Texans in Week 11 since coming back from a four-game absence with a knee injury. He's scored 8.3 PPR points in each outing with a combined 30 carries for 135 yards and two catches for 1 yard on three targets. His lack of work in the passing game is a concern since he only has five catches on eight targets in his past six games, and the Cardinals only have three rushing touchdowns on the season from their running backs. The Rams are No. 8 in fewest Fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs this year, so Conner is just a flex option at best in most leagues for Week 12.
