Can James Conner continue to lead the Arizona Cardinals backfield? The guy missed four games last year and still finished the season with over 1,200 all purpose yards, and nine touchdowns. Yet to play a full season in his career James Conner continues to impress. Can he keep it up going into year eight? Or will his age catch up to him and cause him to regress? When talking about running backs, everyone talks about years seven and eight as being near the end of the road. Will we see a regression in James Conner’s production, or will he continue to perform?
Ideally playing a full season at this point in his career may be wishful thinking, all things considered. So can it be justified to draft Conner at his ADP 62.6 (Sleeper) as the 19th overall RB off the board or should you pass on him if available?
James Conner 2023 stats
At the beginning of 2023, Sleeper projections had James Conner as the 24th overall running. Projecting him to finish the season with 1,152 all purpose yards (831 rushing, 321 receiving) and 7 total touchdowns (6rushing, and one receiving).
According to ESPN in 2023 James Conner amassed 1,040 rushing yards, and 7 rushing touchdowns. Pair that with 165 receding yards, and 2 receiving touchdowns and you have the 18th overall running back based off sleeper. Finishing the season slightly ahead of where his projections had him.
Can he repeat success in 2024?
Justifications for selecting James Conner at his ADP of 62.6 would come from knowing that he’s exceeded expectations in his last season. All while missing four of 17 games. Conner averaged 15.5 fantasy points per game last; ranking him 13th among all running backs. If he’s able to hold off on his running-back counterparts in Trey Benson and Deejay Dallas, James Conner could have another vintage top 20 fantasy football season incoming.
Having Kyler Murray return to the offense healthy in 2024 could have a huge impact on Conner. They should have the ability to run the ball more efficiently. The Arizona Cardinals having Marvin Harrison Jr to pair with Trey McBride and a healthy Kyler Murray should cause opposing defenses to respect the passing and open the running game up for more explosive plays.
Final thoughts
If Conner is available at his ADP of 62.6 (Sleeper), what should you do? Draft or fade? The answer should be draft. He finished the season in 2023 with more rushing yards than in any season of his career through only 13 games.
With a healthy roster entering the season, more talent at receiver, opposing defenses are going to have respect the pass. Opening up the run game for James Conner to have another great season for fantasy owners.
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