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The current Arizona Cardinals' running back room could not look much different from last season.
Out goes Emari Demercado and Michael Carter. In comes this year's No. 3 overall NFL draft pick Jeremiyah Love and former 1,000-yard rusher Tyler Allgeier. These are changes so drastic that ESPN's Ben Solak ranked Arizona's running back room No. 1 in his "2026 NFL offseason: Ranking 10 biggest position upgrades" article that dropped on Friday, May 29.
The Cardinals' first- and second-string running backs last season — James Conner and Trey Benson, respectively — appeared in a combined seven games in 2025. Conner had scored a touchdown in each of the full games he played, and Benson was averaging 5.5 yards per carry when on the field. The remaining production from Bam Knight and Emari Demercado was a far cry from what Love and Allgeier have the opportunity to do.
"Love has the lightning-quick speed and tackle-breaking ability to pair nicely with Allgeier's gristly style, and he catches the passes on third down that Allgeier doesn't want to see," Solak said.
Love had success in a split backfield during his college days at Notre Dame with another 2026 first-round selection in Jadarian Price, and Allgeier had success in a split backfield with First-Team All-Pro RB Bijan Robinson the past three seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. Former Pro Bowler Conner and 2024 second-round pick Benson are still in the picture as well.
The team has question marks on the offensive line and hopes that adding former Pro Bowl guard Isaac Seumalo to the fold will pay dividends. The same can be said about the team drafting Texas A&M guard Chase Bisontis in the second round of this year's draft.
Cardinals fans hope Solak is right and that the Arizona backfield proves deep and useful.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals running backs top ESPN improvement list
Continue reading...
Out goes Emari Demercado and Michael Carter. In comes this year's No. 3 overall NFL draft pick Jeremiyah Love and former 1,000-yard rusher Tyler Allgeier. These are changes so drastic that ESPN's Ben Solak ranked Arizona's running back room No. 1 in his "2026 NFL offseason: Ranking 10 biggest position upgrades" article that dropped on Friday, May 29.
The Cardinals' first- and second-string running backs last season — James Conner and Trey Benson, respectively — appeared in a combined seven games in 2025. Conner had scored a touchdown in each of the full games he played, and Benson was averaging 5.5 yards per carry when on the field. The remaining production from Bam Knight and Emari Demercado was a far cry from what Love and Allgeier have the opportunity to do.
"Love has the lightning-quick speed and tackle-breaking ability to pair nicely with Allgeier's gristly style, and he catches the passes on third down that Allgeier doesn't want to see," Solak said.
Love had success in a split backfield during his college days at Notre Dame with another 2026 first-round selection in Jadarian Price, and Allgeier had success in a split backfield with First-Team All-Pro RB Bijan Robinson the past three seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. Former Pro Bowler Conner and 2024 second-round pick Benson are still in the picture as well.
The team has question marks on the offensive line and hopes that adding former Pro Bowl guard Isaac Seumalo to the fold will pay dividends. The same can be said about the team drafting Texas A&M guard Chase Bisontis in the second round of this year's draft.
Cardinals fans hope Solak is right and that the Arizona backfield proves deep and useful.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals running backs top ESPN improvement list
Continue reading...
