3 Things We Need to See From Second-Year Arizona Cardinals RB

Year two is here for Trey Benson, the perceived future of the Arizona Cardinals' run game.

Arizona made him a third round pick a year ago, which is considered a near-premium selection for running backs in today's league. No one saw it as a reach considering a seemingly universal appreciation for his talents.

While it wouldn't be fair to call his professional debut disappointing, it wasn't what many had hoped as he produced just under 300 rushing yards and a single touchdown in 13 games. Benson wasn't supposed to be the feature back out the gate, but many were hoping for a dynamic duo between him and James Conner.

We were told to wait, but we're hoping the wait is just a year.

Preseason and training camp is here for the Cardinals, and now is Benson's chance to show himself off as a dependable option to spare Conner, who is now on the wrong side of 30 years old. The best way he can do that is not simply to put up numbers or highlights for social media, but to be given the keys to the show.

I am looking for these three items over the next month-and-a-half to evaluate where Benson is going into 2025 and see what we can expect from the youngster in his sophomore campaign.

Bell cow carries

As long as Conner is around, Benson will be second fiddle, but he is the eventual heir to that throne. Benson saw just 63 carries last season and received double-digit touches twice. Meanwhile, Conner had 236 carries at the ripe age of 29. Although we weren't expecting Benson to come out and steal the show, we did expect a bit more than what we got.

It's unlikely Conner plays the preseason, but even if he does it will be sparse. Benson, meanwhile, should play a lot in the preseason and give him a chance to literally run the show.

A lot of running backs will be competing for touches that don't have roster security, but Benson should command every touch possible when he is active. After three games, we would like to see Benson lead the team in carries.

Explosive runs

Benson averaged more than 6.0 YPC and 11.0 YPR in his two seasons with the Seminoles along with 25 total touchdowns. If there was one thing Benson knew how to do in college, and he knew plenty as a complete player, it was breaking off big plays.

We got to witness some of that potential as a rookie, as he recorded runs of 10+ yards in seven of the 13 games he played in. He also had receptions of 18 and 19 yards respectively of his six total catches. That potential is there.

Based on what we know and have seen, we should be able to have expectations of seeing Benson start breaking off some big runs soon. August is his chance to be the most explosive back for the Cardinals.

Passing game snaps

This doesn't have to look like catches and yards. No, we are just looking for Benson to be on the field for passing downs and see what value he brings. Is he running routes? Is he check-and-go? Is he strictly pass protection?

...Is he out there at all?

There's plenty of hype surrounding Benson to become an ace receiver out of the backfield for the Cardinals, but that doesn't mean he's going to just get it. We will be looking to see how the passing snaps are distributed between him and the rest of the pack.