James Conner is the 28-year-old, 6’1, workhorse running back who is currently the starting running back for the Arizona Cardinals. While the Cardinals look like one of the worst teams in the league, Conner is one of the bright spots on the roster. Over the years, the running back has been mainly an RB2/Flex option running back for fantasy owners. With Kyler Murray still recovering from a major knee injury and the Cardinals looking to establish a strong run game this season, can Conner have the potential to be an RB1 in 2023?
James Conner 2023 Fantasy Outlook
James Conner 2022 Fantasy Campaign
After an impressive start to his Cardinal career in 2021 scoring a career-high 15 touchdowns and 257.7 points in Fantasy PPR leagues, Conner struggled early on in 2022. Conner only had one top-20 finish in the first five games and missed Weeks 6-8 with an injury.
Conner returned in Week 10 and immediately flipped the script. With Kyler Murray going down due to injury, the Cardinals ran their offense through Conner. From Week 10 onward, Conner finished as a top 20 fantasy running back in the remaining eight games he played. He also finished as a top 5 fantasy running back in four of those weeks.
Overall, Conner finished as RB19 in PPR leagues and proved to be a fantasy league winner for many due to his end-of-season performances.
RB1 Potential in 2023?
James Conner enters the 2022 season with no competition for touches in the Cardinals backfield, making him the premier back for Arizona. Volume is king in fantasy football, and Conner’s clear path to touches should be a big selling point for his fantasy football owners. Over the past two seasons with the Cardinals, Conner has averaged 17 touches per game.
The Cardinals will also be without Kyler Murray for the foreseeable future as he recovers from his knee injury, which means Conner will be relied on just like he was towards the end of last season. In games without Murray, Conner averages 22.5 fantasy points per game. Conner in his current situation meets all of the criteria to solidify himself as an RB2 with some major upside throughout the season.
Potential Downsides
One of the downsides to Conner is he features in a Cardinals offense that is not expected to score a ton, so Connor’s touchdown value is on the lower end compared to other RB2 and RB3.
Another downside to Conner is durability. With an expected heavy workload, Conner could be susceptible to injury as seen last year when he missed four games and left three games early due to injury. He is also entering his age-28 season, which is right around when running back production tends to fall off a cliff.
ADP and Draft Ranking
According to FantasyPros, Conner ranks as RB21 in 2023 fantasy and averages an ADP of 66 in PPR leagues. This makes Conner a fifth to seventh-rounder in 10-man and 12-man PPR leagues.
Fantasy owners should target Conner to fill their RB2 or even Flex spot on their fantasy roster. Conner’s upside outweighs his downsides and can prove to be a fantasy winner for owners. Conner has the ingredients to succeed this season if he continues to see a high volume of touches in an offense that appears to revolve around him while Murray recovers.
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