Who Should I Start? Alexander Mattison or Tyler Allgeier

Thursday, March 26, 6:37 PM

The Arizona Cardinals are setting up to be a run-heavy offense in 2026 under new head coach Mike LaFleur. Running backs James Conner (foot) and Trey Benson (knee) will both be returning from season-ending injuries early in 2025, and the team also signed former Atlanta Falcons RB Tyler Allgeier to a two-year, $12.25 million contract in free agency. The 25-year-old Allgeier could never truly reach his ceiling in Atlanta while working behind stud RB1 Bijan Robinson, and now he could be part of a three-headed RB attack in the desert, depending on the health of both Conner and Benson. Allgeier had a 1,000-yard rushing season in his rookie campaign in 2022 on 210 carries and then regressed each season after that in terms of yardage, although he did have a career-high eight TDs in 17 games in 2025. He's been durable in his four NFL seasons, missing just one game. Allgeier should at the very least be in play as a touchdown-dependent RB3/flex (like he was in Atlanta), but he'll have clear RB2 upside if he emerges as Arizona's backfield leader.