Who Should I Start? James Conner or David Montgomery
Week 1 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
James Conner News
Tuesday, March 31, 6:20 AM
Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner faces newfound competition in the backfield ahead of the 2026 season. Conner previously had the backfield essentially to himself, and it looked like he would return to the starting role over Trey Benson in 2026. However, the Cardinals addressed the running back position in free agency, signing Tyler Allgeier to compete with Conner. If Arizona is anything like Atlanta, Allgeier will be more of a complementary piece, stealing carries and touchdowns here and there but lacking standalone value. We don't expect that to be the case, though. It's more likely that we'll see a conventional competition throughout training camp, allowing Conner, Allgeier, and even Benson to push for the starting job. Conner may be the incumbent, but he's also coming off a season-ending foot injury. Benson is the youngest of the group, but he's also coming off an injury that sidelined him for 13 games. Allgeier may end up being the favorite to start at running back, especially since he's the only player in this backfield that the new regime, led by head coach Mike LaFleur, went out and actively signed. Conner is a sell-high in dynasty leagues this offseason, and managers can likely still salvage modest compensation given his experience and name value.
Week 1 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
David Montgomery News
Wednesday, April 1, 8:32 PM
Houston Texans running back David Montgomery earned high praise from his former head coach at this week's annual NFL meetings. Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell described Montgomery as "unbelievable" and said that the veteran running back will have an opportunity to establish himself as the Texans' bell cow. This could purely be coachspeak as Campbell tries to hype up this offseason's Lions-Texans trade, as we haven't heard the Texans echo his comments (yet). With that being said, we wouldn't be shocked to see Houston feature Montgomery in a very prominent role after actively going out and trading for him this offseason. He's a clear upgrade over rookie Woody Marks, who flashed upside but ultimately showed he's not ready to be an every-down back. Montgomery has been a top-28 fantasy running back in all seven of his NFL seasons, finishing 2025 with 716 rushing yards, 24 catches, 192 receiving yards, and eight touchdowns despite operating as the No. 2 running back behind Jahmyr Gibbs. Now that he's in a lead-back role once again, he should push for north of 1,000 rushing yards, and we can't rule out the possibility of him scoring double-digit touchdowns. After slipping to the RB3/flex tier in 2025, we wouldn't be surprised to see Montgomery bounce back as a mid-to-high RB2 in 2026. As a result, he's an intriguing buy-low candidate in dynasty leagues, despite being 28 years old.
James Conner vs. David Montgomery
Still trying to decide between Conner and Montgomery? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that James Conner is projected to score 0.0 points this week while David Montgomery is projected to score 0.0 points.
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