Who Should I Start? Trey Benson or Eli Heidenreich

Thursday, July 16, 12:48 PM

Arizona Cardinals running back Trey Benson finally had a shot at replacing James Conner last September, then his own knee injury erased the opportunity. A meniscus procedure ended his season after four games. He had been productive in that brief run, taking 29 carries for 160 yards and catching 13 of 16 targets for another 64, but Arizona spent the offseason building around other backs. Conner reworked his deal to stay. Tyler Allgeier signed for two years. Then the Cardinals used the third overall pick on Jeremiyah Love, who is expected to rise to the top of Mike LaFleur's depth chart. Benson was still rehabbing during the offseason program, though the team expects him back for training camp. Even healthy, finding weekly work will be difficult. Love, Allgeier, and Conner are the obvious top three, and Benson has appeared in only 17 games across two seasons. The 4.9 career yards per carry keep a little intrigue alive, but this is not an automatic buy-low. Contenders cannot count on him, and rebuilders should be willing to move him for a useful return rather than wait for the depth chart to get even tighter.