The Arizona Cardinals have re-signed James Conner to a three-year, $21 million deal. The move is a good one for the veteran runner, who will be entering his age-27 season.
Conner was one of the great bargains in 2021 fantasy football drafts, as he finished fifth in points at the position on the strength of his 18 total touchdowns. He rushed for a career-low 3.7 yards per rush, but he also had 42 red-zone looks in 2021. He should remain in a similar role next season, and his opportunities as a pass-catcher could rise too after the team lost Chase Edmonds as a free agent to the Dolphins.
In five games without Edmonds last season, Conner had three top-seven fantasy ranks, another in the top 12 and another in the top 17. With that being said, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the Cardinals added a pass-catching back either in free agency or the draft.
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For now, Conner is on the No. 2 running back radar in fantasy leagues. However, I do have to warn fans that he is almost guaranteed to see touchdown regression (and maybe significant regression) next season. That's been the historical trend for most backs after scoring 18 or more touchdowns, and Conner is likely to be no different.
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Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on Sports Illustrated and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. Click here to read all his articles here on SI Fantasy. You can follow Michael on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram for your late breaking fantasy news and the best analysis in the business!
