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Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner’s NFL career has been full of ups and downs. The former third-round pick started his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers before joining the Cardinals during the 2021 offseason.
During his first season, Conner was primarily Le’Veon Bell’s backup. However, Conner turned into a fantasy star when Bell sat out the 2018 season over his contract. That year Conner was the RB7 in PPR scoring, averaging 21.5 fantasy points per game. However, injuries caught up with the former Pittsburgh Panther.
After his breakout 2018 season, Conner missed 28.1% of the games over the next two years because of numerous injuries. He averaged 13.5 fantasy points per game over those two years, ending both seasons outside the top-24 running backs. However, Conner bounced back massively last season.
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Is James Conner A Good Fantasy Football Pick?
He was the RB5 last season, averaging 17.2 fantasy points per game. It was his highest fantasy points per game average since his breakout season in 2018. However, Conner averaged a career-low 3.7 yards per rushing attempt and missed two games because of injury.
Furthermore, a large part of his fantasy success came from his 18 touchdowns. He had a career-high 15 rushing and three receiving in 2021. His 18 touchdowns accounted for nearly half of his fantasy production last year. More importantly, Conner will likely miss time again in 2022 as he has never played an entire season in his career.
Where Should You Draft James Conner?
Conner has a late third-round ADP while he is the RB14 in the latest RotoBaller rankings. He is the RB16 in my PPR rankings.
As a late third-round pick, Conner isn’t a bad option. However, he comes with some risks. Connor could end the year outside the top-15 running backs depending on how much his touchdown production regresses. Furthermore, you always run the risk that he suffers an injury and misses several weeks.
He isn’t a running back I am targeting. Yet, Conner is also not a player I’m avoiding. While he could regress, Conner also has a safe floor thanks to his role as the featured back. If you start your draft with back-to-back wide receivers, Conner is a solid target as your RB1.
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