What's Trey Benson's Fantasy Football Outlook After James Conner's Injury?

It's only Week 3, but season-altering injuries are already starting to pile up.

During Sunday's Arizona Cardinals-San Francisco 49ers clash, James Conner went down with a gruesome season-ending ankle injury. As a result, Trey Benson is in line to command a meaty role for the rest of the way.

What is Benson's fantasy football outlook with Conner out? Let's dive in.

Note: Scoring and rankings come from FantasyPros' half-PPR data.

James Conner Injury Outlook

Conner went down on his ankle a few minutes into the third quarter and was forced to be carted off the field. Shortly thereafter, it was announced that the severe ailment will require surgery and sideline Conner for the remainder of the 2025 campaign.

From a season-long fantasy perspective, Conner has been a figure for some time now. He's finished top 15 at his position on a points-per-game basis in each of his four seasons with the Cardinals and was drafted as the RB20 at pick 47 in half-PPR leagues this season.

The 30-year-old commanded 28 touches on a 48.0% snap rate through Arizona's first two games -- a role that earned him two touchdowns and 24.1 fantasy points (RB17).

Conner has dealt with various knee and ankle injuries that have sidelined him for 25 total games since entering the league in 2017. Unfortunately, the question isn't whether Conner will return this season but, rather, if he will ever command a meaningful role again.

With that, let's turn our attention to Benson and figure out what we should expect from him for the rest of the season.

Trey Benson Without James Conner

The Cardinals selected Benson with the 66th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

The then-rookie handled 69 touches for 350 yards through 13 games. He operated on 4.6 yards per carry efficiency and popped for 21.7 fantasy points across Week 9 and 10 while playing behind Conner.

Entering this season, Benson was thought of as a meaningful handcuff. He ended up playing 39.4% of the snaps and handling 16 touches for 119 yards through two games behind Conner.

Then Week 3 happened.

After Conner went down, Benson saw seven touches in the final quarter-and-a-half and broke off for a 29-yard run. What's more notable, though, is that Emari Demercado handled just two carries for zero yards. As it stands, Arizona's running back room past Benson consists of Demercado, Zonovan Knight, and practice squad back Michael Carter. Knight hasn't recorded a rush attempt since 2023.

With that, Benson is in line to command a safe and meaningful role as Arizona's lead back, and we should expect him to play upwards of 70% of the snaps from the jump. By way of playing their home games indoors and struggling with a meh defense, the Cardinals are a fantasy-relevant group that should give way to Benson being an every-week starter in his full-time role.

It's up to Benson to be efficient with his opportunities, yet we've already seen him net 5.0 yards per carry across 84 career attempts and he's playing behind an eighth-ranked offensive line, per Pro Football Focus.

The Cardinals will host the Seattle Seahawks for Week 4's edition of Thursday Night Football, so we'll soon see exactly what Benson's new-look role entails. He's +100 to score a touchdown in Week 4, per the odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.