The Arizona Cardinals play football this week! The Hall of Fame Game between the Cardinals and Carolina Panthers is scheduled for Thursday, August 6 at 5:00 PM PDT, airing on NBC/Peacock.
As such, the Cardinals have released their first depth chart of the season. While plenty can change between now and their September 13 regular-season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers, it does provide a glimpse into how training camp battles are going up to this point.
The most interesting takeaway is that it's Tyler Allgeier, not rookie Jeremiyah Love, who currently holds the RB1 spot.
The #AZCardinals release their first depth chart of 2026: pic.twitter.com/k59CFDDdoB
— Darren Urban (@Cardschatter) August 2, 2026
RB1 battle gets more complicated for Jeremiyah Love
Perhaps this is more of a formality with new head coach Mike LaFleur taking an "earned, not given" approach to the preseason depth chart.
Still, the Cardinals investing a No. 3 overall pick in Love while already having depth at the position between Allgeier, James Conner, and Trey Benson was already a controversial decision and key talking point this offseason.
Training camp hasn't necessarily addressed those concerns.
New offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett was asked how Love is progressing this summer, to which he responded, "I mean, he's definitely a rookie."
There have been other examples that aren't red flags individually but combined suggest we may have to temper expectations regarding Love's rookie season. The talent isn't in question; rather, it's more so about how the Cardinals utilize him.
With Allgeier and Love splitting first-team reps, one has to wonder if this will be more of a running back-by-committee approach than fans (and fantasy football managers) are anticipating.
Cardinals may not use Love in a bell cow role
Arizona desperately needs to hit on the Love pick, with question marks surrounding its Marvin Harrison Jr. selection in 2024. While we may get a glimpse of how his game will translate to the next level, it might not be quite in that bell cow role. We don't even know if he's truly starting Week 1, and the Hall of Fame Game depth chart has only clouded that picture.
It could be in the Cardinals' best long-term interest to gradually bring Love into that bell cow role, especially now that they have one of the best running back duos in the league after signing one of the most underrated backs in Allgeier. They are projected to win just 3.5 games this season, and relying on a heavy workload from Love won't change their playoff hopes in the scheme of things.
Still, the running back is typically more of a premium position to invest in the draft once you have the foundation of your roster set, which clearly isn't the case in Arizona. While Love is more than capable of contributing right away in a bell cow role, the fact that the Cardinals aren't even in a position where they need that to be the case makes you wonder what the thought process behind the selection was in the first place.
The running back position has one of the shortest shelf lives in the NFL, putting the rebuilding Cardinals on the clock to align their roster timeline with their latest steep draft investment.
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