Jeremiyah Love made the offseason headlines at running back for the Arizona Cardinals, and understandably so as the No. 3 overall pick. But that made Tyler Allgeier that much more of an underrated signing for the Cardinals, flying under the radar as someone who found himself to be yet another backup running back after coming over from the Atlanta Falcons.
Arizona is hoping Love becomes the next version of Falcons superstar Bijan Robinson, cashing in on its decision to invest so heavily at the position in the draft. While that's within the realm of possibility given Love's skillset and work ethic, it's yet to come to fruition early on.
Through five games, Love has totaled 67 carries for 245 rushing yards (3.7 YPC) and just one touchdown. He hasn't been utilized as much as expected at receiver either, with 11 receptions on 15 targets for just 36 yards and one touchdown.
The good news for Arizona is that talent isn't the issue when it comes to Love's underwhelming production. It's more so due to other factors, including a poor offensive line and a lingering ankle issue.
That's not an ideal combination for someone Arizona desperately needs to get off to a good start to their career, especially after missing on the Marvin Harrison Jr. pick. We saw that negatively impact Love's efficiency in the Cardinals' Week 5 loss to the Detroit Lions. He had limited opportunity as the game script was an issue in the 45-21 blowout, but still failed to make the most of those 12 carries with a total of just 22 yards rushing.
That was a season low for Love, signaling to the Cardinals that it's in the best interest of both parties to shut him down for Week 6 against the Los Angeles Rams to get that ankle right. Friday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Cardinals have officially ruled Love out for that contest.
Tyler Allgeier gives Cardinals stability with Jeremiyah Love out
That immediately places Allgeier in that RB1 position, likely even giving him a more viable path to a bellcow role than Love had to start the season. This week Mike LaFleur expressed his confidence in Bam Knight taking on an increased role as well, but it should primarily be Allgeier in the backfield for the foreseeable future.
Allgeier has had similar struggles as Love when it comes to running behind this porous offensive line. In five games, he's totaled 119 yards rushing and one touchdown on 35 carries, good for a 3.4 YPC. That YPC is a career low for Allgeier, which is telling about how much better Allgeier's situation was in Atlanta compared to Arizona.
His relative lack of production says everything about the Cardinals' offensive infrastructure and nothing about Allgeier's decline in talent, especially considering he's still in his prime at 26. That's actually a positive sign for Love's future, as it suggests things should only be up from here when it comes to the environment around him.
That's one of the downsides of investing so heavily at the running back position. Typically, teams have that top five pick because they have holes throughout their roster, as remains the case with the Cardinals.
It's been difficult for Love to get going because he's not in an ideal position to succeed. Combine that with untimely ankle issues, and this is a disappointing start to what was such an anticipated season for the Cardinals rookie.
Hopefully they are patient with his return, as it's important to prioritize the long-term health of Love above all. In the meantime, however, it shows the significance of the underrated Allgeier signing.
In Week 1 against the Chargers, Allgeier had 17 carries for 61 yards (3.6 YPC), including two receptions for nine yards. With Love sidelined, it's reasonable to expect something similar against a stout Los Angeles Rams defense. That's not necessarily game-changing, but it is the exact stability that makes a valuable backup running back.
With James Conner and Trey Benson still out of the picture in Arizona, running back depth has suddenly gone from an apparent strength this season to a weakness. Still, things would've been disastrous had it not been for the addition of Allgeier. He's already been a more valuable addition to this roster than given credit for, and now he has the opportunity to showcase that in an increased role.
Add us as a preferred source on Google