The Arizona Cardinals have a committee of five running backs heading into training camp, and four out of the five give us little hope.
The Arizona Cardinals will be running the ball a lot in 2023 thanks to the overall inexperience and ineptitude at quarterback outside of Kyler Murray. But with Murray figuring at least the first few weeks, look for the Redbirds to run the ball, and run the ball often.
Unfortunately for them, their group of running backs is rather bland outside of James Conner. But Conner, while effective when healthy, is also injury-prone, and it’s a stretch if Arizona is to leave the backfield in the hands of Corey Clement, Ty’Son Williams, Keaontay Ingram, and Emari Demercado if the Redbirds lead back were to miss time in 2023.
Maybe the Cards see something that we’re not seeing. Let’s hope so, because we have little reason to believe in this backfield.
Arizona Cardinals have a below-average group of backs
Over the past two seasons, James Conner has been the Cardinals top running back, rushing for 1,534 yards and 4.0 yards per carry over 28 games and 19 starts. He’s also scored 22 touchdowns, logged 83 catches, 675 receiving yards, and four touchdowns. Overall, Conner could, and should be, the lifeblood of the Arizona Cardinals offense.
The Cards drafted Keaontay Ingram last season in the sixth round, hoping he could step in and produce had Conner gone down with an injury, and if then-RB2 Eno Benjamin needed someone to spell him. However, the Cards cut Benjamin, which opened up more opportunities for Ingram.
But he didn’t impress, rushing for just 60 yards on 27 carries, with one touchdown and 2.2 yards per carry to show for it. A non-factor through the air, Ingram caught just four passes for 21 yards. But here’s the kicker: He had a long of 24 yards, demonstrating his overall inefficacy.
While Conner and Ingram were the Arizona Cardinals top two backs who spent the entire 2022 season with the team, there could be other options to supplant the latter this season. Corey Clement, Ty’Son Williams, and Emari Demercado, while not big names, are all capable. .
Rest of the committee
Corey Clement bounced around to and from the Cardinals practice squad last season, and the 28-year-old (29 come November) didn’t impress when given the chance, rushing for just 55 yards on 15 carries, 3.7 yards per, and a touchdown. Clement was more of a factor through the air than Ingram, recording just five catches, but he also added 54 yards through the air, good for 10.8 yards per.
Ty’Son Williams also joined the Cardinals roster in October 2022, However, Williams did next to nothing this past season, and if there is an odd man out, it’s him, after gaining just five yards from scrimmage and no, that’s not a typo.
Emari Demercado is by far the most intriguing. While he’s a smaller back, Demercado would be the perfect complement to Conner. He also had 338 carries in college after playing in 47 contests overall, per Sports-Reference, so there is a good chance Demercado has fresh legs.
Verdict
As with the Arizona Cardinals quarterbacks, it’s tough to give this group anything higher than a C. But given the total ineptitude behind them, I’m rolling with a D+, and that’s rather generous. Neither Clement nor Williams are the respective answers for the RB2 role here, so hopefully Ingram can get the ball rolling, though I’m not getting my hopes up.
Overall, I wouldn’t be surprised if Demercado saw some reps in training camp and eventually worked his way up to spending time as the RB2. As mentioned, he complements Conner well from a size standpoint, and he could wind up as the best of the bunch as it stands behind Conner.
Therefore, if I’m going to be remotely positive at the moment, there is intrigue here with the young backs in Ingram and Demercado. But not enough intrigue to say this will be an effective unit as the Cards look to potentially try to run the ball often as Kyler Murray seeks to return and bring the passing game to life.
(Statistics provided by Pro-Football-Reference and Sports-Reference/CFB)