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The Arizona Cardinals enter year six of the Kyler Murray era with just one winning record in the last nine years. While the oft-criticized quarterback will be placed under a microscope in 2025, the true X-factor that will determine the Cardinals' success will be the changing dynamic between running backs James Conner and Trey Benson.
Conner, who turned 30 in May, has led the team's offense since signing with Arizona in 2021. Despite constant worries of his impending decline, he continues to age like fine wine and will the Cardinals to success more often than not. Conner is surprisingly coming off the best season of his career in year eight, an unprecedented feat for running backs.
Many expected Benson, a 2024 third-round pick, to slowly work his way into the backfield throughout the year, but Conner was the workhorse for 16 of the Cardinals' 17 games. The two-time Pro Bowler ran for a career-high 1,094 yards on an efficient 4.6 yards per carry and eight rushing touchdowns. He added 414 receiving yards, the second-most of his career, and an additional score through the air.
The 2024 season was supposed to be a changing of the guard in Arizona, with Benson joining first-round pick Marvin Harrison Jr. as two of the team's most-hyped rookies in recent history. Instead, it was Conner who remained the focal point of the offense. However, as good as Conner has looked lately, the Cardinals need Benson to step up to the plate in 2025 if they wish to realize meaningful success.
Cardinals need big year from Trey Benson in 2025
James Conner has defied time for now, but cannot keep up the same pace forever. He has been on fire of late, but had not topped 1,000 rushing yards in any of the first six years of his career before 2023. Although possible that he remains hot in 2025, Conner's history and age suggest that he is in for a regressive campaign.
The Cardinals were clearly expecting Conner's decline to begin in 2024, hence the Trey Benson pick. He hid in Conner's shadow his entire rookie season, but Benson still averaged a solid 4.6 yards per carry, matching Conner in that department. His speed, agility and lateral quickness make him the much more dynamic runner of the two and fit in better with the play style Jonathan Gannon and Drew Petzing want to run in Arizona.
Even if he does not fully surpass Conner on the depth chart, the Cardinals need more from Benson. Unless he is in a complete Benjamin Button-esque timeline, Conner will not be able to shoulder another 236 carries in 2025. Aware of the fact that his backfield partner is aging out of his athletic prime, Benson believes he is more than capable of accepting an expanded role in his sophomore season.
Petzing's history suggests his preference for running a pass-heavy offense, but the Cardinals have been at their best when the run game gets going. Conner has largely outperformed his expectations since signing with Arizona, but the team's success is dependent on Benson's growth. General manager Monti Ossenfort opted not to select another running back in the 2025 NFL Draft, suggesting the team's confidence in Benson.
Although not off to the most promising start to his career, Benson was a late bloomer in college. He took just six carries for 22 yards as a freshman with Oregon in 2021 before bursting onto the scene in 2022. After transferring to Florida State, Benson racked up 1,895 rushing yards and 23 rushing touchdowns in his final two collegiate seasons. He averaged a stellar 6.1 yards per carry with the Seminoles.
Trey Benson knows Cardinals need him in 2025
Despite coming off a pedestrian rookie season, Benson is aware of what the Cardinals expect from him in year two. The 23-year-old is ultra-confident that he will deliver on those presumptions and form one of the best backfield duos of the league with Conner in 2025.
“I feel like I'll get more opportunities to help James out more [in 2025],” Benson said, via NFL.com. “I feel like we can have two RB1s on this team, and that's my mindset this year, is two RB1s.”
Historically, many elite running backs have taken a year to get adjusted before settling into the professional game. Kyren Williams, Travis Etienne and Chase Brown are just a handful of starters around the league who proved themselves as top-notch running backs in year two after letdown rookie campaigns. Benson is in the perfect situation to become the next big name in that group.
The pressure is on Gannon and Murray to deliver in 2025, perhaps more than any other player on the team. But if the Cardinals are going to make their way back to the playoffs, it will be because of Trey Benson emerging as an elite running back.
