After a lengthy wait, former Steelers running back James Conner finally found a new home, this time in the desert. The RB signed a one-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals on April 13^th.

He will now team up with Kyler Murray, DeAndre Hopkins, and company to try and help this team become a contender in a loaded NFC West. Conner’s tenure in Pittsburgh was decent, but not superstar-level by any means. The back turned out to not be the ideal replacement for Le’Veon Bell that Pittsburgh had hoped.

How will Conner fare on a new team on the other side of the country? Let’s break this down.

Conner’s 2020 Season

Statistically speaking, James Conner finished 2020 with the Steelers with 169 rush attempts for 721 yards and six rushing touchdowns along with 35 receptions for 215 yards on 43 targets in 13 games played. The back missed three games last season and ended up on the COVID-list.

Overall, Conner has played four total NFL seasons thus far and 2020 ranked roughly second in nearly all statistical categories. That is not bad at all. Nevertheless, the RB’s “breakout” season was back in 2018 but he never equaled those numbers in the subsequent two campaigns.

Conner still did pace the Steelers’ RBs in all stats last year and proved he can be a workhorse back in the NFL. He finished 25^th among fantasy RBs in 2020, which is not bad, but not good either. That essentially sums up his fantasy value. A good back to have as an RB2 on your team, but not quite the workhorse RB1 you want. Could that change in Arizona…..?

Chasing Chase?

The Cards lost RB Kenyan Drake to the Raiders in free agency, so does this mean Conner is the true RB1 on the team heading into 2021? Not quite. Despite being considered a secondary back last year to Kenyan Drake, Chase Edmonds did finish with career-best numbers in 2020. The 2018 pick proved he deserves to be taken seriously and Conner will have to work hard to earn that RB1 role. Conner may even enter the 2021 season behind Edmonds on the depth chart.

Edmonds did finish 30^th last year overall among fantasy RBs but that’s also taking into note that Kenyan Drake was on the team as well.

Nevertheless, the 25-year-old Edmonds recorded 97 carries for 448 yards and a score along with 53 receptions for 402 yards and four scores on 67 targets in 16 games. The back has shown to be equally effective in the receiving game as he is in the rushing game and his skills are not to be taken lightly.

2021 Fantasy Outlook

The RB1 role is not a given for James Conner in Arizona for 2021. Though his numbers have been decent with Pittsburgh, he has not posted a 1,000-yard campaign in his career and still has a bit to prove before he can be the unquestioned RB1 on a team.

In addition, Chase Edmonds is not going to go away either, especially coming off a season where he proved he can be an important piece in the rushing game. Coach Kliff Kingsbury figures to give Edmonds decent carries this season.

Based on this, it seems Arizona could employ a potential committee approach to begin 2021 to see if Conner or Edmonds stands out. Then, the team could possibly decide on giving the more effective back the bulk of carries as the season goes on.

Nevertheless, heading into drafts, the fantasy values of Conner and Edmonds shouldn’t be that of an RB1 as it’s implied they will split carries. They should both be considered RB3s at best during drafts and their values can then change during the season depending on their numbers and workload.