The question of is James Conner playing in Week 3 is hot on the lips of fantasy football managers entering Sunday morning. Let’s examine the latest news regarding Conner’s status for Week 3 and what fantasy managers should consider doing with the Arizona Cardinals‘ lead running back.
Update: James Conner is active for the Cardinals’ Week 3 matchup with the Los Angeles Rams.
Is James Conner playing today?
After leaving last week’s game with an ankle injury, Conner was absent from practice to open the week on Wednesday. He was able to return in a limited fashion on Thursday and Friday, leading to him being listed as questionable heading into the weekend.
Late on Saturday night, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Conner is on track to play Sunday but will test his ankle pre-game to make sure. With this game against the Los Angeles Rams coming in the late afternoon, that leaves fantasy managers with some potentially tough decisions this morning. Do you wait for Conner and risk him being inactive, or is it wise to start a different option in Week 3?
Should fantasy managers start James Conner in Week 3?
Starting Conner this week is extremely risky, especially if you have limited options playing in the late window or the prime-time games on Sunday and Monday. The risk is three-fold. Firstly, there is the risk that with Conner testing his ankle in pre-game, he is made inactive ahead of the game.
The second risk is that the Cardinals decide to spread the RB touches between Conner, Eno Benjamin, and Darrel Williams in Week 3. In Week 1, Conner had just 16 opportunities, despite playing 72% of the snaps. If he loses some of that snap share, then we could see those opportunities drop further.
The third risk is just in the way Conner has performed on a per-play basis in the last two seasons. While ankle injuries do not tend to hurt per-play performance, Conner’s per-play performance is really not that good to begin with. Since the start of the 2021 season, he has totaled 803 yards on 219 rushing attempts at 3.67 yards per attempt. He has been better in the receiving game with 430 yards on 44 receptions and 49 targets. However, a lot of Conner’s fantasy value has been dependent on him finding his way into the end zone.
Last year, Conner managed to find the end zone five times in the three games against the Rams. However, he needed those touchdowns because he managed just 100 yards on 35 rush attempts (2.86 yards per attempt). So far, in 2022, the Rams have allowed just 10.7 fantasy points per game to the RB position and have yet to allow the position to find the end zone.
Could Darrel Williams or Eno Benjamin have value this week?
If Conner misses the game, then it would be Williams and Benjamin who make up the shortfall in rushing attempts. Benjamin should have some level of fantasy value regardless of Conner’s status. However, with just 12 carries and eight targets through two weeks, that value is limited to 16-team leagues as a Flex option.
The intriguing option would be Williams after he took the goal-line work last week. However, even he is really only a relevant starting option in 14-team leagues as a Flex play. In 12-team leagues, this is a week where the Cardinals’ backfield may not be all that useful. This game could be one they are chasing in the second half, which when combined with a tough defensive front, is not a situation that is ideal for fantasy managers.
