The Arizona Cardinals surprisingly put the “is James Conner playing?” question into the mind of fantasy football managers by listing him questionable for their Week 7 Thursday Night Football game.
What is the latest on Conner’s status, should we expect to see him against the New Orleans Saints, and should fantasy managers trust him in their lineup this week?
Is James Conner Playing Today?
Conner’s status for Week 7 remains very much up in the air after the surprise questionable tag. With Conner unable to practice on Tuesday and then listed as a predicted non-participant for the walkthrough on Wednesday, the expectation was that he would be ruled out. However, the Cardinals surprised us with the news that Conner would have a chance to suit up.
In his media availability on Wednesday, Kliff Kingsbury called Conner a “game-day decision.” That leaves fantasy managers in limbo about what they should do with Conner this week.
The good news? With this being Thursday Night Football, if Conner is ruled out as part of the inactives, there is plenty of time to react and make adjustments.
Fantasy Impact of James Conner’s Week 7 Status
For Conner’s fantasy value, the questionable tag naturally changes things, but it probably shouldn’t have that big of an impact. A lot is working against Conner being a serious fantasy asset this week.
First, he has averaged under four yards per rushing attempt in four of his five games, although he did have 55 yards on nine carries (6.11 yards per attempt) in his Week 5 outing.
Second, there is the impact of the injury and how that limits him. While the rib injury is likely more of a pain tolerance situation, it could lead to the Cardinals reducing his touches outside of certain situations. That makes it tough to throw Conner into fantasy lineups, not knowing how many times he might touch the ball on Thursday.
The third aspect is that the Saints have been a solid defense against the RB position. They have allowed an average of just 17.3 fantasy points in half-PPR scoring to the position through the first six weeks. That is the 10th-lowest return against the position in the league this year. They have given up more than 20 fantasy points just twice — and only once since Week 1.
MORE: Week 7 Fantasy Football Rest of Season Rankings
There is the potential for a double-digit return for an RB in this matchup, but with Conner likely limited, it is tough to trust it being him. For Conner to have a double-digit fantasy return, you are likely hoping he finds the end zone for the first time since Week 1.
If Conner is out, Eno Benjamin should lead the backfield. In Week 6, Benjamin had 15 rushing attempts and three targets. He finished with an inefficient 37 rushing yards, with his 28 receiving yards somewhat salvaging his day. He dominated the RB opportunities, with Keaontay Ingram seeing just three rushing attempts in the game.
Benjamin would be a 12-team Flex consideration if Conner misses the game. He currently ranks as the RB28 and 101st overall in PFN’s Week 7 PPR fantasy rankings. Unfortunately, if Conner is active, it would cap Benjamin’s ceiling and likely push him out of 12-team consideration in Week 7.
