Trey Benson

Benson will have to contend with a still-spry James Conner for touches all season. Yes, Conner hasn't played more than 13 games in a season over the last two years, so Benson could get some run as the team's starter in 2024. It's impossible to project that with the uncertainty of injuries, but it has to be mentioned. Even in a 1B role to Conner, Benson could make some noise with big plays. Over the last two collegiate seasons, Benson has ranked 10th and third in breakaway percentage and 42nd and first in elusive rating (per PFF). With an offense that ranked fourth in neutral script rushing rate last year, there should be enough rushing volume weekly for Benson to have flex viability. He's a priority handcuff this season with some standalone value.

Trey Benson started his career at Oregon before transferring to Florida State in 2022 after an early torn ACL injury. He first broke out onto the scene in his first year as a Seminole in 2022 - 994 rushing yards and nine TDs. He followed up a strong sophomore season with an even better junior year that saw him post a 23% dominator rating with 14 scores and 905 rushing yards.
However, from an advanced rushing metrics perspective, Benson was superior during his first year at FSU in 2022. The 6-foot and 216-pound rusher (updated from 6-1 and 221 from his college website) ranked sixth in the nation in yards after contact per attempt (4.53) with the sixth-most broken tackles forced (79) at an absurd 51% missed tackle rate per rushing attempt.
Benson was selected by the Arizona Cardinals at the top of Round 3 (66th overall). I love the spot for him on an ascending Cardinals offense with James Conner entering the last year of his contract. I fully expect Conner to still be the "bell cow" in 2024 if he is able to maintain his health. Obviously, that's not a given. But in the meantime, Benson has the size/speed profile to flash his explosiveness while working in tandem with Conner.
When I first turned on Benson's tape, I was immediately drawn to his NFL comparison to a slightly smaller Leonard Fournette. For a better size comparison - Fournette was around 240 pounds entering the NFL - his style is like Adrian Peterson's. Again, these are not career-projecting comparisons but rather how stylistically he plays the position.
During the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, Benson ran a 4.39 40-yard dash at 216 pounds. His vertical jump was 37th percentile, but his broad jump was above the 70th percentile. Overall the sub-4.4 testing is really the main highlight, given it's at the same time at a similar weight to former RBs, Breece Hall and Peterson. Given Jonathon Brooks' current injury status, Benson's strong outing moves him to my fantasy rookie RB1 overall in the class. His 1.52 10-yard split ranked in the 90th percentile.