Can Trey Benson Become an NFL Bell Cow, or is He Destined to Spend His Career as a Committee Back?

Kevin Szafraniec
July 2, 2024

After flashing game-breaking ability and elite athleticism despite never truly earning a featured role during his time in college, Trey Benson showed enough potential for the Arizona Cardinals to use an early third-round pick on him in the 2024 NFL draft. With James Conner producing career highs in both rushing yards and yards per carry for Arizona last season, the addition of Benson could be seen as more of a luxury pick for the Cardinals than a true area of need. After analyzing Benson’s potential and the state of the Arizona backfield, should we be expecting him to earn a featured role early in his career, or does he have the profile of a perennial role player?

College Career

Benson came into college as a three-star recruit, but ended up suffering a catastrophic knee injury in December of his first collegiate season at Oregon. After tearing his ACL, MCL, lateral meniscus, medial meniscus, and hamstring in 2020, Benson saw the field in a very limited fashion in 2021 for Oregon before transferring to Florida State for the 2022 season.

It was during Benson’s time at Florida State that he really blossomed into an electric playmaker as part of the Seminoles’ backfield committee. With the recovery from such a serious injury generally expected to take two years, the efficiency Benson showed in 2022 boded extremely well for a full-scale breakout in 2023. Even though Benson did see an increase in his RB Dominator rating in his final college season, his usage — or lack thereof — left plenty to be desired for those who wanted to see what Benson could do in a true workhorse role.

Even with the lack of elite usage, Benson was still able to pull in some pretty compelling sims in the Prospect Box Score Scout.

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here

Please subscribe For Full Access to all RotoViz content and tools!

What’s included in your subscription??

Exclusive Access to RotoViz Study Hall
- A treasure trove of our most insightful articles that will teach you the metrics that matter, time-tested winning strategies, the approaches that will give you an edge, and teach you how to be an effective fantasy manager.
Revolutionary Tools
- Including the NFL Stat Explorer, Weekly GLSP Projections, NCAA Prospect Box Score Scout, Combine Explorer, Range of Outcomes App, DFS Lineup Optimizer, Best Ball Suite,and many, many, more.
Groundbreaking Articles
- RotoViz is home of the original Zero-RB article and continues to push fantasy gamers forward as the go-to destination for evidence-based analysis and strategic advantages.
Weekly Projections
- Built using RotoViz’s unique GLSP approach.
Expert Rankings
And a whole lot more…

Kevin Szafraniec

Full-time Cat Dad, Sneakerhead, Record Collector, LOTR Fanboy, and Jeopardy Enthusiast. Fantasy football writer and beatmaker in my free time. Follow me on X @thecatdadff

Week 9 Waiver Wire: Get Ready to Bid Up for Difference Makers at RB and WR

Kevin Szafraniec October 29, 2024

Things are starting to get thin, but that does not mean the waiver wire is absent of talent. There are still multiple running backs and wide receivers available in the majority of leagues that could finish inside the top-12 at each position over the rest of the season. The biggest caveat is that we will likely have to pay up in order to make sure…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here

Week 8 Monday Review: Comeback Stories Headline What Proved to be an Exciting Start to the Second Half of the Fantasy Season

Kevin Szafraniec October 28, 2024

After Week 7 underwhelmed overall, Week 8 has more than made up for it. The top-two picks in this year’s NFL draft provided us with what will likely be the most memorable ending to a game fans get all season, as the legend (and MVP resume) of Jayden Daniels continues to grow. Tua Tagovailoa’s return provided the spark that Miami needed to get its offense…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here

Week 7 WR Advanced Stats: Squeaky Wheels, An Overabundance of Grease, and Setting Precedents in the Modern NFL

Kevin Szafraniec October 24, 2024

Wide receivers have been considered the prima-donna position of the NFL for quite some time. One of the biggest shifts seemed to come in the early 2000s, when players like Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson forced themselves into the spotlight in good times and bad. When they were on, their play spoke for them. When things weren’t going their way, they made sure that the…...