Getty This Super Bowl winning free agent can be "RB1" for the Cardinals.
James Conner and Chase Edmonds are free agents, so the Arizona Cardinals have some work to do at running back this offseason. There are plenty of options set to test this year’s veteran market, but a Super Bowl winner would be the best signing general manager Steve Keim could make.
It’s an idea endorsed by a fantasy football analyst, who believes this former champion would immediately become a “RB1” in Arizona. The idea has merit because the player in question has workhorse traits as a power runner but also offers an underrated threat as a receiver.
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‘Playoff Lenny’ Missing Piece for Cardinals
The Cardinals would find their primary ball-carrier by signing Leonard Fournette, according to Football Guys analyst Dave Kluge:
I said it a few weeks ago, but with Leonard Fournette officially hitting free agency, I’d love to see him in Arizona.
He’s been an underrated pass-catcher his entire career and finally showcased it in Tampa Bay. The man would be a fantasy football RB1 with the Cardinals.
It’s an intriguing idea and one with a lot of merit. Not only has Fournette enjoyed a productive two-year spell with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, during which he revived his career. He also offers several things the Cardinals are sorely lacking.
The first of those is championship experience. Fournette won Super Bowl LV with the Bucs when he excelled during a prolific postseason run that earned him the moniker “Playoff Lenny.”
He scored four touchdowns and averaged over 4.5 yards per carry in three of Tampa’s playoff wins. That’s delivering in the clutch, something the Cardinals haven’t done in recent years, collapsing in the second half of the last two seasons.
Fournette was more productive during the regular season in 2021, rushing for 812 yards and eight scores. He also added 69 receptions for 454 yards and a pair of touchdowns, once again playing his best football once the playoffs loomed large, per StatMuse:
Leonard Fournette last 3 games:
131 total yards, 4 touchdowns
92 total yards, 1 touchdown
132 total yards, 1 touchdown
Playoff Lenny rounding into form.
Fournette’s average of 4.5 yards per rush last season owed a lot to the Bucs’ quality offensive line. Yet, the player himself deserves the majority of the credit for putting his career back on track.
Fournette was traded to Tampa Bay in 2020 after falling out of favor with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who had made him the fourth-overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft. There had been concerns about Fournette’s temperament and the company he kept, but the player proved himself with the Buccaneers.
Learning from mistakes and improving maturity are the type of things the Cardinals reportedly want to see from quarterback Kyler Murray. That’s according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo and ESPN’s Chris Mortensen. Being around somebody with Fournette’s recent experience could help Murray answer his critics.
It would also help a Cardinals offense not noted for its physical toughness to unleash a runner as punishing as 228-pounder Fournette between the tackles.
Cardinals Need a Primary Runner
Power running is something the Cardinals wanted from Conner last season. They got it in the red zone, when Conner rushed for 15 touchdowns, including this one against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 9:
Conner knew how to find the end zone, but he lacked the explosiveness and moves to be effective as an every-down runner. The former Pittsburgh Steelers’ running back averaged just 3.7 yards per carry.
Conner’s case wasn’t necessarily helped by having to split carries with Edmonds. The latter is more of an outside runner and pass-catcher out of the backfield.
Even so, all Edmonds offered in a dual-threat role was 592 yards on the ground and 311 as a receiver. He scored just two touchdowns, both rushing, all season.
Fournette’s track record proves he’d offer more in both areas for the Cardinals. He also sounds ready to move on from the Bucs, per The Athletic’s Greg Auman:
This is free agent running back Leonard Fournette on Instagram, and it seems like he’s talking about his time with Bucs in the past tense.
Keim shouldn’t waste any time putting a contract in front of a proven winner and true bell-cow back who is still only 27 and would improve the Cardinals in so many ways.