Tyler Allgeier brings another tough RB1 option to Cardinals
Cardinals running back Tyler Allgeier is bringing another level of physicality to Arizona's ground attack in 2026.
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TEMPE — Arizona Cardinals running back Tyler Allgeier kept it short and sweet when asked about his running style last week.
“Pretty tough, pretty physical,” he said.
That might be putting it lightly.
Since entering the league as a fifth-round pick in 2022, toughness and physicality have been associated with the running back out of BYU. There’s a reason why he played both linebacker and running back in college. He welcomes violence and prides himself on getting through a defender and staying on the field.
And after seeing the Cardinals quickly agree to terms with the running back once the legal tampering window opened, plus James Conner’s restructured deal, one thing is clear when it comes to Arizona’s mindset running the rock under head coach Mike LaFleur: They want a bruising run game capable of shouldering drives. Allgeier fits that mold to a T.
On top of an offensive line taking a massive step backward after two years of sturdiness, Arizona’s running backs room was decimated by injury. Both Conner and fill-in starter Trey Benson went down early in the year and never returned with season-ending injuries. Bam Knight, who paced the team in rushing touchdowns (four), was lost late in the year, too.
Mix all that together and Arizona was left with the second-worst rushing attack, averaging 93.1 yards per game and nine touchdowns last year.
It’s clear LaFleur highly values the run game just based on the Cardinals’ willingness to bring in Allgeier on top of Conner’s deal and the re-signing of Knight. And while Allgeier has been second fiddle to Bijan Robinson the past few years, the new Cardinal isn’t new to shouldering the load.
In his lone season as Atlanta’s starter, the then-rookie totaled 1,035 yards and three touchdowns on 210 carries. His nearly five yards per carry (seventh in the NFL) stand out, same with his 729 yards after contact (11th).
According to Next Gen Stats, Allgeier has forced missed tackles at the fourth-highest rate since entering the league at 30.1%. He’s one of just 11 players with at least 200 missed tackles forced during that span.
Tyler Allgeier opens up the scoring with authority 😤
BUFvsATL on ESPN
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/1zwXODTz1P— NFL (@NFL) October 13, 2025
“Not getting tackled by one guy, falling forward, getting those YAC (yards after contact) yards, I think I take a lot of pride in that,” Allgeier said.
It’s one thing to fight through would-be tackles. It’s another to do it without coughing up the rock. Arguably the most impressive stat from Allgeier’s NFL career to date is his zero fumbles on 737 touches from scrimmage (676 carries and 61 catches).
That kind of ball security is hard to come by, especially for running backs who welcome contact, and is something any offensive-minded coach should be salivating over.
“Everyone else likes to talk about it more than me. Ball security is job security is what my coach said,” Allgeier said. “The ball is a lifeline, it’s the fate of the organization, so being able to just keep it off the ground whether it’s a pass or obviously when we’re running the ball.”
Allgeier also brings with him plenty of success on outside zone runs, a scheme LaFleur could lean on in Arizona after the Los Angeles ran it four times more than the Cardinals in his last season as the Rams offensive coordinator.
New Cardinals RB Tyler Allgeier understands the fundamentals of outside zone. He ranks 8th in success rate on outside zone runs over the last two seasons, per @SumerSports
HC Mike LaFleur is coming from LA where the Rams ran outside zone 4x as many times as Arizona did in 2025 pic.twitter.com/3VwRRsNi1n
— Shawn Syed (@SyedSchemes) March 9, 2026
Since he was stuck behind one of the NFL’s best running backs, Allgeier doesn’t have the same amount of starts under his belt (12 across 62 career games) as Connor (84 out of 110). The incumbent Cardinal also brings with him leadership that cannot be overstated.
But even if Conner is back healthy, Allgeier has a real case at taking over the RB1 role in Arizona given his makeup and NFL resume, which includes eight touchdowns in 2025 despite being RB2 to Robinson.
That’s not great news for Benson, who looked to be the starter in waiting behind Conner but is coming off a season-ending knee injury and has yet to live up to his 2024 third-round price tag.
Unable to make that Year 2 leap, Benson now enters his third season on the job with his role seriously up for debate.
Can he take over a third-down role like Emari Demercado did? Does he have enough juice to hang with either Conner or Allgeier in an RB1 competition? So far in his young NFL career, that hasn’t been the case.
It’s going to be a very interesting training camp when it comes to where Benson slides into the equation, especially with Allgeier and Conner likely leading the group.
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Comments
1 Comments
Trey Benson never showed anything that would make him a starter, and is questionable as a back-up. They need to give Conner a break, or he will be injured again early on in the season. Allgeir and Conner should rotate series to series, with Carter as the 3rd down pass catcher out of the backfield. Michael Carter was the only back that showed me anything last year, and that ain't saying much. They probably won't even retain him. Bam Knight? Really?