The Arizona Cardinals have gotten high marks overall for their 2024 NFL draft class. It was a big one, as they selected 12 players, including seven in the first 90 picks.
Analysts always look for value in picks and players who are “sleepers” and the Cardinals have one player that Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar and NFL Films’ Greg Cosell are very excited about.
In their podcast “The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell,” they named their favorite picks in the draft, mostly focusing on those drafted after the first round.
The Cardinals’ first of four third-round picks, running back Trey Benson, was one of them.
Farrar compares him to Isiah Pacheco of the Kansas City Chiefs and Raheem Mostert of the Miami Dolphins.
Farrar said Benson is a “big guy, can run through skinny gaps (and) is explosive in the open field.”
Cosell believes he “one of the few backs in this draft that you could say could be a primary back in terms of carries,” although he only had two games in college where he had more than 20 carries.
He won’t be needed to be a primary back as a rookie, as James Conner has that role. But he should compete with Michael Carter and Emari Demercado for playing time. And with Conner under contract only through 2024, he gives the Cardinals the possibility of a young starter in 2025.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.