The Arizona Cardinals fell to 2-2 last Thursday at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks by a score of 23-20. Despite a valiant offensive surge late in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals' offense effectively lost them the game with three quarters of awful football, continuing a trend of offensive ineptitude. A big culprit has been the run game, and it once again proved ineffective on Thursday. Kyler Murray scrambled five times for 41 yards, but outside of him, the running back room provided just 48 yards on 12 carries.

Arizona's overall rushing success rate ranks 30th in the league through four weeks. If they’re going to stay committed to running the ball and still envision this as a playoff team, then a move needs to be made for a complement to Trey Benson.

Tyler Allgeier

The ideal option to replace James Conner is the first we’ll be discussing. Benson has shown the ability to generate explosives in the run game and catch passes out of the backfield, but his consistency running between the tackles isn’t there yet, and it’s going to hold the offense back, so enter Tyler Allgeier. Allgeier is an absolute hammer of a runner who has consistently turned nothing into something on inside runs during his career, forcing 30+ missed tackles each year.

His latest performance against the Washington Commanders highlights everything you can expect from him as a runner, as he forced a whopping seven missed tackles on just 16 attempts.

Allgeier is also a free agent this offseason, so he could be cheaper to acquire, and with Conner’s contract having an out this offseason, Allgeier could be re-signed as a replacement if the team isn’t confident in Conner’s ability post-injury. While not the same receiving threat as Conner, Allgeier could fill a very valuable role as an early-down grinder and short-yardage weapon, keeping Benson fresh and more likely to generate explosives on the ground and through the air.

Nick Chubb

Take everything said about Allgeier and dial it back about 30%, and that’s what you’ve got with the 2025 version of Nick Chubb. Most of his explosiveness has been zapped by injury, and he’s not at all the player he was at his peak, but this isn’t necessarily about finding a superstar, just a back that can fight for yardage on early downs and short yardage situations.

If the Houston Texans' season continues going south, Chubb would be dirt cheap to acquire, and given his veteran minimum contract, a seventh-round pick could get it done. While he certainly isn’t the same player anymore, he’s still been able to flash the wheels at times for Houston.

Rico Dowdle

Another solid veteran back on a team going nowhere quickly, Rico Dowdle proved to be a capable starter for the Dallas Cowboys last year, posting 1,079 rushing yards on 4.6 yards per carry while forcing 45 missed tackles and catching 39 passes.

Things haven’t gone well for the Carolina Panthers this year, with the team sitting at 1-3 and Dowdle averaging just 3.0 yards per carry as the backup to Chuba Hubbard.

This suggestion seems gross compared to the others. Still, Dowdle is on a veteran minimum deal and has shown to be an effective runner before, so his skillset couldn’t hurt to add as someone who would still be an upgrade over Emari Demercado.

It’s still early in the season, so more names could materialize before we hit the trade deadline on November 4th, but these three backs are logical targets for a team searching for more physicality in the run game, and it should be in their best interest to start making some calls and make this backfield a true 1-2 punch.