James Conner Week 1 Outlook - Cardinals at 49ers

By Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros), Fri, Sep 11th 2020, 1:21pm EDT

I'm pretty sure Conner and the other running backs will be happy to have Roethlisberger back under center, as it'll surely force defenses to be honest. The Giants defense was horrendous last year, but their run defense was better than the pass, as they allowed just 0.78 PPR points per opportunity last year, which ranked as the seventh fewest in football. They actually held opposing running backs to just 3.96 yards per attempt, making them one of just eight teams who allowed fewer than four yards per carry. It's a new defense under Joe Judge, so we can't automatically assume that all remains status quo, especially considering how bad their secondary was last year. It's possible they place more emphasis on slowing down teams through the air this year, though they may not have the talent to do so. Whatever the case, it's a near-certainty that Conner touches the ball 18-plus times in a game they're favored, automatically bumping him into RB2 territory. Knowing the Steelers will likely take it slow in Roethlisberger's return, we could see them lean on Conner even more than normal. He's a safe low-end RB1/high-end RB2 this week with multiple touchdown potential.