This is what we’ve been waiting for, fantasy football enthusiasts. The NFL Draft is under way, and we finally get to see where the rookie prospects are going to launch their professional careers. And NFL Draft landing spots allow us to start to zero in on fantasy football and dynasty rookie draft pick values. We look at running back Trey Benson and see how he’ll fit with the Arizona Cardinals.
Throughout the draft, we’ll take a closer look at fantasy-relevant prospects, giving you an overview of their strengths and weaknesses, and assessing their fantasy value in both redraft and dynasty formats.
Let’s dig in.
- 2024 Dynasty Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- Dynasty Rookie Draft Simulator
- DBro’s Dynasty Rookie Draft Primers
- 2024 NFL Draft Guide
Fantasy Football Rookie Draft Outlook
Fitz’s Fantasy Football Outlook
The Arizona Cardinals have beefed up their backfield by selecting Florida State RB Trey Benson with the second pick of the third round.
Trey Benson has the best size-speed combination of any running back in this class. At the NFL Scouting Combine, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.39 seconds at 216 pounds, giving him a 98th percentile speed score, according to PlayerProfiler.com.
Over his final two college seasons, Benson ran for 1,896 yards and 23 touchdowns in 26 games, averaging 6.1 yards per carry. He began his college career at Oregon but transferred to FSU after getting only six carries for the Ducks as a redshirt freshman.
Trey Benson is a one-cut runner with admirable footwork. An impressive physical specimen, Benson can be a real problem for defenses when he gets to the second level, with the speed to blow by linebackers and the power to shake off tackle attempts by defensive backs.
Although he wasn’t a prolific pass catcher in college, topping out at 20 receptions for 227 yards last season at Florida State, he has the potential to be a pass-down asset in the NFL. He has good hands, is a willing and able pass blocker, and as FantasyPros college football and NFL Draft analyst Thor Nystrom has noted, Benson showed the ability to adjust to a ball in the air during his college career.
Benson has an upright running style that invites unnecessary punishment and can make him easier to tackle than he should be. Although Benson has the build to be a three-down workhorse, he never filled that role in college, averaging 11.9 carries per game during his two seasons with the Seminoles.
Although Benson stayed healthy in 2022 and 2023, it’s worth noting that he sustained a major knee injury when he was at Oregon, tearing his right ACL, MCL, lateral meniscus, medial meniscus and hamstring.
After taking WR Marvin Harrison Jr. with the fourth overall pick of the draft, the Cardinals elected to add more offensive firepower in the second round with Benson. It’s a logical addition. Their top running back, James Conner, turns 29 the first week of May and has had injury issues in the past. The other running backs on the roster — Michael Carter, Emari Demercado and DeeJay Dallas — are role players. Benson can ease Conner’s burden, and the rookie won’t be asked to shoulder a huge workload right away after getting modest usage at Florida State.
But from a fantasy perspective … not great, Bob. A Conner-Benson platoon limits the value of both, and it’s hard to envision either of them going in the first five rounds in redraft leagues.
Benson’s predraft FantasyPros Expert Consensus Ranking in half-point PPR redraft leagues was RB40, and he had an Underdog best-ball ADP of RB37. I tentatively have Benson ranked RB36, with Conner at RB28.
In dynasty, I have Benson ranked RB3 among rookies, RB31 overall. In 1QB rookie drafts, Benson figures to go somewhere from the late first round to the early part of the second round. In superflex drafts, Benson will probably go in the middle to late second round.
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Thor’s NFL Draft Profile & Player Comp
Trey Benson (Florida State)
6002/216 | RAS: 9.7
Player Comparison: DeMarco Murray
Trey Benson is the premier size/speed combination in this RB class, with 4.39 wheels at 216 pounds. Over the last two seasons at FSU, he proved to be a tackle-breaker and a solid receiver. He has the highest ceiling of any back in this class. But his evaluation also has a healthy amount of risk.
As a freshman at Oregon, Benson tore his ACL, MCL, lateral meniscus, medial meniscus and hamstring. He only played 14 snaps as a sophomore while returning from the injury. Benson then transferred to Florida State.
In his first year as a Seminole in 2022, Benson set the single-season Pro Football Focus (PFF) record for forced missed tackle rate, becoming the first collegiate RB in the PFF charting era with a forced missed tackle rate over 50%. Over the last two seasons, Benson ranked first out of 226 qualifiers in missed tackles forced per attempt. He was also 86th-percentile among RBs in missed tackles forced per reception.
Benson runs upright, like a sprinter. He doesn’t have the hip swivel to violently swerve at high speeds. For this reason, he doesn’t make many defenders miss in the open field. But Benson makes the first man miss in the hole with one-cut suddenness and can chug through arm-tackle attempts and keep his balance when jarred.
When he breaches the second level, watch out. Benson is a problem for smaller defenders in space — if you don’t go low to chop him down, he’ll lower his pads and turn into a speed-to-power wrecking ball. He was 96th-percentile in breakaway rate between 2022-2023.
Benson has shown exciting flashes as a receiver. You can line him up outside for a screen — Mike Norvell loves to do this with multi-purpose talents, and Benson proved to be one of those. He also has a knack for selling the play-action and quickly picking through garbage to get out into his route and make himself available to the quarterback. This skill will play up at the NFL level.
His tape features multiple examples of adjusting to the ball in the air and making the play. Benson has soft, reliable hands. He’s also a good pass-blocker, a rarity in this class, which should keep him on the field on passing downs.
The biggest issue I have with Benson is his vision and feel come and go. He can get tunnel-vision with his initial plan and miss opportunities to stick his foot in the dirt and jut into an alternate path that has opened, which has the effect of running him into contact prematurely.
This is an area of his game that has slowly improved from earlier in his career but it needs to keep getting better. For instance, I liked the instincts I saw of Benson denoting immediate pressure and immediately shifting to an alternate plan, often bouncing it outside.
However, there were also a myriad of instances of Benson doing so when it wasn’t necessary. In college, where he could outrun most defenders and barrel over smaller guys in space, this tendency didn’t come back to bite him — in fact, it was often rewarded. But the habit, if not addressed, will get him chewed out on NFL sidelines and eventually see him ceding touches to lesser-talented players.
Benson is not a perfect prospect. He has work to do. But he has the highest ceiling of any runner in this mediocre RB class, and is worthy of taking at some point in the latter half of the second round.
Check out more NFL Draft profiles and player comps from Thor in our 2024 NFL Draft Guide
Dynasty Rookie Draft Rankings
Our analysts provide their latest rookie draft rankings below. And also check out our expert consensus dynasty rookie draft rankings!
More Dynasty Rookie Draft Advice
- DBro’s Dynasty Rookie Draft Primers
- DBro’s Top 50 Rankings & Player Notes
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