The Arizona Cardinals entered the 2026 offseason with more than their fair share of roster needs. From offensive line to front seven to finding a quarterback solution down the road, the Cardinals had plenty of work to do coming into March.

But reestablishing a capable ground game was also among those objectives, and beyond fixing a problematic offensive line, upgrading their running back room also was important.

And how general manager Monti Ossenfort did just that.

The Cardinals added a between the tackles hammer in former Atlanta Falcons RB Tyler Allgeier. The ex-BYU product eclipsed 1000 yards his rookie season and served as the thunder to Bijan Robinson’s lightning over the next three years.

But Arizona made dozens of teams jealous when they nabbed Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft back in April.

Now, with a group of Love/Allgeier/James Conner, the Cardinals have arguably one of the better rooms in the NFL. And for that reason, ESPN’s Ben Solak listed the Cardinals’ RB room overhaul as the single greatest positional group improvement in the entire NFL.

ESPN ranks the Cardinals’ RB overhaul as the greatest positional group improvement in the NFL

“At this point, the Love and Allgeier combo makes the Cardinals’ RB room one of the league’s most improved positional groups, hence the No. 1 ranking here,” Solak wrote. “Love has the lightning-quick speed and tackle-breaking ability to pair nicely with Allgeier’s gristly style, and he catches the passes on third down that Allgeier doesn’t want to see. Of course, any selection of a back with the No. 3 pick predicts a dominant share of touches, and Allgeier was signed for only $6 million per year, so an even workload split is far from guaranteed.”

Solak would go on to say that Allgeier is an interesting trade candidate for Arizona with Love on board.

“With the drafting of Love, Allgeier becomes an interesting trade candidate. Even in this young NFL offseason, there are teams with fluctuating running backs rooms. Packers RB Josh Jacobs was arrested this week, then released amid an ongoing investigation into domestic violence charges; his status for the 2026 season is in question. Buccaneers RB Bucky Irving is out for the summer and potentially into the fall with lingering shoulder issues. And the Jaguars’ RB room, featuring Bhayshul Tuten and Chris Rodriguez Jr., is still mighty thin. If the Cardinals want to trade Allgeier, despite signing him to a multiyear free agent contract just months ago, they should have suitors.”

I have a hard time seeing the Cardinals part with Allgeier absent a strong offer from a desperate team. Arizona’s health struggles with Conner and Trey Benson have been well documented. Conner has missed four or more games three times in the last four years, including 14 games in 2025. Benson missed 13 games last year after missing four in 2024.

Meanwhile, Allgeier has been a pillar of reliability and steady production in his four years in the NFL. He appeared in 16 games in his rookie season and all 17 for each of the last three years. Over that span, he’s carried the ball 676 times for 2876 yards and 18 touchdowns.

If Arizona wants to have the days behind them of relying on fringe roster players to play significant snaps, then moving someone like Conner and/or Benson would be the move, with Allgeier again set to play an important second back role as he did in Atlanta.

In any event, finally, the Cardinals appear to have a good problem on their hands just a year removed from having a nightmare in their backfield.