Cardinals Awards: Offensive Player of the Year

The Arizona Cardinals are a run-first team, and they have a very good reason to be: veteran running back James Conner.

While some might understandably wish for greater production through the air from the Cardinals' offense, the fact of the matter is that Arizona was at its best when the rock was in Conner's hands regularly.

As we continue to hand out awards here on Arizona Cardinals On SI, our Offensive Player of the Year nod goes to Conner for another excellent season as the driving force of the offense.

You might be inclined to believe TE Trey McBride brought even more of an impact to the offense than Conner did; don't worry, McBride will be given his flowers soon.

But it was ultimately the powerful resilience of the veteran running back that was critical to many of the Cardinals' wins. And even in the losses, Conner was consistently dominant.

Arizona's franchise back put up another 1,000-yard season, rushing for 1,094 yards and eight touchdowns on 236 attempts. That was good for an excellent 4.6 yards per attempt, the second-highest rate of his career behind 2023's 5.0 per attempt clip.

But perhaps what was most impressive about Conner's ground game was his ability to plough through contact and create productive runs even when met early by the defense. He averaged a career-high 566 yards after contact (over 50% of his rushing total), good for 2.4 yards after contact per attempt.

He broke 24 tackles, also the second-most of his career, and posted six 100-yard games on the ground.

Add his 47 receptions for 414 yards through the air, and that brings his season total to 1,508 yards (also a career high), nine scores, and nine games of over 100 total scrimmage yards. Over his 16 games played, he averaged just over 94 scrimmage yards per game.

While he technically only missed one game in 2024 after suffering a knee injury in week 16 against the Carolina Panthers, Conner was severely limited in the second half of week 16 and took just four carries in week 17.

Counting only the games he was able to play significant snaps in, he averaged just over 100 yards per game.

In an offense that was inconsistent at times, knowing Conner was good for nearly 100 yards per outing was the backbone that the Cardinals needed to help double their 2023 win total in 2024.

While some questions have arisen regarding scheme and play-calling, there's certainly no doubt that Arizona can run the ball with authority, and that is in large part due to the skill and fortitude of the veteran back.

And general manager Monti Ossenfort recognized that. Although Conner is bordering on 30 years old, the Cardinals rewarded his contributions with a two-year extension worth $19 million and giving him a chance to retire as a Cardinal.

While age can be a concern, Conner has been mostly durable, and hasn't shown signs of slowing down. Especially with the renaissance of the running back position in 2024, Conner's contract looks more and more like a valuable signing.

The Cardinals' offense might not be perfect, but they can always count on Conner to rumble down the field and give maximum effort on the ground.

The veteran has already inserted himself into the all-time Arizona running back great conversations, and for good reason. He's been the model of consistency and strength, and has carried this offense on many occasion in his Cardinals tenure.