Reports: Edmonds could be Arizona lead back in 2021

Arizona Cardinals RB Kenyan Drake played the 2020 season under the transition tag, and that “transition” term may have been appropriate, as head coach Kliff Kingsbury appeared to hint Thursday that the team would be fine with Chase Edmonds as the starter for 2021.

“As far as Chase goes, you’ve seen when he’s had his opportunity, he’s played at a starting running back level,” Kingsbury said.

Drake had 955 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in 15 games last year, including two games with 100-plus rushing yards and two with multiple scores. Edmonds accounted for 448 rushing yards and a score himself, though he had 402 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns compared to 137 and 0 for Drake. Drake, who came to Arizona from Miami in a 2019 trade, is a free agent this offseason, while Edmonds is entering the final year of his rookie deal, so he’d likely be the cheaper option of the two.

Fantasy slant: A fourth-round pick in 2018, Edmonds has never had extended bell cow usage in Arizona, stuck behind David Johnson and then Drake. He's only reached double-digit carries in a game three times (and one of those was 11 carries). But he has popped a few times — he had 66 total yards and 2 scores in Week 13 of 2018, then a huge 150-yard, 3-score game in Week 7 of 2019. Edmonds never topped 70 rushing yards in a game in 2020 (maxing out at 25 carries for 70 yards in Week 9), but he did have a 7-catch, 87-yard game in Week 7 in what ended up his best season as a pass-catcher.

If Arizona rolls into the 2021 season with Edmonds as the No. 1 back, it seems likely they’ll bring in another back to use as the short-yardage option — Edmonds only had a single goal-line carry in 2020, compared to 22 for Drake and 8 for QB Kyler Murray. But even if so, Edmonds getting 10-15 carries and 5-7 targets a game would have some definite RB2/flex appeal for fantasy.

Meanwhile, Drake could be in a bit of a tight spot this summer. The list of teams that need a running back is short, and the list that might be willing to spend for a free agent rather than grab one of the flashy names in this year’s NFL draft is likely short. The Falcons and Jets have the most obvious needs a for a starter at the position. Buffalo is also a candidate, with neither Devin Singletary nor Zack Moss really shining so far. Our Jeff Ratcliffe thinks Cardinals' NFC West rivals Seattle (assuming Chris Carson leaves) and San Francisco (with a load of backfield questions) are candidates as well. Perhaps more likely, though, is Drake signing somewhere as the No. 2 and needing an injury or poor performance to be a starter. Jacksonville stands out as a team that doesn’t have an obvious backup.