{"id":862461,"date":"2026-04-09T17:21:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T17:21:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/862461\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T17:21:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T17:21:25","slug":"cardinals-2026-draft-small-school-running-back-prospects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/862461\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardinals 2026 draft: Small-school running back prospects"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Arizona Cardinals had the worst luck with running backs last season. Both starters ended up on IR, and the backups and practice squad guys ended up leading the way down the stretch.<\/p>\n

The offensive line didn\u2019t help and had issues of its own. But the running game was atrocious.<\/p>\n

RELATED: RB EMMETT JOHNSON PROFILE<\/a><\/p>\n

At season\u2019s end, overall, the Cardinals\u2019 offense ranked #19. The passing aspect did pretty well with a #7 ranking, while the run game came in at a pitiful #31. Then there was the Emari Demercado incident against the winless Tennessee Titans. Bam Knight became injured as well.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, RT Jonah Williams was lost to IR, LT Paris Johnson became hurt late in the year, while OG Will Hernandez was hurt to begin the season, came back, and then was injured again.<\/p>\n

Both James Conner and Trey Benson ended up on season-ending IR. They are reported to be back before training camp, but what will their skills be after recovery? Will they be the same backs they were before their injuries? Will their cutting ability be altered? What about any loss of speed or being able to shift gears?<\/p>\n

GM Monti Ossenfort re-signed Knight and then inked Tyler Allgeier of the Atlanta Falcons in free agency.<\/p>\n

Ossenfort may not be done. The NFL draft could bring in another capable back for quality depth. Here are several prospects that are all small-college guys.<\/p>\n

Curtis Allen – Virginia Union<\/p>\n

Draft projection: Round 6<\/p>\n

Allen rushed for an NCAA Division II single-season record 2,409 yards and led the nation with 30 rushing touchdowns \u2014 all accomplished in just 12 games.<\/p>\n

————————————————————————-<\/p>\n

2025 rushing yards: 2,409<\/p>\n

2025 average yards per carry: 8.1<\/p>\n

Accolades: Harlon Hill Trophy winner, Deacon Jones Trophy winner, Walter Camp D-2 Player of the Year, CIAA Offensive Player of the Year, D-2 rushing leader, First Team<\/p>\n

\"Kejon<\/a><\/p>\n

Kejon Owens #5 of the FIU Panthers Getty Images<\/p>\n

Kejon Owens \u2013 Florida International<\/p>\n

Draft projection: Round 7<\/p>\n

Very solid back with good speed. Broke school record for most rushing yards in a single season. Excellent at reading blocks to find gaps. Soft hands but very physical.<\/p>\n

————————————————————————-<\/p>\n

2025 rushing yards: 1,334<\/p>\n

2025 average yards per carry: 6.3<\/p>\n

Accolades: Second Team FBS All-American, First Team All-Conference USA, Conference USA Player of the Year, Senior Bowl invitee, American Bowl invitee<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Draft projection: Round 7<\/p>\n

Workhouse back with 408 attempts in just three seasons with legit second-gear acceleration. Good blocker with versatility to catch passes and was ultra-productive at the college level.<\/p>\n

————————————————————————-<\/p>\n

College: University of Texas at San Antonio<\/p>\n

Career rushing yards: 2,339<\/p>\n

Career average yards per carry: 5.7<\/p>\n

Career passing yards: 428<\/p>\n

Accolades: First Team FBS All-American, Walter Jones Trophy winner<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Getty Images<\/p>\n

Draft projection: Round 7<\/p>\n

Very fast with great hands. Broke his school\u2019s all-time receiving yards record. Outstanding body control and a dual-threat athlete. Great blocker with a compact, tough frame.<\/p>\n

————————————————————————-<\/p>\n

Career rushing yards: 1,157<\/p>\n

Career average yards per carry: 6.8<\/p>\n

Career passing yards: 1,994<\/p>\n

Accolades: Second Team All-American, Second Team All-Western Athletic Conference, East-West Shrine Bowl invitee<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Arizona Cardinals had the worst luck with running backs last season. Both starters ended up on IR,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":862462,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2078],"tags":[375,390,85477,2757,2604,1327,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-862461","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arizona-cardinals","8":"tag-arizona","9":"tag-arizona-cardinals","10":"tag-arizona-cardinals-discussion","11":"tag-arizona-cardinals-draft","12":"tag-arizonacardinals","13":"tag-cardinals","14":"tag-football","15":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116375906207016859","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=862461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862461\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/862462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=862461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=862461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=862461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}