There is no player this offseason who got more screwed over than Tyler Allgeier. Allgeier left the Atlanta Falcons in free agency solely because he wanted to get out of Bijan Robinson's shadow and prove himself as a worthy RB1, so he signed a two-year, $12 million deal with the Arizona Cardinals.
The veteran running back's thought process was sound: as long as the Falcons had a legit generational talent in their backfield, he was never going to be much more than a change-of-pace back, and he thought that signing with the Cardinals would offer him a real chance to be a lead back.
Unfortunately, Michael Bidwill and Monti Ossenfort took just a few weeks to make him regret putting pen to paper. Arizona drafted Notre Dame star RB Jeremiyah Love with the third pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, which made his running back room that was already competitive enough more up in the air.
Tyler Allgeier won't be the one at fault if his Cardinals tenure is a failure
While going over every NFL team's biggest bust of the 2026 season, Bleacher Report's Moe Moton labeled the 26-year-old as the biggest bust in 2026 for the Cardinals. But it sounds like his stance on the matter has more to do with Jeremiyah Love and his role than it does with anything about Allgeier.
"Even if Love doesn't see the lion's share of touches out of the backfield, Arizona will likely be in catch-up mode for most of the campaign," Moton wrote. "Allgeier hasn't caught more than 18 passes in any of his four seasons. So, unless Arizona has leads to protect, he'll be an afterthought in the run game."
Here's the thing with Moton's assessment: it isn't Allgeier's fault he's receiving this label. He's a talented player who is only starting to get this "bust" label because of the Love pick. If Arvell Reese or Francis Mauigoa had been the pick at three, there would have been no issues with this signing.
Barring a pre-season trade, the Cardinals are now set to embark on an RB rotation consisting of Allgeier, Love, Trey Benson, and James Conner. If not for the Heisman finalist, there would have been a committee but he would've been the lead back. Now he would be lucky to be the backup to Love.
The unfortunate part is that the Cardinals are likely going to spend most of the season playing from behind. That's what happens when your starting quarterback is Jacoby Brissett. So game script likely won't favor the BYU product, because he's nowhere near as good of a pass-catcher as Love will be.
Across his four NFL seasons, Allgeier has never caught more than 18 passes in a season, so unless Arizona is protecting a lead (which doesn't seem like it'll be often), they may not have much use for him, especially when a future superstar running back like Jeremiyah Love is similar to Bijan Robinson.
Moton noted that Love is set to make the most cash out of any running back in the NFL this year and was the highest-drafted RB since Saquon Barkley, so the Cardinals will take advantage. They drafted him to put butts in seats, and giving him the lion's share of the touches will accomplish that goal.
Yeah, Tyler Allgieier will still make over $6 million a year across his next two seasons in Arizona, his role would've been much more concise had he not left Atlanta. He left the Falcons to get away from playing with an elite dual-threat RB, and the same player archetype could derail his Cardinals tenure, so there's no meaningful way for him to shed a bust label he doesn't even deserve in the first place.
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