Demercado has worked his way into a passing-downs role for the Cardinals each of the last two seasons. Nearly half of his career snaps have come on third or fourth down. He's expected to stay in that role for Arizona, though it's rarely led to even decent Fantasy production. You might consider adding Demercado in-season as a desperation PPR running back, but only in the deepest of leagues.
Cardinals' Emari Demercado: Garners 30 total yards in loss
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Demercado rushed seven times for 22 yards and brought in two of three targets for eight yards in the Cardinals' 20-10 preseason win over the Raiders on Saturday night.
Demercado, who was the first Arizona running back to log a touch Saturday, finished the preseason by upping his yardage total over that of the previous game for the second straight week, but he still finished with a modest yardage total. The third-year pro has proven capable of filling a complementary role in the Cardinals' backfield over the past two seasons, but with Zonovan Knight breaking off a 67-yard touchdown run and Michael Carter averaging 9.4 yards per carry Saturday, it remains to be seen if one or both will vault over Demercado come final roster cuts.
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Cardinals' Emari Demercado: Fills dual role in preseason loss
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Demercado rushed six times for 15 yards, failed to bring in his only target and returned two kickoffs for 60 yards in the Cardinals' 27-7 preseason loss to the Broncos on Saturday night.
Demercado was the second back in the game behind Michael Carter, the player he's trying to hold off for the No. 3 running back job. Neither back was able to find much in the way of running room, but that presumably leaves Demercado with at least a slight edge in the competition given his speed and ability to contribute as a returner. Next Saturday night's home preseason finale against the Raiders may serve as the setting for the final installment of the job battle before head coach Jonathan Gannon and his staff make a final decision.
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Cardinals' Emari Demercado: Healthy for OTAs
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Demercado (back) is participating in voluntary OTAs, Jess Root of USA Today reports.
Demercado missed the final four games of the 2024 season due to a back injury that required him to be placed on IR, but he's now back on the field for OTAs. He looked impressive as a change-of-pace option behind James Conner and Trey Benson in 2024, averaging a tremendous 9.3 YPC in a small sample size of 24 carries for 223 yards and one score (13 regular-season contests). Arizona looks set to carry an essentially identical backfield depth chart into the 2025 campaign, positioning Demercado to compete for a similar No. 3 role in which his efficiency on limited touches can shine.
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Cardinals' Emari Demercado: Ends campaign on IR
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Demercado (back) took 24 carries for 223 yards and one touchdown, hauled in 16 of 20 targets for 104 yards and no TDs and returned three kickoffs for 64 yards during 13 regular-season games in 2024.
Prior to landing on injured reserve due to a back issue after Week 14, Demercado operated in a regular, albeit small, role out of the Cardinals backfield, seeing touches in all but one of his appearances. He averaged a robust 9.3 YPC on the campaign, and even if one removes his two runs of 40-plus yards, he boasted 5.9 YPC on his other 22 rushes -- a shade above the 4.9 he logged as an undrafted rookie in 2023. With both James Conner (knee) and 2024 third-rounder Trey Benson (ankle) under contract next season, Demercado will remain a depth RB for Arizona in 2025.
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Cardinals' Emari Demercado: Moves to IR
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The Cardinals placed Demercado (back) on injured reserve Saturday, Theo Mackie of The Arizona Republic reports.
Demercado has been dealing with a back injury since late November, though he had been able to play through the issue until this week. He was ruled out Friday for Sunday's matchup against New England, and one day later the 25-year-old running back has landed on IR. Demercado isn't eligible to return during the regular season, so Arizona would need to get hot and make the playoffs in order for him to have a chance of suiting up again during the current campaign.
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Cardinals' Emari Demercado: Still not practicing
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Demercado (back) didn't practice Thursday, Zach Gershman of the Cardinals' official site reports.
Demercado has yet to take part in drills this week due to a lingering back injury that limited him during the entirety of Week 13 prep. His lack of activity this time around may be maintenance related, but his status is one to monitor to see if he could be in danger of missing Sunday's game versus the Patriots. If Demercado is inhibited or sidelined this weekend, rookie Trey Benson would be the Cardinals' unquestioned No. 2 RB behind starter James Conner.
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Cardinals' Emari Demercado: Suiting up Sunday
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Demercado (back) is listed as active Sunday at Minnesota, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.
Arizona capped Demercado's practice reps during the entirety of Week 13 prep due to a back injury, but the issue won't stop him from being available to the team's backfield Sunday. Nevertheless, with 32 touches in 11 appearances this season, he doesn't hold much sway with James Conner leading the Cardinals' rushing attack and rookie third-rounder Trey Benson taking 58 touches himself in 10 outings to date.
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Cardinals' Emari Demercado: Tending to back injury
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Demercado was a limited participant at Wednesday's practice due to a back injury, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.
Demercado dealt with a shoulder issue last week, but it didn't stop him from suiting up in this past Sunday's loss at Seattle. While he matched fellow reserve back Trey Benson's nine offensive snaps, Demercado recorded a single carry versus the rookie's four. Per usual, James Conner led the way with 40 snaps and 12 touches for 49 yards from scrimmage. Assuming Demercado puts this new health concern behind him, he likely won't be afforded enough looks to produce any meaningful production in Sunday's game in Minnesota.
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Cardinals' Emari Demercado: Ready for Week 12
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Demercado (shoulder) doesn't have a designation for Sunday's contest in Seattle, Bo Brack of GoPHNX.com reports.
Demercado began Week 12 prep with back-to-back limited practices due to a shoulder issue, but his ability to handle every rep Friday paved the way for him to continue to be available out of the Cardinals backfield. Still, rookie third-rounder Trey Benson seemed to take over the No. 2 role behind starter James Conner in the team's two games before a Week 11 bye, as the former logged 32 offensive snaps and 21 touches versus 21 and nine, respectively, for Demercado during that span. At the very least, though, Demercado should be good for at least a handful of touches Sunday, as he averages 3.1 per game on the season.
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Cardinals' Emari Demercado: Tending to shoulder issue
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Demercado was a limited participant at Wednesday's practice due to a shoulder injury, Theo Mackie of The Arizona Republic reports.
Demercado took a back seat to rookie third-round pick Trey Benson in the two games before the Cardinals' Week 11 bye, earning 21 snaps and nine touches versus 32 and 21, respectively, for the latter. Benson also averaged 5.5 yards per carry, while Demercado averaged 4.7 YPC outside of his 53-yard touchdown run Week 9. With a health concern now in tow, Demercado may fall even further behind in the backfield pecking order to starter James Conner and Benson.
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Cardinals' Emari Demercado: Garners three carries in Week 10
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Demercado tallied three carries for 22 yards during Sunday's 31-6 win against the Jets.
One week removed from his second-highest touch count (six) of the season, Demercado took a back seat to James Conner and fellow reserve RB Trey Benson out of the Cardinals backfield. Conner again led the way with 17 touches for 113 yards from scrimmage and one rushing TD on a 54 percent snap share, while Benson handled 12 touches for 87 total yards on 27 percent of plays. As for Demercado, he was third with 12 percent, and even DeeJay Dallas got three carries on four snaps in garbage time. It seems clear at this point in the campaign that Demercado is third in the pecking order, and with a Week 11 bye on tap, his next chance to contribute will come Sunday. Nov. 24 at Seattle.
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Cardinals' Emari Demercado: Records first touchdown of season
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Demercado took four carries for 59 yards and one touchdown and hauled in both targets for 21 yards during Sunday's 29-9 win versus the Bears.
Aside from a 53-yard TD run late in the first half, Demercado was relatively quiet, gaining 27 yards on his five other touches. He also ranked third among Cardinals running backs in snap share (24 percent) behind starter James Conner (48 percent) and rookie Trey Benson (28 percent). All three players produced, with Conner leading the way with 21 touches for 119 yards from scrimmage, while Benson had nine touches for 55 total yards and a TD on the ground. The preceding won't happen most weeks, though, leaving Demercado on the outside looking in at fantasy relevance without some sort of absence from Conner.
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Cardinals' Emari Demercado: Quiet in win
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Demercado rushed once for 14 yards in Monday's 17-15 win over the Chargers.
Demercado played just six of the Cardinals' 57 offensive snaps Monday, while starter James Conner handled the majority of playing time out of the backfield with 48 snaps. The latter was a major bright spot for Arizona's offense, finishing with 152 yards from scrimmage on 21 total touches on a day in which the Cardinals scored just 17 points in a narrow victory. With Conner dominating the workload with success, Demercado and fellow backup running back Trey Benson won't consistently garner enough opportunities to be relevant for fantasy. The 25-year-old Demercado is best left off the fantasy radar when the Cardinals visit the Dolphins in Week 8.
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Cardinals' Emari Demercado: Nine touches in lopsided loss
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Demercado rushed four times for 25 yards and brought in five of seven targets for 39 yards in the Cardinals' 34-13 loss to the Packers on Sunday. He also returned two kickoffs for 48 yards.
Demercado was the surprising runner-up in receptions, receiving yards and targets on the afternoon for the Cardinals, tallying season-high figures in all three categories as well. The second-year pro has played a minimal role on offense for the most part behind James Conner, but Demercado logged only two fewer touches than his veteran teammate Sunday. However, rookie Trey Benson was also involved to the tune of five rush attempts, so Demercado's fantasy outlook remains volatile on a week-to-week basis heading into the Week 7 bye.
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Cardinals' Emari Demercado: Records one touch in Week 5
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Demercado didn't have a carry and gathered in his only target for no yards during Sunday's 24-23 victory at San Francisco.
For the second time in five contests this season, Demercado didn't record a carry, but he at least earned snaps (13 of 58), which can't be said for 2024 third-rounder Trey Benson. The rookie was active, but Demercado was the only one of the duo to get any work behind starter James Conner, who played 79 percent of the offensive plays and turned 21 touches into 100 yards from scrimmage. At the very least, Demercado seems to have a firm grasp on the No. 2 RB role in Arizona, but he's so far averaging just 2.4 touches per game.
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Cardinals' Emari Demercado: Earns five touches Sunday
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Demercado notched four carries for 24 yards, hauled in his only target for no yards, had one kick return for 16 yards and recovered a fumble during Sunday's 24-14 defeat to the Commanders.
James Conner continues to dominate the Cardinals backfield, earning a 58 percent snap share and turning 19 touches, 18 of them rushes, into 113 yards from scrimmage and one TD on the ground. Behind Conner, Demercado logged more time on offense (24 percent) than rookie third-rounder Trey Benson (19 percent), but the latter had more touches (nine carries) for higher output (50 yards). The majority of Benson's work occurred with the game well out of hand in the waning minutes, though, so Demercado remains Arizona's No. 2 RB for the time being.
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Cardinals' Emari Demercado: Sparse usage Sunday
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Demercado tallied two carries for seven yards and wasn't targeted during Sunday's 20-13 defeat to the Lions.
Demercado now has exactly two touches in all three games this season, but his yards from scrimmage Sunday marked a season low. Subtracting his 41-yard run from Week 2, he's still averaging 4.0 YPC on his other three rushes and also has hauled in both of his targets for 26 yards. Meanwhile, rookie third-rounder Trey Benson is averaging a miserable 1.9 YPC on 16 carries to date. The pair doesn't stand a chance for more than a handful of touches weekly, though, as long as No. 1 RB James Conner (46 carries, five catches) is healthy.
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Cardinals' Emari Demercado: Salvages day with long run
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Demercado notched two carries for 46 yards during Sunday's 41-10 win versus the Rams.
Demercado's first touch didn't come until midway through the fourth quarter, but he did the most with it to the tune of a 41-yard rush. Otherwise, he seems to have ceded the No. 2 RB role to rookie Trey Benson, who had a 33 percent snap share to Demercado's 13 percent. James Conner gobbles up most of the snaps and touches in the Cardinals backfield, leaving Demercado to fight for scraps with Benson (12 touches for 18 total yards Week 2).
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Cardinals' Emari Demercado: Has pair of catches in Week 1
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Demercado didn't have a carry and recorded two catches (on two targets) for 26 yards during Sunday's 34-28 defeat at Buffalo.
Most of Demercado's output in Week 1 occurred on a 24-yard catch and run in the first quarter, but both he (13 offensive snaps) and rookie third-rounder Trey Benson (four touches on four snaps) were well behind James Conner (19 touches on 41 snaps) in the backfield pecking order for the Cardinals. Such a breakdown of work can be expected to continue Sunday against the Rams and beyond, as long as Conner stays healthy.
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Cardinals' Emari Demercado: Nets 79 touches as rookie
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Demercado tallied 284 yards and two touchdowns on 58 carries and hauled in 21 of 30 targets for 119 yards in 14 regular-season games in 2023.
The undrafted rookie had a moment in the spotlight from Weeks 5-8, a span in which he earned two starts in place of an injured James Conner and netted 228 yards from scrimmage and one TD on 52 touches. Otherwise, Conner dominated the Cardinals backfield, and midseason waiver-wire pickup Michael Carter even surpassed Demercado on the RB depth chart over the final six outings of the season. All of Conner, Carter and Demercado will be back in 2024, so Demercado again won't be higher than No. 2 or 3 at the position as the roster currently stands.
