Player
Bam Knight
RB · Cardinals
A goal-line closer who captures two-thirds of team rushing TDs while running fewer plays than the starter has real fantasy and game-script value — that split is the difference between a TD-dependent flier and a locked-in role.
Knight claimed 67% of ARI's RB rushing TDs in 2025 on just 28% of team RB carries — the Cardinals' clear goal-line closer.
TrendARI RB rushing TD share (2025 regular season)
| Player | Carries | Rush TDs | TD% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bam Knight | 82 | 4 | 4.88% |
| Michael Carter | 92 | 1 | 1.09% |
| James Conner | 32 | 1 | 3.13% |
| Others | 86 | 0 | — |
| Team RB total | 292 | 6 | 2.05% |
Arizona's RB room used Michael Carter as the volume back (92 carries) and Bam Knight as the short-yardage closer (82 carries). Knight produced 4 of the team's 6 RB rushing TDs — a 67% TD share on 28% of team RB carries. Carter, with more carries, scored only once.
Knight scored in 5 of his 12 active games (Weeks 5, 6, 11, 12, 13). No RB on a team-sharing offense typically commands that TD-to-carry ratio without an explicit near-the-goal-line role.
Why it matters. A goal-line closer who captures two-thirds of team rushing TDs while running fewer plays than the starter has real fantasy and game-script value — that split is the difference between a TD-dependent flier and a locked-in role.
In TD games Knight averaged 8.2 carries and 28.6 rush yards — in no-TD games: 5.9 carries and 18.0 rush yards. His usage doubles when Arizona is scoring.
SplitKnight 2025: TD games vs non-TD games
| Game type | Games | Avg Car | Avg Rush Yds | Avg Targets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TD game (5) | 5 | 8.2 | 28.6 | 3.0 |
| No-TD game (7) | 7 | 5.9 | 18.0 | 2.3 |
Bam Knight's 5 TD games featured 39% more carries and 59% more rushing yards per game than his 7 no-TD games. That clustering is the signature of a goal-line specialist: he only gets heavy volume when the offense is in scoring territory and the play-caller trusts him to finish drives.
His no-TD games averaged under 6 carries — a part-time touch count. His TD games averaged over 8. That split is the entire argument for Knight as a TD-dependent fantasy asset with real usage upside.
Why it matters. A back whose carries nearly double in scoring games has a role that is structurally tied to TDs — the team is telling you when they trust him, and it's when they're near the end zone.
Three-game rookie burst (2022 W12-W14): 46 carries, 230 rushing yards in consecutive games vs CHI, MIN, BUF — Knight's three best games are all from that stretch.
MilestoneKnight's top 5 career games by combined yards
| Season-Wk | Opp | Car | Rush Yds | Rush TD | Rec | Rec Yds | Rec TD | Total Yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 W13 | MIN | 15 | 90 | 0 | 5 | 28 | 0 | 118 |
| 2022 W12 | CHI | 14 | 69 | 0 | 3 | 34 | 0 | 103 |
| 2025 W13 | TB | 11 | 62 | 0 | 3 | 36 | 1 | 98 |
| 2022 W14 | BUF | 17 | 71 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 77 |
| 2025 W7 | GB | 14 | 57 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 64 |
Knight's three best career games by combined yards are consecutive Weeks 12-13-14 of his 2022 rookie season: 14-69-0 rushing vs Chicago, 15-90-0 vs Minnesota, 17-71-1 vs Buffalo — 46 carries, 230 rushing yards, 1 TD over three straight games as the Jets' feature back.
His best 2025 game — Week 13 vs Tampa Bay (11 carries, 62 yards; 3 catches, 36 yards, 1 receiving TD) — ranks third all-time by combined yards and was his highest-yardage ARI game. Note: that Tampa Bay game featured a receiving TD only (no rushing TD), making it his best two-way game even without a rush score.
Why it matters. The 2022 burst shows Knight can handle feature-back workload when given the chance; his 2025 Tampa Bay peak confirms his best complete game came as a pass-catching closer, not a pure runner.
Bam Knight spent all 18 weeks of 2024 on the practice squad with zero games played — then came back in 2025 to outscore the Cardinals' starter in rushing TDs 4-to-1.
RareKnight vs Michael Carter: 2025 ARI rushing
| Player | Carries | Rush Yds | YPC | Rush TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Carter (starter) | 92 | 333 | 3.6 | 1 |
| Bam Knight (closer) | 82 | 269 | 3.3 | 4 |
After being a Jets practice-squad fixture for all of 2024 (18 weeks, 0 games), Knight signed with Arizona and immediately carved out a specialized role. By season's end he had 4 rushing TDs against Michael Carter's 1 — the team's stated starter — despite running the ball 10 fewer times.
UDFA running backs who spend an entire season on the practice squad and resurface with a defined short-yardage role are uncommon. Knight did it while outscoring the primary back 4-to-1 in the stat that decides fantasy outcomes.
Why it matters. Coming back from a ghost year to outscore your team's lead back in TDs is a measurable signal of coaching trust, not just roster-management luck — it shows the Cardinals specifically built a role around what Knight does best.
Knight's 2025 carry-to-rushing-TD rate (4.88%) was 4× his teammate Michael Carter's rate (1.09%) — on nearly identical volume.
Anomaly2025 ARI: Knight vs Carter rushing TD rate
| Player | Carries | Rush TDs | TD rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bam Knight | 82 | 4 | 4.88% |
| Michael Carter | 92 | 1 | 1.09% |
| James Conner | 32 | 1 | 3.13% |
With nearly the same number of carries — 82 for Knight, 92 for Carter — the TD output split 4-to-1. Knight's 4.88% carry-to-TD rate was 4.5× Carter's 1.09%, despite both being listed as Cardinals RBs in the same backfield.
That divergence on similar volume is the statistical fingerprint of a play-caller deliberately routing goal-line snaps to one back. Knight scored in Weeks 5, 6, 11, 12, and 13 — across the whole season, not just a hot streak.
Why it matters. When two backs share a backfield but one's TD rate is 4× the other's on similar carries, it's not variance — it's scheme. That gap is what defines a short-yardage closer and makes Knight's TD production repeatable, not lucky.
FanIQ answers any NFL stats question with receipts, on your phone.
Get FanIQ freeGet it on Google Play