Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon had a very disappointing season in 2017, averaging just 3.5 yards per carry and barely resembling the player at the University of Oklahoma that was a made a second-round draft pick.
However, he bounced back in a big way in 2018, racking up 1,168 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground while registering 4.9 yards per attempt. In addition, he showed some promise as a pass catcher, hauling in 43 receptions for 296 yards and a score.
So, just what should we all expect from Mixon going into 2019, and how good of an option is he in Fantasy Football?
Well, for starters, can we all just commend Mixon for having such an incredible 2018 campaign in spite of playing behind such a poor offensive line? The Bengals' offensive line was ranked 27th in the league by Pro Football Focus this past season, which would generally spell doom for the team's running backs.
Still, you do have to assume that if Cincinnati's offensive line is not better in 2019, it will begin to become an issue for Mixon moving forward. The Bengals made a couple of moves to address the problem this offseason, signing guard John Miller in free agency and drafting Alabama tackle Jonah Williams in the first round.
Hopefully for the Bengals' (and Mixon's) sake, the offensive line will be improved next season.
The good news for Mixon is that Cincinnati has a nice group of receivers led by A.J. Green (who missed nearly half of 2018) and Tyler Boyd, and if tight end Tyler Eifert can just stay healthy (don't hold your breath on that one), he can be a huge piece.
The Bengals don't really have a standout No. 3 wide out, but Green and Boyd are good enough on their own to open things up for Mixon, so opponents should respect Cincy's passing game enough where it won't stack the box on Mixon.
Plus, while Andy Dalton has taken his fair share of lumps as the Bengals' quarterback, he is at least decent, so Mixon has that working in his favor, too.
The question is, just how does Mixon stack up against the rest of the top backs in the league like Saquon Barkley, Ezekiel Elliott, Christian McCaffrey, and Le'Veon Bell?
Well, he is not on that level yet, both in terms of himself as an individual and what he can potentially bring to the table overall based on the pieces around him.
Mixon is certainly talented, but the Bengals just are not good enough overall to recommend zeroing in on him. That offensive line is still too questionable, and one injury to Cincinnati's receivers can sink the entire offense.
Yes, Mixon finished fourth in the league in rushing this past season, but can we trust he'll do that again? Also, keep in mind that he is not a huge threat in the passing game, which means he will have to rack up a ton of rushing yards to really be in the league of his aforementioned peers.
You can probably expect around 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns out of Mixon in 2019, and while that is certainly solid, it's not enough to put him in the upper echelon of halfbacks in the league. There are just too many concerns about Cincinnati's offense as a whole.
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