Joe Mixon and fantasy football players know the Cincinnati Bengals are bad — really bad. They won just two games last season, and they have not won a playoff game in three decades.
However, there is reason for optimism moving forward.
The Bengals took LSU quarterback Joe Burrow with the No. 1 overall pick in this year's NFL Draft, and Burrow will already have a couple of fine targets in wide receivers A.J. Green and Tyler Boyd.
Plus, he'll have Joe Mixon in the backfield.
Mixon hasn't gotten a ton of national attention since entering the league in 2017, probably because he plays for Cincinnati. However, he has quietly stamped his name among the better running backs in football.
Let's break down Mixon's Fantasy Football outlook for 2020.
2019 Fantasy Recap
Mixon was a solid pick in 2019, finishing 11th among all running backs in total fantasy points.
On the season overall, Joe Mixon played in every game and rushed for 1,137 yards and five touchdowns while averaging 4.1 yards per carry. He also caught 35 passes for 287 yards and three scores.
No, the efficiency wasn't great, but let's keep in mind that Joe Mixon was playing behind an awful offensive line with a brutal quarterback situation and with Green missing the entire season.
So, taking all of those factors into consideration, I think it's safe to say that Mixon performed pretty well.
In 2018, when Cincy wasn't as absurdly terrible, Joe Mixon racked up 1,168 yards and eight touchdowns while logging a much more impressive 4.9 yards per attempt (he hauled in 43 receptions, as well), so it's clear that the talent is there.
Was Mixon one of the top halfbacks in the NFL this past year? No, but he was good, and if you had him on your fantasy team, you had a reliable option week in and week out.
2020 Fantasy Projections
Many are expecting a monster campaign from Mixon in 2020, and it's easy to see why.
With the rookie Burrow now under center, the Bengals will surely want to take some pressure off of him. That means Mixon should be getting a lot of touches.
Mixon carried the ball 278 times in 2019, which was a career high. Expect that number to increase this coming season.
Of course, with more attempts generally comes decreased efficiency, but fantasy isn't about efficiency; it's about volume, and the volume should certainly be there for Joe Mixon in 2020.
While it's not like Cincinnati is bereft of offensive weapons otherwise (the Green-Boyd tandem is pretty darn good), it's only natural to expect Zac Taylor to employ a whole lot of Joe Mixon in order to lighten the load on Burrow's shoulders.
Plus, with Green returning healthy (hopefully), defenses will no longer be able to stack the box against Cincy as regularly, which should open up opportunities for Joe Mixon to rip off bigger gains.
It would not be surprising if Joe Mixon ends up leading the NFL in rushing or at least coming close to it this year. He will almost definitely have the touches to achieve it, as the Bengals have already talked about increasing his workload.
Obviously, Cincinnati's poor offensive line will limit Joe Mixon in some capacity, but look for the 24-year-old to set a career high in rushing yards. If he approaches 1,500 yards with 10 touchdowns, it would not be surprising. In addition, Mixon will serve as a great check-down option for Burrow, so this could mark the first time Mixon catches 50 passes in a single campaign.
Rank at Position
Joe Mixon certainly has a hill to climb in order to wriggle his way into the upper echelon of NFL running backs. That group includes the likes of Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley, Ezekiel Elliott, among others.
But again, in fantasy, opportunity is everything, and that opportunity should be there for Joe Mixon in 2020.
Joe Mixon finished behind Chris Carson and Mark Ingram in 2019, which is something I don't think will occur this coming season. Other halfbacks that Mixon stands a great chance of surpassing are Aaron Jones and Nick Chubb.
Because Joe Mixon is not as adept as a receiver as some of the other top backs in the league, he is not going to be the top fantasy option at his position. Unless he suddenly breaks out as a pass-catcher, he will probably finish behind the McCaffreys and Barkleys of the world.
However, Joe Mixon definitely has a shot of breaking into the top five based on his potential rushing numbers alone.
Joe Mixon is someone that fantasy owners will undoubtedly have their eyes on heading into draft time. If you are able to pick him up, you should feel pretty comfortable about your standing as far as running backs go.
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