X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Stats & Leaders
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
24x7 News and Alerts

Joe Mixon - Buy Low or Return to Sender?

Joe Mixon is an enigma. Fantasy owners had no idea what to do with the rookie running back entering the season. Many over-drafted him due to his immense talent and tremendous upside. Others stayed far away due to him joining a crowded backfield running behind a bad offensive line. Four weeks into the season, people on both sides can stand by their decision.

Mixon's season has been filled with some good, some bad, and some ugly. But what stands out the most about his value moving forward, and should owners look to buy low on Mixon or sell if they own him?

It's time to make a hard decision about what to do with Mixon if you own him or how to approach him if he is available on waivers in your league.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2024:

 

Joe Mixon: Boom or Bust?

To understand what Mixon has done so far and what he's going to do moving forward, there's no reason to analyze the first two weeks of his season. The Cincinnati backfield was a full blown timeshare, with the trio of Mixon, Giovani Bernard, and Jeremy Hill each receiving a similar amount of carries, and Bernard leading the trio in snaps overall. Offensive coordinator Ken Zampese was fired after a dreadful 0-2 start. What's relevant to us is what happened in the two games with new OC Bill Lazor running the offense.

Lazor has converted the backfield from a committee to a reliance on Mixon. He has 42 touches in his last two games, while Hill and Bernard have a combined 26. There's no doubt Mixon is going to get the bulk of the work for the rest of the season. The Bengals know what they have in Hill and Bernard at this point and will want to see as much of their second round draft pick as possible. Volume is half the battle when it comes to fantasy success. The more games Mixon gets under his belt, his floor should begin to stabilize nicely. Mixon owners will have the satisfaction of knowing he should get at least 15 touches with a usual gameflow.

Mixon played well in his first career start in Week 3. He ran 18 times for 62 yards and added three receptions for 39 yards. Mixon owners expected him to build upon this solid showing in a nice Week 4 matchup against Cleveland, but Mixon failed to come close to expectations, rushing for just 29 yards on 17 carries along with four receptions for 19 yards. He's averaging just 2.6 yards per rush since taking over the starting job.

The offensive line has done Mixon no favors. They were ranked as the second worst unit in the NFL by Pro Football Focus this preseason, and they are living up to the hype. The loss of All-Pro tackle Andrew Whitworth is being felt. A new offensive coordinator can provide more touches and opportunities for Mixon, but for him to truly maximize his potential, the line needs to improve. Andy Dalton played a near perfect game in Week 4 and was still sacked three times. He played well in spite of the line, not because of it.

Here's what we know about Mixon's situation: he's an insanely talented rookie who's going to get the bulk of Cincinatti's carries, but poor offensive line play may limit his ceiling in 2017. Here's what we don't know: is Joe Mixon going to get goal line carries?

The Bengals haven't ran the ball inside the five all season. Jeremy Hill has scored at least nine touchdowns in each of his three NFL seasons. There's a strong chance that he remains the goal line back in Cincinnati, but it's hard to make a call between the two at this point. This could end up being the difference maker between Mixon becoming a strong RB2 this season or just being an upside rookie FLEX play. Hopefully the Bengals can get near the goal line this week and we can receive some clarity.

The pieces are all here for you to make a call on Mixon. I plan on holding or buying low on Mixon. The biggest concern with his situation heading into the season was volume. Now that we know he's getting the volume, he's at the very least become a FLEX with a decent floor. It's hard to imagine his value getting any lower than it is now. There's no reason to give up on him now if you're a Mixon owner. You didn't draft this guy thinking he was going to be an RB1 this early, but he just might.

 

More Fantasy Football Analysis




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Stats & Leaders
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

19 mins ago

Pete Alonso Receives Qualifying Offer From Mets
23 mins ago

Clayton Kershaw Declines 2025 Option
51 mins ago

Titans Hopeful Will Levis Will Return In Week 10
1 hour ago

Titans Looking To Reduce Tony Pollard's Workload?
Dallas Cowboys2 hours ago

Micah Parsons Expected To Play In Week 10
Dereck Lively II3 hours ago

A Late Scratch On Monday
3 hours ago

Amari Cooper Listed As Day-To-Day
3 hours ago

Joe Flacco Named Week 10 Starter
Robert Williams III3 hours ago

Returning On Monday
Jordan Hawkins3 hours ago

Out Versus The Blazers
Zion Williamson3 hours ago

Sidelined Again Versus Portland
Rudy Gobert4 hours ago

Available For Minnesota On Monday
Immanuel Quickley4 hours ago

Still Out On Monday
Jalen Smith4 hours ago

Available Against Jazz
Brandon Miller4 hours ago

Will Play Versus Minnesota
Josh Giddey4 hours ago

Suiting Up Monday
Lauri Markkanen4 hours ago

Sidelined Again On Monday Night
4 hours ago

Browns "Highly Unlikely" To Trade David Njoku
John Konchar4 hours ago

Ruled Out Monday Versus Nets
5 hours ago

Chase Brown Appears To Be OK Despite Suffering Bruised Rib
5 hours ago

Tee Higgins Estimated As DNP On Monday
5 hours ago

Jameson Williams' Suspension Is Lifted
5 hours ago

Alex Bregman Given Qualifying Offer
5 hours ago

Saquon Barkley Will Be Ready For Week 10 Despite Back Soreness
5 hours ago

Juan Soto Receives Qualifying Offer
Anthony Davis5 hours ago

Available Monday Versus Detroit
5 hours ago

A.J. Brown Considered "Day-To-Day"
Austin Reaves5 hours ago

Suiting Up Monday
5 hours ago

Tyler O'Neill Not Given Qualifying Offer, Headed To Free Agency
Ryan Blaney5 hours ago

Wins At Martinsville And Has Chance To Earn Second Straight Championship
5 hours ago

Bucky Irving Officially Active Against Chiefs
Christopher Bell5 hours ago

Penalized At Martinsville, Removed From Championship Four
D'Angelo Russell5 hours ago

Available Monday
5 hours ago

Nick Pivetta Receives Qualifying Offer
5 hours ago

Colin Rea Heading To Free Agency
6 hours ago

Tigers Decline Casey Mize's 2025 Club Option
6 hours ago

Drake London Considered Day-To-Day
Dean Wade6 hours ago

Won’t Play Against The Bucks
Caris LeVert6 hours ago

Remains Out Versus Milwaukee
Noah Clowney6 hours ago

Won’t Suit Up Versus Memphis
Ben Simmons6 hours ago

Out Against The Grizzlies
Kevin Huerter6 hours ago

Still Out On Monday Night
Jake Allen6 hours ago

Faces Oilers On Monday
Stephen Curry6 hours ago

Back For Monday’s Game
BOS6 hours ago

Tyler Johnson Signs One-Year Deal With Bruins
Giannis Antetokounmpo7 hours ago

Won’t Face The Cavs
Zach Benson7 hours ago

Considered "A Possibility" For Tuesday's Game
Artem Zub7 hours ago

Logs Full Practice On Monday
Bryan Rust7 hours ago

Will Join Penguins Road Trip
7 hours ago

Braves Exercise Marcell Ozuna's 2025 Option
Juraj Slafkovsky7 hours ago

Practices On Monday
Macklin Celebrini7 hours ago

Ready To Return On Tuesday
7 hours ago

David Fry To Miss 6-8 Months After Having Elbow Surgery
7 hours ago

Gerrit Cole, Yankees Agree To Stick Together
Samuel Ersson9 hours ago

Misses Monday Practice
Carolina Panthers9 hours ago

Panthers Haven't Decided Starting QB For Week 10
Connor McDavid9 hours ago

Ahead Of Schedule In Recovery
9 hours ago

Panthers Optimistic Jonathon Brooks Will Debut In Week 10
Philip Broberg9 hours ago

Will Miss Several Weeks With Lower-Body Injury
9 hours ago

Derek Carr To Start In Week 10 For Saints
Valeri Nichushkin9 hours ago

Will Return When First Eligible
9 hours ago

Texans Non-Committal On Nico Collins For Week 10
9 hours ago

Erick All Jr. Officially Out For The Year With Knee Injury
9 hours ago

Mike Macdonald "Optimistic" DK Metcalf Returns In Week 11
10 hours ago

CeeDee Lamb Tagged As Week-To-Week, Optimism He Can Play In Week 10
Tyler Reddick10 hours ago

Not A Factor At Martinsville And Looks Ahead To Phoenix
Kyle Larson10 hours ago

Misses Advancing Through Playoffs Despite Top-Three Finish
Brad Keselowski10 hours ago

Has A Solid Top-10 Performance At Martinsville
Chase Elliott10 hours ago

Loses Out On Winning At Martinsville
10 hours ago

49ers Open Christian McCaffrey's Practice Window
11 hours ago

Nathan Eovaldi Declines His Player Option
11 hours ago

Brewers Decline Option On Devin Williams
11 hours ago

Michael Wacha, Royals Agree To Three-Year Deal
11 hours ago

Braves Sign Reynaldo Lopez To Three-Year Deal
Rose Namajunas15 hours ago

Drops Decision Matchup
Erin Blanchfield15 hours ago

Gets Back In The Win Column
Dustin Stoltzfus15 hours ago

Gets First-Round Knockout At UFC Edmonton
Zach Hyman15 hours ago

Records Two Points In Battle Of Alberta Win
Marc-Andre Barriault15 hours ago

Knocked Out At UFC Edmonton
Matt Boldy16 hours ago

Hits Overtime Winner Versus Toronto
Jared Spurgeon16 hours ago

Delivers Two Assists In Sunday's Win
Trevin Giles16 hours ago

Losses Third Fight In A Row
Alex Ovechkin16 hours ago

Extends Goal Streak To Four Games
Dmitry Orlov16 hours ago

Nets Two Goals Against Capitals
Jeremy Swayman16 hours ago

Collects First Shutout Of The Season
Connor Bedard16 hours ago

Records Three Assists In Sunday's Win
Mike Malott17 hours ago

Wins Decision At UFC Edmonton
NASCAR1 day ago

Speeding Penalty Foils Martin Truex Jr.'s Last Realistic Shot At Winning
Denny Hamlin1 day ago

Fails To Advance To Championship 4 But Runs Well
Shane Van Gisbergen1 day ago

Shane van Gisbergen Earns Best Oval Finish at Martinsville
William Byron1 day ago

Tentatively In Championship 4 Pending Ruling On Manufacturer Orders
MMA1 day ago

Ariane Lipski Submitted At UFC Edmonton
Jasmine Jasudavicius1 day ago

Gets Submission Win At UFC Edmonton
Caio Machado1 day ago

Still Winless In The UFC
Brendson Ribeiro1 day ago

Edges Out Split Decision At UFC Edmonton
Amir Albazi1 day ago

Falls Short At UFC Edmonton
Brandon Moreno1 day ago

Dominates At UFC Edmonton
Artturi Lehkonen1 day ago

Activated From Injured Reserve
NJ1 day ago

Nathan Bastian To Miss "Several Weeks"
Brayden Point1 day ago

Exits With Injury Sunday
2 days ago

Austin Barnes Returning To Los Angeles
2 days ago

David Robertson To Test Free Agency
2 days ago

Giants Exercise Club Option On Wilmer Flores
2 days ago

Owen Miller Shipped To Colorado
2 days ago

Merrill Kelly Staying In Arizona
2 days ago

Eloy Jimenez Headed To Free Agency
Daniel Suarez2 days ago

Will Start 20th At Martinsville
Zane Smith2 days ago

Might Be An Underrated Value Play For Martinsville
Tyler Reddick2 days ago

Is A Top DFS Recommendation For Martinsville Lineups
Joey Logano2 days ago

Will Be One To Watch At Martinsville
Brad Keselowski2 days ago

Should DFS Players Rely On Brad Keselowski For Martinsville Lineups?
Carson Hocevar2 days ago

Is A Great DFS Option For All Martinsville DFS Lineups
Ty Gibbs2 days ago

Is Ty Gibbs Worth Rostering At Martinsville This Week For DFS?
Austin Cindric2 days ago

Could Have A Top-20 Performance At Martinsville
William Byron2 days ago

Might Be Usable Only In DFS Tournaments At Martinsville
Chris Buescher2 days ago

Should DFS Players Roster Chris Buescher At Martinsville?
Alex Bowman2 days ago

Expect A Solid Top-10 Performance From Alex Bowman At Martinsville
Rose Namajunas3 days ago

An Underdog At UFC Edmonton
Erin Blanchfield3 days ago

Returns At UFC Edmonton
Marc-Andre Barriault3 days ago

Dustin Stoltzfus Set To Face Marc-Andre Barriault At UFC Edmonton
Marc-Andre Barriault3 days ago

A Favorite At UFC Edmonton
Trevin Giles3 days ago

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Mike Malott3 days ago

Opens Up UFC Edmonton Main Card
Brendson Ribeiro4 days ago

Searching For 1st UFC Win At UFC Edmonton
Caio Machado4 days ago

Drops Down To Light Heavyweight At UFC Edmonton
Jhonata Diniz4 days ago

Gets Big Step-Up At UFC Edmonton

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP