Fantasy Football: Which Bengals to draft and which to avoid

With a new-look offense in 2020, there may be a few gems on the Cincinnati Bengals for fantasy owners.

As the 2020 NFL Season approaches, anticipation among fans is rising. If you’re like me, you have been counting down the days to your fantasy football draft. Researching teams and finding draft targets before the time comes can be crucial to your success in the upcoming year. Here, we take a look at which Bengals are worthy of a pick and which ones you should pass on.

DRAFT: Joe Mixon

The prime Bengals target for fantasy owners is undeniably Joe Mixon. Fantasy football website fantasypros.com currently has Mixon listed as the 11th player on their big board, making him RB8. While 11 isn’t a necessarily low spot, I believe Mixon should actually be taken even higher.

In an offense led by rookie quarterback Joe Burrow in 2020, fantasy owners should expect Mixon to be the focal point of the Cincinnati offense. No matter how good the prospect, rookie quarterbacks are rarely above average in their first season. Because of this, Zac Taylor and the Bengals will surely give Mixon a workhorse role.

In each of the past two seasons, Mixon has totaled 1,400+ all-purpose yards despite facing tough circumstances. Whether it was his weak offensive line, a poor passing offense that allowed defenses to stack the box against him, or the Bengals often being down by so much that they went away from the running game, Mixon has overcome big obstacles to carve out two strong seasons in a row.

With a new-look offense in 2020, Mixon should face much easier circumstances, giving him a chance to have his best season yet. With the return of A.J. Green and additions of Burrow and Tee Higgins, teams won’t be able to stack against the former Oklahoma running back anymore. With a better defense, the Bengals won’t find themselves in as many circumstances where they have to abandon the running game.

All in all, Mixon has the potential to be one of the best, if not the best running back in the game in 2020. Currently, he finds himself outside of the consensus top five, but don’t be surprised if that changes by the end of the season.