Joe Mixon had a career-low year for the Cincinnati Bengals last season. This has been why he has fallen into a spot where he goes anywhere from the late second to the early fourth round in many fantasy football drafts.
However, many forget that less than two years ago Mixon had a career-high season where he rushed for well over 1,200 yards and had 13 touchdowns, making him one of the best fantasy options in the entire league.
When should you draft Joe Mixon in fantasy football?
After one down year, it seems like Mixon has become an underrated option with serious value if he can get back to his 2021–22 self. Mixon's ADP currently sits at 35, per Fantasy Pros, and Mixon is the type of player at his ultimate peak, who could easily be an RB1 option in many fantasy leagues that are 10–14 people.
If you can move into the second or third round in double-digit leagues and have an opportunity to select Mixon as your RB1 after stacking up at wide receiver or a compliment as an RB2, you should pounce on that opportunity. There is a realistic chance that Mixon gets a heavier workload than he has in recent memory with Samaje Perine moving on to Denver.
Mixon is also a running back who can make plays out of the backfield catching passes, and in a PPR league that goes a long way for adding extra points to running backs. Mixon is high usage, all-purpose back, and even though he had a down year last season, he is bound for a comeback year.
For the Bengals to be successful and become a Super Bowl contender, they will need Mixon to be at his best and produce at high volume and at a consistent rate.
Mixon has a lot more upside than downside this season because his expectations are the lowest they've been since his rookie season from a fantasy outlook. If the opportunity presents itself to select Mixon in a decent spot, pounce on it.