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Giovani Bernard Fantasy Outlook Skyrockets With Joe Mixon Injury Update in Week 7

By Max Staley

Giovani Bernard fantasy outlook skyrockets as Joe Mixon is ruled out of Week 7.
Giovani Bernard fantasy outlook skyrockets as Joe Mixon is ruled out of Week 7. / Andy Lyons/Getty Images
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Cincinnati Bengals star running back Joe Mixon has been officially ruled out of the team's Week 7 clash with the Cleveland Browns. This is obviously a huge blow to the Bengals' offense, and Mixon's fantasy managers, this week.

But it's huge for any fantasy manager that picked up Giovani Bernard.

Joe Mixon Injury

Giovani Bernard Fantasy Outlook

Bernard is only rostered in 18 percent of Yahoo! fantasy leagues. Chances are he's available to pick up in your league, and fantasy managers should rush to add him immediately.

Mixon has been handling real workhorse volume this season, averaging 24.1 opportunities (19.8 carries plus 4.3 targets) per game. It's unlikely that Bernard will soak up all of that work, but he's likely poised for a ton of volume against the Browns this week. And that could lead to a pretty solid outing.

Cleveland's run defense is nothing special, ranking No. 20 in Football Outsiders' DVOA metrics. It's fair to expect somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 carries for Bernard, who has turned 12 carries for 44 yards and a TD on the year.

Bernard also offers a lot as a pass-catcher, as he's seen 20 targets for 16 receptions and 115 receiving yards despite being buried behind Mixon on the depth chart.

Bernard won't offer the RB1 upside that Mixon likely would have this week, but he's going to get enough work to be worth a look as a low-end RB2 or solid FLEX option in Week 7.

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Max Staley is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Max Staley also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mstaley1212. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.