Joe Mixon Fantasy Outlook Includes Top-10 RB Upside in 2021

Weeks before the Joe Burrow injury soured the 2020 season for Cincinnati Bengals fans, Joe Mixon also suffered a season-ending injury.

Mixon appears to be back at full health now, however, and that has him in line for what could easily be the best fantasy football season of his career.

Joe Mixon Fantasy Football Value

To start with, Mixon looked like a force to be reckoned with early in 2020. He split work with Gio Bernard in the first couple weeks of the season, but then from Week 3 to Week 5 he played over 70% of the Bengals' snaps in each game.

During that stretch, Mixon handled an absurd average of 27.7 opportunities (22.0 carries plus 5.7 targets) per game, which translated to an average of 22.0 PPR fantasy points per game.

Bernard has long been a thorn in the side of fantasy managers hoping for a Mixon breakout, and with Gio now playing in Tampa Bay, Mixon looks to be in line for the true workhorse volume we've been hoping for.

The Bengals were incredibly pass-happy with Burrow at the helm in 2020, but with Mixon's expanded role as a receiver (three games with 4-plus receptions), that shouldn't be seen as a negative for his fantasy value — especially in PPR leagues.

Mixon checks in at RB15 in The Duel's 2021 fantasy football rankings, but don't be surprised if he ends the year as a top-10 scorer at the position.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. 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 his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.