Joe Mixon Fantasy Production Likely Limited by Ankle Injury in Week 2 vs 49ers

Joe Mixon's ankle injury caused him to make an early exit from the Cincinnati Bengals' Week 1 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, and the uncertainty around his status for Week 2 clouded the running back's fantasy football outlook all week.

On the surface Mixon is in a good spot on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, but the language around his potential Week 2 return isn't nearly as encouraging. Yes, he's active, but when a player needs to "test the injury in pregame warmups," it often leads to a limited output in that game.

Bengals’ RB Joe Mixon, listed as questionable for Sunday with a sprained ankle, is planning to play vs. the 49ers but wants to test the injury in pregame warmups just to make sure first, per source. But going in, Mixon plans to play.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 15, 2019

Mixon's first-half workload in Week 1 was solid but unspectacular, with five rushes and two receptions, and even a slight reduction if he's playing shy of 100 percent can send his fantasy value plummeting.

This situation is the worst of both worlds for fantasy owners. Mixon gets a huge downgrade from the uncertainty of his workload, but if you added Giovani Bernard from the wavier wire you're also in a tricky spot since Mixon could still be in line for lead back touches. Game flow and/or how his ankle holds up will have an effect on Mixon's output, but you have to set your lineup before the game starts.

#Bengals HB Joe Mixon is ACTIVE today vs San Francisco.#SFvsCIN
— Marisa Contipelli (@BengalsMarisa) September 15, 2019

A fully healthy Joe Mixon could seemingly be a terrific fantasy play against the 49ers this week. However, that's not what we're getting here.

Mixon certainly isn't a must-bench player, especially if your team is hurting for running back depth. But with so much uncertainty about Mixon's workload, you'll have to downgrade him from an RB1 to an RB2, at least for this week.

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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 their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.