Joe Mixon fantasy outlook: Is Bengals RB primed for a big year?

Joe Mixon has been enjoying the luxury of being the featured running back for one of the most high-powered offenses in the entire NFL. This situation often results in elite value for fantasy football.

The Cincinnati Bengals will theoretically score a ton of touchdowns during the 2023 NFL season, Mixon accounting for most that come on the ground.

In six seasons with the Bengals, Mixon has totaled 50 touchdowns, including 25 combined across the past two years. It should come as no surprise that he has registered half of his career touchdowns since 2021, when the Bengals paired superstar quarterback Joe Burrow with elite wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase.

The tandem will return for the 2023 NFL season, which is great news for Mixon's fantasy football value. He should easily be ranked inside of the top 15 running backs this year for fantasy drafts, with plenty of upside to finish among the top ten or better.

He's one of very few running backs expected to completely dominate the backfield touches for his team.

Joe Mixon's main competition for touches in recent years, Samaje Perine, departed the Bengals to join the Denver Broncos during free agency. They have yet to add another running back, clearing the way for Mixon to be featured exclusively. This suggests he could be in line to set new career highs for usage, a great sign for his fantasy outlook.

At his current ADP of 34th overall, Mixon is being selected between the third and fourth rounds in most fantasy drafts. Given his situation, including projected touches and beneficial offense, he makes for a wise investment for the 2023 fantasy football season.

Joe Mixon's 2022 fantasy run analyzed

Bengals' Joe Mixon

Joe Mixon had a polarizing 2022 fantasy football season that was basically split into two equal halves. For the first eight weeks, he struggled to find production and looked like a bit of a fantasy bust.

He ranked just RB19 to that point of the season, before turning things around in the second half of the year.

Mixon exploded to average nearly 17 fantasy points per game the rest of the way, ranking RB5 during that stretch. His touchdown totals were a big reason for the swing as he was a bit unlucky not to find the endzone much in his first eight games.

His dominant second half proved his slow start was a bit of a fluke, so fantasy managers shouldn't hesitate to draft him in 2023, as long as he avoids a suspension. While he was recently found not guilty of an aggravated menacing charge, he could still be disciplined by the Cincinnati Bengals or the NFL's front office.