Change of plans: Joe Mixon is not being released by the Bengals. Instead, they’re trading him to Houston, where he’ll look to fill the gap left by Devin Singletary. We discussed the fantasy impact for the Cincinnati backfield here; today, we’ll only look at the Texans’ side of things. Let’s get into it.
JOE MIXON
Old ranking: 67th overall on Underdog
New ranking: 67th overall
- Last year, we saw Dameon Pierce begin the year as the presumptive starter and quickly lose his job to Singletary because the latter was a better fit for Bobby Slowik‘s scheme. Mixon hasn’t been impressive enough in recent years to guarantee he’ll hold onto the job all season despite being RB1 on the depth chart right now, and there’s still a good chance the Texans add more RB help in free agency or the draft.
- If you believe in Mixon holding the job all season, this is a great spot for him. While C.J. Stroud didn’t throw to his running backs last year — 12.6% team RB target share ranked 31st in the NFL — Mixon is a competent dual-threat back tethered to an elite quarterback. If he can get 10-14 carries per game and goal-line work, that’s a usable fantasy piece. We’ll see who else, if anyone, the Texans add to the fold.
OTHER TEXANS RBS
- Pierce is RB2 on the depth chart, but it’s hard to have any faith in him after he was made irrelevant by the end of the year. If he survives the next two months as the backup, he becomes a fine late-round dart again, but time will tell if he’ll have any role.
