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USATSI

Joe Mixon has burned the Fantasy Football community for several seasons now as a projected first-round pick who has fallen short of expectations due to a combination of injuries, poor offensive line play in front of him and a Bengals offense lacking in explosive plays. Joe Burrow showed flashes of the ability to dig the Bengals out of that offensive hole -- and fast -- and Mixon profiles as a potential workhorse in that offense. But stop me, because you've heard that before. Some managers will see an opportunity to buy here as those who have been burned by Mixon in the past may not even have them on their draft boards. We understand if you can't take that leap.

We want to keep you up to date with everything surrounding his 2021 profile. Below, we'll break down Mixon's outlook, changes in his ADP, where he's going in mock drafts, training camp/preseason updates (when the time comes) and more.

2021 Outlook

Joe Mixon is a top-12 back in all formats, worthy of a pick early in Round 2. This will be Mixon's first year in Cincinnati without Giovani Bernard, who has averaged 52 targets per year the past four seasons. Mixon's career high in catches is 43, but without Bernard we expect Mixon to top 50 catches. The only thing left stopping Mixon from being a top-five back is whether the Bengals offense and offensive line can push him over the top. 

For that to happen they'll need to improve on Mixon's 3.6 yards per carry from 2020 and get him to double-digit touchdowns for the first time in his career. Don't rule either out. (Heath Cummings)

Changes in ADP

*All ADP data is courtesy of FantasyFootballCalculator.com and for half-point PPR scoring.

Joe Mixon Average Draft Position

ADP from Fantasy Football Calculator

Mixon is coming off the board in a very similar range to where we saw him being drafted last August and his ADP hasn't moved much at all.

CBS Mock Draft position

8/18 half-PPR 12-team: Round 2, No. 15 overall
8/12 half-PPR 10-team: Round 2, No. 15 overall
8/6 PPR Superflex mock: Round 3, No. 26 overall
8/3 non-PPR mock: Round 2, No. 15 overall
7/20 half-PPR mock: Round 2, No. 13 overall
7/7 Superflex mock: Round 3, No. 28 overall
6/16 full-PPR mock: Round 1, No. 12 overall
6/9 Superflex mock: Round 2, No. 24 overall

Offseason/Training camp updates

8/7: The Bengals are bringing back blocking concepts from the 2018 season when Mixon averaged 4.9 yards per carry with an emphasis on wide zone. Here's what Mixon said about why he thrives in a wide zone scheme, via Bengals.com: "The wide zone for me is typically pretty good," Mixon said at camp. "The reason why is because one thing you can do, you can always penetrate the defense. Pretty much, the defense is trying to do the same. But there's always lanes in outside zone. It'll always be lanes. With Frank and the linemen that we have, I know for a fact they'll be displacing people. Definitely very excited about that.