Getty Bengals RB Joe Mixon
Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon had a rough go at things in his 2019 season debut. For starters, he struggled mightily to put up any production against the Seattle Seahawks defense. We are not exaggerating when we say mightily. Mixon totaled a meager 17 yards last Sunday. To make matters worse, Mixon would leave the game early due to an ankle injury.
With his recent struggles, and questions of availability, is Mixon worth a flyer in your week two fantasy football lineup?
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Joe Mixon Fantasy Outlook vs. San Francisco 49ers
Bengals RB Joe Mixon
After a few days of silence, the returns on Mixon’s likelihood of suiting up vs. the San Francisco 49ers have increased tenfold.
While Bengals head coach Zac Taylor deemed Mixon day-to-day, Mixon did participate in the team’s walk-through practice on Friday. This coming on the heels of NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero proclaiming Mixon was “all good” following an MRI.
Mixon’s chances of playing on Sunday are certainly trending up. He will now need to shift his focus to improving his play on the field and on his measly 3.7 fantasy points from a week ago.
UPDATE:
Mixon will play on Sunday vs. the 49ers
49ers Have a Long Resume of Struggling Against Running Backs
Week one may cloud a lot of people’s judgment on the 49ers’ defensive abilities. San Francisco led all fantasy defenses with a whopping 27 fantasy points. However, they faced off against an extremely sporadic QB in Jameis Winston. Winston hand-delivered three interceptions to the 49ers D, two of which were returned for touchdowns.
However, San Francisco did have their fits defending the run. The 49ers allowed the underwhelming duo of Peyton Barber and Ronald Jones to eclipse 100 yards rushing on the day. Jones averaged nearly six yards per rush on 13 carries in last Sunday’s contest.
These kinds of struggles are nothing new for a 49ers defense that allowed an average of 142.4 total ypg to opposing running backs a season ago. Fantasy running backs licked their chops when the ‘9ers were on the schedule in 2018. San Fran surrendered nearly 24 ppg to opposing running backs last season.
Should You Start or Sit Joe Mixon in Week 2?
This is one that you must keep a keen eye on throughout Saturday night and early Sunday morning. If all goes well and Mixon is ready to go, he immediately becomes an RB2 in all scoring formats. However, that may even be playing it cautious.
The Bengals seemed to finally have found an offensive-minded coach able to put their playmakers in the best chance to succeed. Nevermore evident than by John Ross finally performing up to his draft status in week one, after two seasons of utter disappointment. This, occurring in what was also Zac Taylor’s inaugural debut as Bengals head coach.
Mixon is one of the brightest young running backs in the game, one bad performance should not detour you from inserting such a talented player in your lineup.
Mixon scored 20+ PPR fantasy points in six of his first ten games of 2018. Mixon’s skill set, allowing with a plus-matchup, makes Mixon a must play in week two, as long as his health checks out.
If Mixon can’t go on Sunday, pass-catching back Gio Bernard would then insert himself into the RB2 conversation in PPR leagues.
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