Samaje Perine ended up taking Gio Bernard’s role as the primary passing down back. Perine and RB Chris Evans ended up with a sneaky combined 42 catches this year. Mixon ended up with only 42 catches himself, which to me, was disappointing. Despite a primary early-down role, Mixon did have 7 games with 4+ receptions during the fantasy season. The Bengals happened to be winning those games, so there were more opportunities to be targeted on early downs.
Over his last 8 games, Mixon averaged 3.47 YPC. The offensive line isn’t good. If he had an every-down role, it wouldn’t matter. With Perine under contract through 2022, I’m not sure I’d be drafting Mixon at his likely 1st round price tag. Here are some RBs I’m most likely drafting over Mixon: JT, Javonte, CMC, Ekeler, Najee, Gibson, and Henry. I’d even consider Cam Akers, D’Andre Swift, and Alvin Kamara depending on their situations going into the season.