Joe Mixon Took A Pay Cut To Stay With The Bengals: Where Do I Draft Mixon For Fantasy Football?

July 17, 2023

Joe Mixon took a pay cut to remain in Cincinnati. Where should you draft him in fantasy drafts in 2023? What is Mixon's current ADP? Find out here.

Throughout the offseason, rumors swirled about the Cincinnati Bengals potentially moving on from Joe Mixon at the running back position. Going in a different direction would have financially made sense, and Mixon’s name came up in headlines for the wrong reasons this offseason.

Ultimately, Cincinnati opted to keep their running back in town and Mixon agreed to taking a pay cut. He will now earn $4.39 million less this season and $4.67 million less next season while remaining the top running back for the Bengals.

Now that Mixon’s situation is resolved for the 2023 season, we can better pinpoint an ideal spot to draft him in fantasy for the upcoming season. Where should Mixon go off the board in 2023 fantasy drafts?

How Did Joe Mixon Perform In 2022?

A season after his best career fantasy finish in 2021, Joe Mixon remained an RB1 in 2022 as the 10th-ranked running back in PPR leagues. He put up a career-high 60 receptions for 441 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 826 yards and seven scores. 

While he did take a step back from an efficiency standpoint from 2021 to 2022, Mixon remained an extremely valuable fantasy football asset and was very consistent from week to week due to his high-volume role.

Playing in the same role as he did last season, Mixon’s ADP is due to skyrocket following his contract restructure.

Where Should I Draft Joe Mixon In 2023?

In earlier drafts with lots of unknowns surrounding Mixon’s status, he was going as late as the fifth or sixth round. 

According to ESPN Live Draft Trends, Mixon is currently going as the RB12 around 30th overall. This puts him in the mid-third round, just ahead of Rhamondre Stevenson, Aaron Jones, and Najee Harris. He is slotted behind the likes of Tony Pollard, Travis Etienne Jr., and Breece Hall.

While drafting Mixon in the fifth or sixth round would be a no-brainer, his ADP quickly shifted to reflect his situation. Since 2018 in all healthy seasons, Mixon has finished as a low-end RB1 aside from his 16-touchdown season in 2021 when he was a top 3 option at the position.

Mixon’s efficiency did decline in 2022, but he is still expected to shoulder a workhorse role in a high-flying Bengals offense. With Samaje Perine off to Denver, the next running backs on the depth chart are rookie Chase Brown and fifth-year Trayveon Williams, who has 47 career carries through four seasons.

Mixon can be anticipated to continue to thrive as a consistent, heavy-volume running back with another back-end RB1 season. As a mid-third-rounder, Mixon is drafted right around where he should be drafted. He will only outperform his ADP if he has another outlier touchdown season, but should only underperform in the event of an injury.

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