The Houston Texans will face the Los Angeles Chargers on Wild Card Weekend. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding RB Joe Mixon.
Is Joe Mixon Playing vs. the Chargers?
Mixon is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any unexpected setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Texans’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Joe Mixon on Wild Card Weekend?
The Texans are either managing Joe Mixon for this spot or are indirectly telling us something by not handing the ball to their starting running back more than 14 times in four straight games (and five of six).
Without high-end value, Mixon isn’t likely worth your precious DFS dollar (4.1 yards per carry this season without a carry gaining more than 10 yards in five of his past eight games). He’s not a zero in the passing game, but his catch rate is at a career low and his usage hasn’t changed following Tank Dell’s injury.
The Chargers allow a touchdown on a league-low 45% of red-zone trips this season (NFL average: 57.6%; playoff team average: 54.2%), which impacts their league-leading RB rushing score rate (1.2% of attempts).
If you think Mixon can get to the 84 carries that it takes to project a full rushing score against Los Angeles, yes, go ahead and lock him into lineups. Call me crazy, but I don’t see a rebound to the elite volume we were getting earlier in the season (there were 21.5 carry over/unders available in November), and I’m not sold that the quality of touches in this spot is especially high.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Wild Card Weekend Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Joe Mixon’s Fantasy Points Projection on Wild Card Weekend
As of Saturday, Mixon is projected to score 15.7 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 15.1 rushing attempts for 64.4 yards and 0.6 touchdowns. It also includes 2.7 receptions for 20.1 yards and 0.1 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
Joe Mixon’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:45 PM ET on Saturday, January 25.
Conference Championship RB PPR Rankings
1) Saquon Barkley | PHI (vs. WAS)
2) James Cook | BUF (at KC)
3) Brian Robinson Jr. | WAS (at PHI)
4) Isiah Pacheco | KC (vs. BUF)
5) Kareem Hunt | KC (vs. BUF)
6) Austin Ekeler | WAS (at PHI)
7) Ray Davis | BUF (at KC)
8) Ty Johnson | BUF (at KC)
9) Samaje Perine | KC (vs. BUF)
10) Kenneth Gainwell | PHI (vs. WAS)
11) Jeremy McNichols | WAS (at PHI)
12) Will Shipley | PHI (vs. WAS)
13) Carson Steele | KC (vs. BUF)
14) Reggie Gilliam | BUF (at KC)
15) Chris Rodriguez Jr. | WAS (at PHI)