With fantasy drafts getting underway, managers are doing their homework on various NFL players and cramming for draft day. That means getting caught up on the latest injury news, including what happened to Houston Texans star running back Joe Mixon. What’s the latest on Mixon’s health, and should you still draft him?
The Latest on Joe Mixon’s Health
While Joe Mixon missed a couple of weeks of training camp with a quad strain, he has since returned to practice and looks to be 100%.
Mixon hasn’t played in the preseason, but that has more to do with the fact that the Texans don’t need to see anything from the 28-year-old RB and there’s nothing to gain from playing him in an exhibition game.
Barring any aggravations, Mixon should be good to go for Week 1 without any limitations. With that said, what can we expect from Mixon in 2024 from a fantasy standpoint?
Joe Mixon’s Fantasy Outlook
One could make a case that Mixon has been the most under-appreciated fantasy running back of the last six seasons. Outside of an injury-plagued 2020 campaign, Mixon has finished as a top-13 fantasy back in full-PPR formats in five of the last six years.
Has it helped to play in an offense that features Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase the last three seasons? Yes, of course it has. Yet, his RB6 finish in 2023 came with his quarterback missing a significant amount of time due to injury and a jump in production with Burrow out of the lineup over the final seven games of the season.
In fact, Mixon was actually the RB4 from Week 12 through the rest of the regular season with Jake Browning under center, averaging 18.1 fantasy points per game in full-PPR formats. Mixon’s final stat line of 1,410 total yards with 52 receptions and 12 TDs should be viewed as a positive regarding his outlook entering another fantasy-friendly situation in Houston in 2024.
Mixon has never been a highly efficient ball carrier, averaging just 4.1 yards per carry over his seven-year career, but his reliability as a leading ball carrier and effectiveness as a short-yardage option project him for the exact role you want for a fantasy back.
Devin Singletary was the most productive fantasy back in Houston last year, with 1,091 total yards and four rushing TDs adequate for an RB32 overall fantasy finish. Yet, after taking the leading role away from Dameon Pierce, who was out due to injury, in Week 9, Singletary was actually the RB13 through the rest of the regular season.
Mixon is an immediate improvement over Singletary in short-yardage situations and should be the Texans’ feature back in 2024. Sure, he isn’t a lock to see 60+ targets for a third straight year, with Stefon Diggs, Nico Collins, Tank Dell, and Dalton Schultz commanding their fair share of looks from Stroud in the passing game, but Mixon feels like a lock for 270+ total touches in this offense and enters the 2024 NFL season as a viable RB2 option with RB1 upside.