Why Joe Mixon has become an underrated fantasy option at running back

Joe Mixon had a career-low year last season, which has been a key reason he has fallen into a spot where he is going anywhere from the late 2nd round to the early 4th round in many fantasy drafts. However, many forget that less than two years ago, Mixon had a career-high season where he rushed for well over 1,200 yards and had 13 touchdowns, making him one of the best fantasy options in the entire league.

 After one down year, it seems like Mixon has become an underrated option with some serious value if he can get back to his 2021–22 self. Mixon's ADP currently sits at 35, and Mixon is the type of player at his ultimate peak, which I mentioned wasn't that long ago, who could easily be an RB1 option in many fantasy leagues that are 10–14 person leagues. 

Ideally, getting Joe Mixon as your RB2 would be a very solid option, and he gets extremely high volume and usage with the Bengals, especially with Samaje Perine out of the picture and moving on to Denver. His current best/worst draft rating according to Fantasy Pros has Mixon's best draft selection coming in at No. 16, while his worst is sitting at No. 69. 

That is an extremely wide draft range for a running back who is consistently hitting 1,000 yards outside of last season, scoring 6+ touchdowns, and receiving upwards of 15–20 rushes a game while catching a handful of passes out of the backfield.

If you can find Joe Mixon floating around the 3rd through 5th rounds and you need a running back or are looking to double up on your centerpiece back that you took early, it makes plenty of sense to snag a proven back like Mixon with the proven RB1 abilities that he has shown before.