Fantasy Football: Top 15 Running Backs to Target in 2018

Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon

The Cincinnati Bengals failed to utilize their second-round draft pick a season ago in running back Joe Mixon. Given that the team was still holding onto Jeremy Hill, Mixon only saw the field for 51 percent of the offensive snaps last season. With Hill gone, he should see a considerable uptick in snaps for the Bengals offense in the upcoming season.

Cincinnati fired their offensive coordinator after week two last season which meant Bill Lazor stepped into his new role during the regular season. With a full offseason to design his own playbook and implement his own style to the offense, Mixon should be a more prominent part of the Bengals offense.

The team also addressed the offensive line which was one of the worst in the league last season. Grabbing left tackle Cordy Glenn from the Buffalo Bills and drafting center Billy Price in the first-round will bolster this offensive line and give Mixon a better fighting chance coming out of the backfield. I also expect to see the Bengals in more shotgun sets which feeds into Mixon’s strengths.

Giovani Bernard will steal some snaps in the passing game, but the talk of the offseason is including Mixon in the passing game and him becoming more of a three-down back in 2018. If Mixon can improve in the passing game, the sky is the limit. However, the offensive line will have to produce holes much better than they did a year ago if the running attack wants any chance.