Fantasy Football: 5 Teams With Potentially Frustrating Usage
5. The Cincinnati Bengals' Backfield
You cannot will something into existence in fantasy football. Otherwise, plenty would have Jeremy Hill off twiddling his thumbs on a remote island, and Joe Mixon would be handling 90 touches per game for the Cincinnati Bengals. Hill's still around -- and so is a healthy Giovani Bernard -- making this a brewing nightmare.
Given that the Bengals traded up to draft Mixon with the 48th overall pick, it would seem clear that they want this guy to play right away. Again, though, the preseason usage tells us something wildly different.
Andy Dalton played 30 snaps today. RB count was Gio Bernard 15, Jeremy Hill 9, Joe Mixon 6. Also note Hill (knee) left early.
— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) August 28, 2017
That was in the team's third preseason game, the one that's intended to closely mirror a true game. Even with Hill leaving early, Mixon struggled to jump ahead of Bernard.
Hill is expected to be ready for the opener, and Bernard's skills in the passing game clearly still intrigue the team. They won't simply let Mixon rot on the sideline, but it seems for the moment as if no back on this team holds a major role.
This ambiguity comes after an offseason in which the Bengals underwent major changes up front, losing left tackle Andrew Whitworth and guard Kevin Zeitler in free agency. Any steps backward lower the value in early-down usage in the backfield. On a team with A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert, a good chunk of the targets are already off the table, as well. This just doesn't seem to be a fruitful situation.
If you've already had your draft, now's as good of a time as any to sell Mixon. Find a leaguemate who believes in his talent and pawn him off before the regular-season snap counts come through. It's possible his value will spike before the end of the season, but his value now is likely much higher than it'll be in two weeks.
