What It Means:

Mixon and the Bengals faced seven or fewer defenders in the box at the fourth-highest rate of any team last season, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. With opposing defenses opting to limit the Bengals' downfield passing attack, explosive runs will be a key for them moving forward. In June, Joe Burrow said, "We're excited about the run game and the running backs that we have, and we're excited about the offensive line that we have and we'll be able to hit some explosive runs this year and get teams out of those boxes.” Mixon and Trayveon Williams will be responsible for producing those explosive plays and exploiting the space left by opposing defenses.

Mixon's 2023-24 season projection includes 277.79 carries, 1,187.56 rushing yards, 10.50 rushing touchdowns, 46.42 receptions, 321.22 receiving yards, and 2.41 receiving touchdowns. He is the RB13 in numberFire's preseason fantasy projections.