Why I'm Fading Joe Mixon in Fantasy Football Drafts

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In Standard Scoring, Joe Mixon finished with 180 points or RB13 in 2022, scoring 12 points per game on average after carrying Draft capital as RB7. Disappointing to say the least. Starting the year terribly inefficient behind a bad Offensive Line, Mixon averaged 3 or less YPC until having some success in Week 5 against Baltimore. In Week 9 against the Carolina Panthers, Mixon exploded for a combined 5 Touchdowns and over 200 yards, in an incredible 51 point Fantasy performance, likely winning you that Week by himself. Even though he looked like a Varsity player bullying JV kids, Joe Mixon was only able to find the End Zone 1 other time in the last 5 games he played, missing 2 with injury. What if we removed that anomaly from his season, and simply plugged in what his average performance? That would be a 39 point decrease in Total Points resulting in a 9.44 points per game average. This would put him in the ranks alongside AJ Dillon, Devin Singletary, Latavius Murray, Cordarrelle Patterson, and Dameon Pierce. A much more humbling ADP and Tier compared to where he was drafted. Looking at 2023, as of the time I'm writing this on 8/8, Joe Mixon is currently going at ECR #32 and ADP #39. Perhaps with Samaje Perine leaving for the Broncos, Mixon will be able to build upon his 60 receptions from 2022, which was his career high. Maybe Orlando Brown Jr coming over at Left Tackle will be the missing piece for Mixon to propel himself into the mid 4 to 4.9 YPC he reached in 2018. But with Joe Mixon only playing 2 full seasons in 6 years, my skeptical nature gets the better of me. I'm a big fan of the "Zero RB" strategy, and I'm going to let someone else take the chance on Mixon this year. A few other guys I like in the same range depending on your league- Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson, Calvin Ridley, Devonta Smith, Mark Andrews