Week 1 Fantasy Football Market Share Report: Joe Mixon Is a Workhorse Back
Rushing Market Shares
1. Joe Mixon Is Clearly Ahead of Giovani Bernard
At the end of last season, Giovani Bernard had staked his claim as a legitimate threat to Joe Mixon's touches. But against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1, Mixon slid right into the majority of the running back work for the Cincinnati Bengals.
The only thing worrying some fantasy owners about drafting Mixon as a number-one running back in drafts was the growing concern that his role may lean more toward a split with Bernard in the 50-50 department. The other worry being whether the coaching staff would put Mixon in a position to cultivate his immense talent.
But as Week 1 ended, the timeshare trended far more in Mixon’s direction. The results: 17 carries, 95 yards and 1 touchdown, with 5 grabs for 54 yards as a receiver. Bernard, on the other hand, had 1 carry for -2 yards, and 1 catch for 11 yards.
Mixon’s arrow is pointing up, and if the Bengals’ Week 1 performance is a sign of things to come for the second-year back, a top-10 running back is squarely in play.
His next test comes in Week 2 against a Baltimore Ravens team that thoroughly dominated an inferior Buffalo Bills offense. Both Mixon and the Ravens' defense will have their first true test of the 2018 season.
2. Jordan Howard Is a Pass-Game Factor
Throughout the offseason, the noise surrounding Jordan Howard was how he was working on his receiving skills and would in fact be more of a factor in the passing game.
As the Chicago Bears got out to 20-0 lead over the Green Bay Packers, Howard was clearly the centerpiece of the offense, and the offseason reports about his receiving game work were not off base. Finishing with 15 carries for 82 yards wasn’t far from a Howard norm, but grabbing 5 receptions for 25 yards, compared to 3 for 16 yards for Tarik Cohen, is as workhorse a role as Howard owners can hope for.
The significance of Howard’s involvement in the passing game can’t be overlooked. By comparison, Howard finished with 25 receptions for 125 yards on 32 targets in 2017. Whether Howard keeps up this pace remains to be seen. But last season Howard caught five balls in a game only once all year. And over the 16-game season, Howard didn’t catch a pass in six games.
The Bears lost the game after a miraculous comeback by Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, but prior to the Chicago collapse, Howard’s involvement signaled that new Bears coach Matt Nagy is willing to use Howard in the passing game.
3. Isaiah Crowell Makes the Most of His Touches
When Isaiah Crowell was coming off draft boards just a couple weeks ago, his average draft position was pick 80, smack dab in the middle of the seventh round. It seemed reasonable enough considering his likely timeshare with Bilal Powell and the look of a rebuilding New York Jets team in 2018.
But 33 running backs came off the board before him, on average, according to Fantasy Football Calculator's standard-league ADP numbers, and Crowell is showing he is far more valuable than many of those who went before him.
Against a stunned Lions team on Monday night, Crowell took his modest 10 carries and rushed for 102 yards and 2 touchdowns. The 102 yards does include a 62-yard third-quarter scamper that padded his stats, but it happened and it’s in his bag.
The Jets’ running back touches (catches plus carries) went: Bilal Powell 13 and Crowell 10, with Trenton Cannon getting 7 touches in the blowout.
It's only Week 1, but the Jets are clearly not going to concede a rebuild simply because they are starting a rookie at quarterback, especially since said rookie looked pretty darn good. If his stellar Week 1 performance gives him the edge in Gang Green's backfield, Crowell has a chance to be one of the steals of the draft in 2018.
