Joe Mixon

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(02-05-2020, 12:49 AM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: Starting QB will be on a rookie contract. And nothing helps a young QB like having an elite playmaking RB who he can hand the ball to.

Not ideal to pay top money to a RB. But that is where we are. He is the best player we have on offense right now. I would rather have one less question mark on offense as we attempt to build around a rookie QB. Having an elite RB is a damn good building block.

A rookie contract that will still pay him ~$9m/yr.

I'm sorry, but no matter how often you repeat it, Joe Mixon is not an elite RB. If Joe Mixon is elite, then what does that make Nick Chubb, Ezekiel Elliott, Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry, etc? Mixon is clearly at least a full level below some RBs, so if Mixon is elite, what does that make them? Super Elite? Double Elite? Double Secret Elite?

He's a decent player, but teams regularly find players his caliber in later rounds or as undrafted players. Chris Carson was a 7th rounder, Marlon Mack was a 4th rounder, Aaron Jones was a 5th rounder, Phillip Lindsay was undrafted, and those guys are all more Mixon's level than the elite RBs in the league.

Paying Mixon $13.3m/yr is a terrible idea. There's literally only 11 OL making $13.3m+/yr, which means you could spend that money on a good FA OL who will not only provide better run blocking, but will also help protect your hopefully franchise QB from getting murdered.