Mixon - Could he become a Top 3 back this year?

[Ravage]

(03-28-2019, 07:24 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: I agree, every RB has questions. I still wouldn't take any of those RB's over Mixon.

Talent wise he is just as good as any of those guys and if he was running behind that Line that Zeke had before PA got there he would put up even bigger numbers IMO. McCaffery is good but nor him or Kamara can deal out the punishment like Mixon can and he is just as good of a Receiver as they are. Barkley blew my mind last year in the couple times i watched him, he might be different than the other Penn State RB's.

I don't know that I would want one of them over Mixon either. Not that I think Mixon is the 'best' in the league, but he's in the conversation for being in that upper-echelon atm. Kamara's had a ton of usage the last few years, McCaffery could be a product of Newton vexing defenses, and like you said, Zeke's running behind a line that PA even almost couldn't have screwed up. Barkley, like I said, I just want to see do it again before I believe.

Those 4 all are dual threats, like Mixon. And of those 5 backs (Mixon, Kamara, McCaffery, Elliott, Barkley) the only one with a catch rate above 80% for their career is Mixon @ 82.02% (73 of 89). Kamara is 79.02% (162 of 205), Elliott is 78.48% (135 of 172), McCaffery is 78.9% (187 of 237), Barkley is the lowest at 75.2% (91 of 121). In fairness, all those other backs have significantly more passes thrown their way than Mixon does, likely due to Gio's presence is my guess.

And as far as Gordon's pass catching ability, he's not bad, but he's no game breaker in the passing game. First, his catch rate is worse than the 5 I just listed: 74.89% (182 of 243). And despite all those catches he's never managed to crack 500 yds receiving in a year. McCaffery's never been below 650, Zeke topped 500 last season, Kamara's never been below 700, Barkley had 700+ last year. Again, Mixon hasn't hit 500 in a season yet either, but he's got the smallest usage rate out of those 5 by a healthy margin, even including the rookie Barkley.