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Joe Burrow gets the headlines, but it sure sounds like the Cincinnati Bengals offense will run through Joe Mixon in 2020.
Mixon, quietly coming off consecutive 1,100-plus yard seasons, is a guy Bengals coaches like offensive coordinator Brian Callahan want to see even more involved next season.
That’s partially why Callahan dubbed Mixon with the “Volume Carrier” nickname while chatting with Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:
“He gets better as he gets more carries. As the season went along we got better getting him more touches. When he’s touching the ball 20 plus times, the total at the end of the game means his numbers are usually pretty good. He’s been very effective as far as just pure touches. Carries and catches.
“The more Joe touches the ball the better it is for our offense, without a doubt. All the ways we can find to get him the ball, the better it’s going to be.”
Mixon finished last season with 278 carries, the most for the Bengals since BenJarvus Green-Ellis in 2012. But that took his shaking off a slow start and for the coaching staff to change its approach to both offensive line assignments and offensive strategy.
The Bengals were incredibly more competitive with Mixon as the centerpiece down the stretch, yet he still went underutilized in the passing game, getting targeted just 45 times.
That still helped Mixon get 300-plus touches, but the passing game usage is far lower than what it should be in an NFL where even Jacksonville’s Leonard Fournette got 100 targets last season.
This clearly sounds like something the Bengals have targeted as an area of improvement going forward, which is a good way to help along a rookie like Burrow.
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