The Cincinnati Bengals made a major move late Monday night, signing running back Zack Moss to a two-year deal and releasing Joe Mixon.
Zach Moss in, Joe Mixon out. https://t.co/POlhrgbwP8
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 12, 2024
While there’s no real debate that Mixon is a more productive running back than Moss with a much better track record, the latter certainly improved his stock by filling in admirably for Jonathan Taylor in Indianapolis last season. Plus, releasing Mixon creates $6.1 million in cap space for 2024 while signing Moss costs just $4 million per year.
By replacing Mixon with Moss, the Bengals get younger and save money.
What does this transaction mean for fantasy football managers? What are the fantasy football outlooks for Zack Moss and Joe Mixon? Let’s answer those burning questions.
Zack Moss 2024 Fantasy Football Outlook
Moss enjoyed a career year in 2023, totaling 986 scrimmage yards and seven touchdowns. Excluding Week 15 when he exited early due to injury, Moss averaged 77.9 rushing yards, 2.9 receptions, 20.6 receiving yards, and 0.9 touchdowns per game as a starter. It goes without saying that every fantasy manager would love to roster a player who averages nearly 100 scrimmage yards and one touchdown in their role.
Heading into 2024 fantasy drafts, we will need to wait and see if the Bengals make any other backfield additions. As more NFL teams look to diversify their backfield with two primary options, Cincinnati may bring in competition for Moss. They also have Chase Brown, who impressed late in his rookie campaign last year, on the roster.
However, assuming Moss does enter the regular season as the Bengals’ primary back, he can be safely drafted as a fringe RB2 in fantasy football. He can provide consistent top-24 value but could see his fantasy stock drop below someone like James Cook, James Conner, or Rhamondre Stevenson because those players have more firm holds on their lead-back roles.
Most rushing yards over expected per carry in 2023 (Next-Gen Stats)
De'Von Achane (+2.87)
Christian McCaffrey (+1.32)
Jaylen Warren (+1.11)
James Conner (+1.02)
Zack Moss (+0.71) 👀— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) March 12, 2024
Joe Mixon 2024 Fantasy Football Outlook
We can’t exactly pinpoint Mixon’s fantasy value until he signs somewhere, and we don’t even know which teams might have interest in him. However, given that he has shown he still has plenty left in the tank, we can expect him to earn a starting role in the NFL.
Mixon has been a beacon of availability throughout his career and started all 17 games in 2023. Throughout the season, he amassed 1,034 rushing yards, 52 receptions, 376 receiving yards, and 12 touchdowns. He’s a versatile running back who, even in his age-27 campaign, showed an ability to run the ball, catch passes, and score touchdowns.
Barring an absurd landing spot, Mixon will likely fall in a similar fantasy range as Moss. Expect him to enter 2024 as a low-end fantasy RB2.
JOE MIXON. A Bengal for life. pic.twitter.com/OVZr9um6yw
— Faux Joey Brrr (@FauxJeaux) March 12, 2024
Cincinnati Bengals 2024 Fantasy Football Outlook
The Bengals have a crowded wide receiver room, but neither Ja’Marr Chase nor Tee Higgins should be impacted by this move. Both of them have demonstrated enough production that they can be trusted as WR1 and WR2 options in fantasy football, respectively, regardless of the backfield dynamic. It’s worth noting, though, that Higgins has requested a trade.
As mentioned above, Brown broke out late in his rookie campaign, amassing 172 rushing yards, 149 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown over the Bengals’ last six regular-season games. Assuming Cincinnati plans to give him an increased workload in 2024, he’ll rank as a fringe top-36 fantasy running back with legitimate RB3/FLEX appeal in deeper formats. Plus, while Moss presumably has the lead-back role locked down, Brown will be a steady thorn in his side, consistently pushing for more touches.
Moss’ signing has no major bearing on the fantasy values of quarterback Joe Burrow or tight end Drew Sample. While he’s an intriguing short-range outlet for Burrow as he recovers from a wrist injury, the same was true with Mixon, so there’s no real impact there.
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