The Cincinnati Bengals continue to pop up as a team suggested for big names at running back in free agency this offseason.
The idea is simple — Joe Mixon has one year left on his current contract, one year removed from taking a pay cut to stay with the team at all.
Frankly, Mixon’s production was good and it won’t be a shock to see something similar happening again. But when a team has a franchise passer like Joe Burrow, it’s always fun to play what if? by linking big names at any position to the team.
That includes running back, where two of the biggest names in the league have been suggested for the Bengals in recent days as the wait for free agency continues.
Josh Jacobs
Jacobs, going on 26 years old, just rushed for 805 yards and six scores on a 3.5 average over 13 games.
Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus lists the Bengals as a possible landing spot:
The Bengals hypothetically move on from running back Joe Mixon in this exercise, getting younger at the position with Jacobs. Cincinnati has fed Mixon carries and targets over the years, and Jacobs can shoulder the same load as a workhorse back.
Jacobs might command more cash than the Bengals want to invest in the spot and the 58.2 receiving grade mentioned in the writeup isn’t great, but he’d likely be an upgrade with more staying power beyond 2024.
Saquon Barkley
The second pick in 2018, Barkley just played 14 games, rushing for 962 yards and six scores on a 3.9 average.
Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine explained why Barkley is preferable compared to Mixon while listing the star’s top landing spots:
Mixon is also far less explosive than Barkley. He was 15th among running backs in rushing success rate this past season, but he was 41st in breakaway run rate and 22nd in breakaway runs, per Player Profiler. Barkley ranked 41st among running backs in rushing success rate, but he was more explosive, ranking 15th in breakaway run rate and eighth in breakaway runs.
Like Jacobs, Barkley would probably command too much cap space to justify, though it would be interesting to see how he might blossom while defenses worry about Burrow and Co.
