Don’t look now but running backs are making a comeback.
Take a look back at this past free agency period, espeically for contending teams looking to breakout of their current mold. Several high-end backs received top dollar on the open market from their new teams, including Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs, Tony Pollard, DAndre Swift and Saquon Barkley.
While the Houston Texans didn’t sign one of the premier runners this offseason, they didn’t leave March without a secondary option to pair with C.J. Stroud. After missing on Barkley and Pollard, general manager Nick Caserio shipped off a seventh-round pick to the Cinncini Bengals in exchange for Pro Bowl runner Joe Mixon.
Mixon, who rushed for over 1,000 yards in 2023, inked a new three-year, $27 million extension to keep him in H-Town for the long haul. And the Texans believe his best years are still ahead, especially as a pass-catcher following a promising campaign in The Jungle’s passing game without Joe Burrow.
“So I’m not thinking about a drop-off,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said at the annual owners meetings. “I’m thinking about the positives and the things that [Mixon has] done in his career. He’s been consistent throughout his entire career — a guy who can move the chains for you, a guy who can open up the passing game with his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. He just opens up the things that we can do offensively.”
Mixon joins an offense headline by C.J. Stroud and a trio of talented receivers. Even if he’s a middle-of-the-pack runner, that might be enough to secure a postseason spot and another few wins on the schedule in 2024.
But where does Mixon rank among the league’s best? Here’s how Texans Wire ranked the top 32 tailbacks in the league, including a few rookies that might end up popping off by the season’s end in the right system.