It looks like the Cincinnati Bengals are replacing Joe Mixon with Illinois’ Chase Brown.
The Cincinnati Bengals were always going to draft a running back, but apparently, Joe Mixon’s replacement will be former Illinois Fighting Illini star tailback Chase Brown.
It was controversial for the Bengals to draft Mixon out of Oklahoma, but he more than made up for his selection while with the team. With other off-field issues popping up and the Bengals in the midst of their Super Bowl window with Joe Burrow on a rookie contract, they could not afford to take any chances. Thus, they went with one of the better running backs coming out.
Given that Cincinnati has drafted very well of late, look for Brown to be an instant impact player.
On another note, how surprised are you to see a blue checkmark on the Bengals’ official Twitter account? Think of all the money they could save for Joe Burrow by not paying Elon Musk a cent…
Cincinnati Bengals effectively replace Joe Mixon with Chase Brown in NFL Draft
Not to say this is a make-or-break year for the Bengals, but if not now, when? They are so beyond fortunate to have retained their two star coordinators in Lou Anarumo and Brian Callahan for yet another season. Anarumo was a finalist for the Arizona Cardinals gig that went to Jonathan Gannon, while Callahan was up for the Indianapolis Colts job that Shane Steichen beat him out for.
Factor in Burrow entering year four of his rookie contract, and it is only a matter of time before Mike Brown has to use Paycor sponsorship money to help keep The Geauxt in The Queen City forever. Burrow is a special, transcendent talent, but he does play a sport in a league with a hard salary cap. All 32 NFL franchises are given the same amount of resources to work with annually.
So what this means for Brown is The Brown Family believes he can be the answer to a bit of an enigma the Bengals are dealing with at the running back position. I long thought former Ohio State star and Dallas Cowboys tailback Ezekiel Elliott would be a great free-agent acquisition for him. He still could, but Cincinnati going with one of the best Illinois player in years really speaks volumes.
This isn’t a pick everyone will talk about, but it could play a huge part in who wins the AFC in 2023.