With the NFL season just a few weeks away, Andy Benoit is previewing every NFL team in reverse order of last season’s finish. Up today: the Cincinnati Bengals, who finished 7–9 in 2017.
1. If second-year pro Joe Mixon becomes more decisive at the point of attack, he’ll be one of the NFL’s five best running backs by season’s end. The most important physical trait for an NFL running back is lateral agility—more particularly, the ability to move east and west within confined areas. That’s how a runner sets up blocks, makes defenders miss and creates his own space.