Joe Mixon “no question” Bengals’ most impressive offseason addition

Joe Mixon may be the Cincinnati Bengals’ youngest player (he just turned 21 last week) but he’s also been one of the most impressive in training camp thus far.

In fact, Bengals.com’s Geoff Hobson went as far as to say Mixon has been the “most impressive” offseason addition by the team after four days of training camp:

There’s no question that rookie running back Joe Mixon is the most impressive of the newcomers as Bengals training camp winds into its fourth day Monday and the first full-padded practice. But maybe we haven’t seen anything yet.

“That’s more of an advantage on my side compared to the little guys,” said the 6-1, 228-pound Mixon before Monday’s practice. “Because I feel like I move even better with them on.”

Mixon has been wowing fans during training camp with long runs and incredible speed for his size.

He's even engaging with the fans in attendance and getting high fives from the crowd. They haven’t been hard to come by as he’s had numerous long would-be touchdowns through four days of camp.

Before reporting to Bengals training camp, Mixon spent time with now-Saints running back Adrian Peterson, a fellow Oklahoma Sooner, who he’s known since his freshman year in Norman. Mixon, Peterson, Chargers running back Melvin Gordon and Packers running back Ty Montgomery spent time training together in Texas this spring between minicamp and training camp.

“He’s been taking me under (his wing) ever since my freshman year,” Mixon said of Peterson. “It was fun. We talked a lot about off-the-field stuff. The big thing was about taking care of money. How to approach things business wise. He pretty much was showing me the ropes.”

It’s great to hear Peterson was coaching up Mixon not just with on-the-field smarts, but with advice for off-the-field, too. When it comes to his on-field advice, Mixon shared some of what Peterson told him in that regard, too.

“Stay in the playbook and take care of your body,” Mixon said. “I learned a lot in the spring and I’m just trying to carry it on. Right now I’m able to play fast.”

And while Mixon is certainly impressing Bengals fans, he’s also impressing his teammates. Second-year cornerback KeiVarae Russell has taken notice of Mixon’s “freakish” size and knowledge, despite being a rookie.

“He’s freakish man. He’s a horse,” Russell said, via 700 WLW. “His size, he’s big—220 pounds plus—runs well, extremely well. He’s very fast and the patience he has for a young guy, he resembles guys who have been in the league for a long time. He understands a lot more than a rookie possibly could. And he has a lot to go, but it’s unbelievable how he can run at that size.”

If you’re heading down to Bengals training camp in the coming days, be sure to keep an eye on No. 28.