Joe Mixon influenced Bengals’ decision to sign La’el Collins

Joe Mixon wanted former Cowboys tackle La’el Collins in the Queen City.

He got him.

Who else did Mixon want in Cincinnati?

Well, Mixon was a huge advocate for offensive line coach Frank Pollack, who was with the team prior to his current stint. While it may not seem like it, the year-over-year improvements of the group, given their personnel, was tremendous.

Mixon has crushed his lobbying campaigns.

The running back got his wish with the addition of Collins, and per Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com, the star spoke with the Bengals management about bringing in the star lineman.

“Mixon is now 2-0 as an upstairs lobbyist. Last year he pushed hard for the re-hiring of Pollack and Schaffer said he patched in his client for a couple of seconds on his conference call with Bengals management this weekend so he could say his piece in support of the big man.”

Collins will be the starting right tackle for the next 3 years, and that, along with the additions of Bucs’ Alex Cappa and Patriots’ Ted Karras, could mean a breakout year for Mixon.

Mixon may even top what he did in 2021, which was go over 1,200 rushing for the first time in his career. He also earned his first Pro Bowl appearance. It was a breakout year on a new contract, and he should be able to improve on it even further.

To make things even more encouraging, in the process of getting Collins, the Bengals have so many rookie contracts, they didn’t run into any cap issues.

Despite not filling their last hole, a quality second-string cornerback alongside Chide Awuzie, the Bengals are looking like a team capable of ruling not just the AFC North but the conference as a whole.