Pat Fantasy Dog Pound grabbed Joe Mixon at pick 44 and called the selection a leverage play tailor-made for the Sprint’s three-week playoff format. Houston never added serious backfield competition after the draft—only seventh-round rookie Woody Marks—so Pat expects Mixon to dominate early-down and goal-line snaps. The Texans close the fantasy season with three straight dome games (Cardinals, Falcons in Atlanta, and Texans’ home roof) that should boost scoring environments and protect Mixon from late-December weather volatility. Although Mixon’s efficiency tailed off late last year, Pat argued touchdowns rule the Sprint finals and projected Houston’s top-10 red-zone offense to give him multiple spike-week paths. Bottom line: wheels up on Mixon in the mid-40s while the field still worries about age decline.