Buying: Joe Mixon will be drafted in Round 2
This is a tricky subject. Joe Mixon was viewed as a highly intriguing prospect during the 2016 college football season as he split carries with Samaje Perine at Oklahoma. Then, video from 2014 emerged that showed Mixon punching a college student so hard she broke multiple bones in her face. It was brutal.
Now, the fact Mixon had hurt this woman was known. He was suspended that entire year. Then he came back to play in 2015 and 2016 when he became an integral cog in the Sooners offense. In those two seasons, Mixon put up 2,921 yards from scrimmage and scored 26 total touchdowns.
But when that video came out, the national perception of Mixon changed drastically. At one point, it was reported that the running back wouldn’t even be draftable. He wasn’t invited to the combine because of his violent action.
Then Mixon held his pro day at Oklahoma and stunned scouts.
“(He) impressed everybody that was there. There were a handful of running backs coaches there. I spoke with a scout who was in attendance. … He said ‘That was a Round-1 workout in any draft class.’ He said he was phenomenal,” said NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah. “So Joe Mixon did everything on the field. Now it comes down to sorting his issues off the field and if a team will be comfortable or not making him a selection in the 2017 draft. But when you stack him up with the other running backs in this draft, I think he’s right in the discussion to be considered the top player at the position. I compare him to (Arizona Cardinals RB) David Johnson. That’s the kind of skill set he possesses.”
After that, Jeremiah said every person around the NFL he’s talked to said Mixon will end up going in the second round. Matt Miller of Bleacher Report agreed, noting he’s heard a lot of Frank Clark comparisons (Clark went in Round 2 back in 2015).
As we’ve seen too many times in the past, the NFL is hypocritical. It says it’s against domestic violence and violence towards women, yet time and time again, players with elite talent end up being welcomed into the league. The same will happen with Mixon, who almost certainly will go off the board in Day 2.