In the second and third round of the NFL Draft, players with checked past usually begin to come off the board. Joe Mixon has a troubled past and that’s likely why the running back slipped to the second round.
The Cincinnati Bengals chose Mixon with the 48th pick overall. Mixon will join a crowded backfield in Cincinnati that already has Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard.
Last year, video of Mixon punching woman Amelia Molitor was released two years after the incident occurred in 2014. Mixon was suspended for the entire 2014 season by Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops after the event happened. Molitor and Mixon reached a settlement agreement last week prior to the draft.
On the field, Mixon helped the Sooners to a second straight Big 12 Championship in 2016 as he rushed 1,274 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also caught 37 receptions for 538 yards and five touchdowns a season ago.
There were many NFL teams that decided to take Mixon off their draft board because of his episode with Molitor, but the Bengals were one of the teams that sat down and talked to Mixon prior to the draft. Cincinnati has a history with selecting players with questionable histories in their past, so owner Mike Brown obviously gave the OK to draft Mixon.
