Despite picking 29th, the Green Bay Packers likely will have the opportunity to draft a guy who would be the needed ingredient for them winning the Super Bowl.
This guy is, in my view, the best college player at his position and a top-five overall talent. Yet he still should be there for the Packers to take that late in the draft.
How is that? The reason is this guy is Joe Mixon. Yeah, the Oklahoma running back who was suspended in 2014 for punching a female in the face breaking her jaw. This act, along with the released video from a surveillance camera that showed the incident, probably not only will keep Mixon from being drafted high but could keep him out of the first round.
There isn’t a more polarizing pick in the entire draft.
The first three runners projected to be drafted are Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook and Christian McCaffrey. I like all three. I just like Mixon more.
Fournette isn’t elusive enough to be elite. If there is no hole at the line of scrimmage, he’s sunk. Cook reminds me of Warwick Dunn. However, he has a terrible past, too, with mutliple arrests. McCaffrey is extremely versatile, but didn’t dominate as much as he did during his sophomore year and is not thought of as an everydown running back.
Mixon is a David Johnson-type clone. He’s fast, versatile, athletic and a three-down back. Mixon isn’t just a good receiver, but a great one. He also can return kicks and line up wide in the slot. As a runner, one scout was quoted as saying Mixon is a bigger, better version of Ezekiel Elliott.
Could you image the Packers’ offense with its upgraded tight ends having a David Johnson-type superstar in the backfield? Packers General Manager Ted Thompson could grab Mixon in the first round and then address his team’s defensive needs in the next three rounds since this year’s draft is notably strong in cornerbacks and pass rushers.
The Packers are the one team that doesn’t answer to an owner and they aren’t in a big market so the public relations hit wouldn’t be as severe for taking Mixon. It’s easy to point out, too, that a number of other projected high draft picks have checkered pasts, too, including Cook.
The problem with Mixon is his assault was caught on camera. There was no justification for Mixon striking the lady. His punch not only broke her jaw, but casued other facial fractures that caused her to underdog eight hours of surgery. Terrible. But Mixon has paid a price for his actions. He was suspended for a year from all football-related activities and he pled guility to a misdemeanor charge of acts resulting in gross injury.
The incident happened three years ago. Mixon still is being punished because his draft position will be much lower than what his talent level is costing him big money. The guy doesn’t drink nor smoke. He isn’t Lawrence Phillips. He made a huge mistake when he was 18.
There’s a very real possibility Mixon will be there for the Packers. Thompson should man up and take him instead of wasting another first-round pick on a stiff defensive lineman.
