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** RD 2 - BENGALS select JOE MIXON, RB **


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Greg Cosell's NFL draft preview: On the field, Joe Mixon is most complete RB prospect in this draft

A lot has been said about Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon off the field, and some teams will take him off their draft board for a 2014 incident in which he punched a woman.

While teams will have to make that decision on how to weigh Mixon’s off-field issues, for this piece I’m focusing on the evaluation of Mixon only as a player, based on film study. And on film, he’s one of the most complete NFL prospects among running backs in the draft. Based solely on film, Mixon is a better overall prospect than Florida State’s Dalvin Cook, who is projected by almost everyone to go in the first round. Mixon might not be the same kind of runner as LSU’s Leonard Fournette, who I reviewed here, but Mixon has very good all-around skills.

 

Joe Mixon rushed for 1,274 yards and had 538 yards receiving last season. (AP)

Here’s what I see as Mixon’s on-field strengths and weaknesses:

STRENGTHS

As a runner, there’s a fluidity to Mixon’s movement. He has quick cutting ability, lateral quickness and balance to make penetrating defenders miss in the backfield. He also has vision and patience as a runner with the burst to get through the point of attack, and the speed to get to the perimeter.

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This play, a 32-yard touchdown against Houston, showed off Mixon’s short-area acceleration to clear the second level of defense.

Mixon has a fluid, lateral running style with a subtle, darting, slashing element. His lateral agility in confined space will be a big plus in the NFL. He also showed an innate feel for pressing the hole and influencing second-level defenders.

What gives Mixon a boost as a prospect is the rest of his game. He’s quite versatile.

He has good blitz recognition and blocking execution. He even spent time as a lead blocker in two-back sets with fellow OU running back Samaje Perine and one-back sets on quarterback draws. Mixon also is a natural catcher with good hands and run-after-catch ability as a receiver out of the backfield. He has good route running ability with lateral quickness to beat linebackers on option routes.

He ran seam routes out of the backfield for some big plays. Here’s a 60-yard catch against Houston, in which he beats the defense deep and makes a nice play to haul in the catch with one hand.

 

(YouTube.com/OneHourFootball)

 

(YouTube.com/OneHourFootball)

 

(YouTube.com/OneHourFootball)

 

(YouTube.com/OneHourFootball)

 

(YouTube.com/OneHourFootball)

And here’s a 56-yard touchdown catch against Texas Tech.

 

(YouTube.com/BIg12DigitalNetwork)

 

(YouTube.com/BIg12DigitalNetwork)

 

(YouTube.com/BIg12DigitalNetwork)

 

(YouTube.com/BIg12DigitalNetwork)

 

(YouTube.com/BIg12DigitalNetwork)

 

(YouTube.com/BIg12DigitalNetwork)

Mixon can detach from the formation and run receiver routes. Whatever Mixon’s NFL team wants him to do, he’ll be able to execute it. He displayed a lot of skills at Oklahoma.

WEAKNESSES

Teams want to see a running back hit it up inside and grind out tough yards, because that’s a lot of what the NFL running game is. At times, Mixon would look for the big play and not hit it up inside.

There were times he’d search and wait for gaps to appear – a style that Le’Veon Bell of the Pittsburgh Steelers is well known for – but he’d often get stuck without getting the needed positive yards. Mixon’s vision could be inconsistent at times, not seeing creases and holes back to the inside, and despite his size (about 6-foot-1, and 228 pounds) there were snaps in which you wouldn’t see the natural power to shock the box and move the pile.

When the box is heavy, teams will have to question if Mixon can be consistent in gaining tough, sustaining yards. He has the skills to do it, but needs more experience to develop the feel for that part of the game.

TRANSITION TO NFL

Mixon’s size-speed-traits profile is the best of any back in this draft class. He reminds me a bit of David Johnson of the Arizona Cardinals, though the running and receiving styles are different – Mixon is more subtly fluid and shifty while Johnson is more laterally abrupt and physical. Another NFL comparison for Mixon could be Matt Forte. Like Forte, Mixon is a comfortable, unhurried runner.

Mixon has the size and overall skills to fit in any scheme. He’s not as explosive as Cook but his receiving skills are apparent on film, while Cook’s is not. Obviously there’s more to the Mixon draft decision for teams than just film. But what teams will see when they watch his college tape is pretty good.

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8 minutes ago, Khatmandude said:

 

Initially I didn't like the pick of Ross considering who was still on the board, but I love the dimension he brings to the offense.  Something sorely lacking last year.  Add Mixon, LeVeon Bell like back and this offense has great potential....if Zampese can actually take advantage of the weapons at his disposal.  That's a big if IMO.  Not a fan of his thus far.  

 

Yep.  If the Bengals had the Cowboys offensive line they would be unstoppable.  

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14 minutes ago, saphead said:

Welp, guess I'll avoid social media and any sports talk radio for a few months....

At least ESPN and NFL Network spent more than 10 seconds talking about our pick for a change. Did you see Wingo? He kept saying that Mixon will have to answer some questions. I would love to see an alternate universe where the pats pick him and see how different the response is.

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3 minutes ago, UncleEarl said:

How many f*cks do the Bengals give about player behavior?  Zero f*cks.

 

Why should they? The NFL awards the Lombardi trophy for winning the Super Bowl, not for morality or community service. Don't fall for the Walter Payton Man of the Year facade ... it's all bullshit. This is entertainment and blood sport. Men get paid to violently assault and injure each other for the intoxicated Roman Colosseum. 

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6 minutes ago, UncleEarl said:

How many f*cks do the Bengals give about player behavior?  Zero f*cks.

 

It's embarrassing.  Munoz should have looked at the card, handed it back and said, "You do it."

 

I agree with those that say he will have a tough time behind the Benglas dogshit offensive line.  

 

You know they will lose ticket sales and possibly advertising revenue over it.  He had better be the second coming of James Brooks.

Would that be the Country fleeing, deadbeat, non-paying of child support for the child of one of his one his not wife GF's? (She was nice and pretty and had nice Mercedez James gave her before he fled).

 

I hope he plays that well.

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10 minutes ago, BlackJesus said:

Also ... gotta keep this 100 ... if you think there isn't a racial component involved in this, you're blind to how the world works and even in how people subconsciously react to situations. His greatest crime wasn't hitting a woman, but hitting a blonde white woman. That is why some fans across the nation want him crucified more than they normally would.

 

This was a nation where 5 decades ago black men could be lynched for looking at a white woman, so Mixon is the inverse and became public enemy #1 in a league full of scumbags with hosts of offenses.

 

Now back to regular programming. :cool:

 

 

Oh bullshit.Why bring the frigging race card into this?

He blasted and broke a woman's face,and that makes him a big steaming pile of shit imo.I could give zero fucks what her skin color is.

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32 minutes ago, Sox said:

Oh bullshit. Why bring the frigging race card into this?

 

haha that's cute. Look, I keep it real. If you can't handle the truth then fine. But don't expect me to pretend. Race is always there. It is a part of any situation and embedded in how people perceive reality. The media would only care about 1/5 as much if the woman Mixon hit was black. That's just the hard truth. 

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1 hour ago, Hint of Snow said:

Would that be the Country fleeing, deadbeat, non-paying of child support for the child of one of his one his not wife GF's? (She was nice and pretty and had nice Mercedez James gave her before he fled).

 

I hope he plays that well.

 

Hmmm...did not know that.  Ironic.

 

I hope he plays that well, too.  That was my point.

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1 hour ago, Sox said:
 
 
Oh bullshit.Why bring the frigging race card into this?
He blasted and broke a woman's face,and that makes him a big steaming pile of shit imo.I could give zero fucks what her skin color is.


I wasn't going to respond to that stupid ass post but I'm glad someone did. How fucking sick does someone have to be to even notice skin colors in that video...
Sent from my SM-G930V using Go-Bengals.com mobile app
 

Lets keep it civil gentlemen...

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1 hour ago, BlackJesus said:

 

Why should they? The NFL awards the Lombardi trophy for winning the Super Bowl, not for morality or community service. Don't fall for the Walter Payton Man of the Year facade ... it's all bullshit. This is entertainment and blood sport. Men get paid to violently assault and injure each other for the intoxicated Roman Colosseum. 

 

Maybe you're right.  Then again I hope it's not really that bad.  Not every team puts up with this amount of nonsense from it's players.  

 

At the same time there are plenty of business reasons this could be a bad move.  

 

Finally, I totally agree it wouldn't be that big of a deal if it were a black woman.  Nothing makes the news more than a blonde woman getting harmed.

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53 minutes ago, BlackJesus said:

 

haha that's cute. Look, I keep it real. If you can't handle the truth then fine. But don't expect me to pretend. Race is always there. It is a part of any situation and embedded in how people perceive reality. The media would only care about 1/5 as much if the woman Mixon hit was black. That's just the hard truth. 

I can handle the truth just fine.Apparently  you can't.Race has nothing to do with this.Maybe it's just my inbred hillbilly West Virginia background...but I was raised you never ever ever hit a woman,under any circumstances.Ever.

 

I hope he has a great career for us.But I'll never have any respect for him.He sucker punched a WOMAN and broke her face.Yeah,it's all about her being white...really?I could give two shits if she was purple,and he was magenta,I would feel the same.

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6 minutes ago, Sox said:

I can handle the truth just fine.Apparently  you can't.Race has nothing to do with this.Maybe it's just my inbred hillbilly West Virginia background...but I was raised you never ever ever hit a woman,under any circumstances.Ever.

 

I hope he has a great career for us.But I'll never have any respect for him.He sucker punched a WOMAN and broke her face.Yeah,it's all about her being white...really?I could give two shits if she was purple,and he was magenta,I would feel the same.

 

He isn't talking about how you feel, he's talking about how it is handled by the public and more so, the media.  He is absolutely correct.

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12 minutes ago, Sox said:

Race has nothing to do with this. Maybe it's just my inbred hillbilly West Virginia background.

 

Sometimes the questions answer themselves.


But really, I'd give the exploited white rural working class people of WV more credit and realize some of them get it too. 

 

 

Quote

I could give two shits if she was purple

 

This is like "I'm not racist" BINGO, with the stereotypical "purple" reference. Purple people don't exist. But if they did, you'd probably be just as clueless about how their purpleness informs social relations between people. 

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Can we get back to discussing the athlete and away from the sociological discussion please?

 

Take it to another forum, while I would love to have this discussion myself... it doesn't belong on this forum.

 

Thanks all... I'm done for the day.

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1 hour ago, DanvilleBengal said:

Get over the Ray Lewis thing already...

 

anyway,  we have Antonio Brown (Ross) and now we got Leveion Bell (Nixon)...gee I wonder who's next?   Ryan Shazier??? :ninja:

 

All of a sudden we're trying to mimic PissPuke??/!?!?!?!  What in the fucking hell....

 

We will get over it when the victims do.

 

Drunk Becky (my new potential screen name) is alive an well being an idiot still somewhere else I bet.

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4 minutes ago, USN Bengal said:

Can we get back to discussing the athlete and away from the sociological discussion please?

 

I was hoping I could make my one self-evident disclaimer and that would be that. But alas ... 

 

But yeah, I've said all that I need to on the issue. I love the pick and think the Bengals got much better with the selection. ^_^

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I have to admit that I simply want the best players available to help this team win... And I believe Mixon could one to do just that. Looks like a mix of Hill and Bernard, but better.

 

Whether the Bengals drafted him or not they would have been knocked by the media for even considering him at all anyway. And were... That's our lot.

 

Here's hoping the guy just made one stupid mistake and he goes on to have a great career as a Bengal.

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2 hours ago, BlackJesus said:

 

haha that's cute. Look, I keep it real. If you can't handle the truth then fine. But don't expect me to pretend. Race is always there. It is a part of any situation and embedded in how people perceive reality. The media would only care about 1/5 as much if the woman Mixon hit was black. That's just the hard truth. 

The press ended Ray Rice's career for hitting his black fiancee.  Your comment gets 4 Pinnochios.  You don't keep anything real, you simply make shit up.

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1 hour ago, mtrbur said:

Because everybody was fine with the whole Ray Rice thing, huh? You are truly a dumb motherfucker.

 

55 minutes ago, SF2 said:

The press ended Ray Rice's career for hitting his black fiancee... you simply make shit up.

 

I am trying to respect USN Bengal’s Moderator request to set aside the sociological debate and leave it to another forum, but you clueless motherfuckers keep feeling the need to chime in and make it clear to me how much understanding of society you lack – when I already knew that.

 

The Ray Rice situation is not analogous for a number of reasons. First, lots of people defended Ray, including the Ravens, until the tape made it clear they had known about what really happened all along, and they simply folded from PR pressure. But in the general society he was not a villain, and in fact people dressed up as him for Halloween with their GF’s sporting black eyes, and just like Rhianna & Chris Brown's abuse, he was not seen as a public enemy #1 who should be ostracized and was beyond repute.

 

However, the Joe Mixon situation was 3 years ago! He already served a 1 year suspension for it, and was an 18 year old teenager when it occurred. Moreover, the woman has forgiven him and accepted his apology and given her blessing for him moving on with his life. YET … the combine banned him for it (despite the fact he played college football the last 2 years), and the national media harps on the 3 year old story with glee because it fits a narrative, as nothing gets more press than harm or missing person status to white blonde women or animals. (This is also why Mike Vick was devil incarnate for several years, from millions of *mostly white* people who eat pigs – with a similar intelligence level to dogs, every day). Btw, I'm white myself and love bacon. But of course, race, gender, class, etc all of these things affect the way things are framed. I can't even believe this obvious fact has to be explained. 

 

But I digress … this thread is about discussing Joe Mixon the player. So I'd like to stick to that ...

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