Boos fly even before Mixon pick
It’s Philly, so of course they booed.
Roger Goodell heard it. Cincinnati’s selection of Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon intensified it.
And Drew Pearson incited the fans at the NFL draft last night in Philadelphia by lauding — and lauding and lauding — the hated Dallas Cowboys.
Not everything got jeered on the second day of the grab bag. The most popular group in the second round came from nearly 3,000 miles away: the Washington Huskies secondary.
Three members — cornerbacks Kevin King and Sidney Jones, safety Budda Baker — were taken in the first 11 picks of the second round.
None of those choices drew the attention that Cincinnati’s pick at No. 48 overall did: Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon, who was uninvited to the scouting combine because he was videotaped punching a woman in the face, breaking bones.
Mixon punched Amelia Molitor during an altercation at a restaurant, and was suspended from the team for a year. He came back and had two strong seasons. In 2016, he was an All-Big 12 performer who set the school record for all-purpose yardage in a season.
Fans in the draft theater booed lustily when Bengals Hall of Famer Anthony Munoz announced the choice. Cincinnati has a history of bringing players with off-field problems to the roster.
“For some of our fans, probably (they’ll) pause for a second,” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. “But this thing’s got to move forward, and he’s got to move on. He’s lived with this since the day it’s occurred.”
Another running back who dropped to Round 2 was Florida State All-American Dalvin Cook. He slipped from the first round to Minnesota at No. 41 because of off-field issues and some injury concerns. Cook is a big-play guy and the Vikings, of course, let go of Adrian Peterson this year.
Wait over for King
Kevin King’s extra-long stay at the draft turned out to be a short stint.
The Washington cornerback was taken by Green Bay as the first selection in the second round. One of five players who were on hand and were not taken in the opening round, the 6-foot-3 former safety isn’t particularly speedy, but has the size and aggressiveness pro teams seek.
Plus, the Packers, who acquired the spot from Cleveland in a deal Thursday night through which the Browns got Miami tight end David Njoku, were ravaged by injuries in the secondary last season.
“I am a playmaker, somebody who will go get the ball,” King said. “I think everyone wants somebody like that in the secondary. “Last night, it had nothing to do with me. When my name was called, that’s when it had something to do with me.”
King was joined by secondary mate Baker last night when Arizona took the Washington safety.
Then the Eagles added yet another Huskies defensive back, selecting Jones. Jones tore his Achilles tendon at his pro day and might not be healthy for the 2017 season.
Through 64 selections, 18 defensive backs had gone, the most for two rounds of any draft.
Rams nab BC safety
The Los Angeles Rams selected Boston College safety John Johnson with the 91st pick overall. Johnson is the second BC defensive back in two years to be taken in the third round after Justin Simmons was selected by the Denver Broncos in 2016.
Johnson started all 13 games at free safety last fall and finished second on the Eagles with 77 total tackles.
Browns get QB
Cleveland was expected to add a quarterback at some point and did so at No. 52 with Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer. The Browns have started 26 quarterbacks since 1999, when they returned as an expansion team.