Cincy takes a chance on Mixon drama
PHILADELPHIA — Ready or not, like it or not, Joe Mixon is an NFL player.
The lightning-rod player in the 2017 NFL Draft because of his violent attack on a female Oklahoma student in 2014 was chosen by the Bengals in the second round Friday night with the 48thoverall pick.
If you have a computer and access to the internet, you probably have seen the disgusting footage of Mixon knocking out Amelia Molitor in a Norman, Okla., deli, with a punch so hard it fractured bones in her face and required hours of surgery to repair.
That image always will follow Mixon, who was considered the best running back prospect in this draft, yet he fell to the 16th pick in the second round because so many teams were afraid to touch him.
Enter the Bengals, who have developed a reputation for taking in some reckless souls because they happen to be talented football players.
“We’ve done a lot of work,” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. “I had no idea when we went into this process anything that had occurred three years ago. For me, it was from the ground up, every single detail, every single aspect of it.”
During a conference call with reporters, Mixon could be heard crying after he was selected.
“After going there and having a good talk with coach Lewis, the GM and owner, I felt like the reason they selected me, they feel very comfortable,” Mixon said. “They’ve seen the type of person I was. I was very genuine to them. I was very straight up.”
Mixon, 20, was suspended by Oklahoma for the full 2014 season after the incident. He reached a civil settlement agreement last Friday with Molitor. Terms of the settlement were not released.
The Bengals were believed to be among only four teams that said they would consider drafting Mixon. Only one team, the Vikings, attended his pro day.
Last season, Mixon helped lead Oklahoma to a second consecutive Big 12 championship, finishing second nationally with 194 all-purpose yards per game. He rushed for 1,812 yards and 15 touchdowns.
None of those numbers matter, though, as much as trying to overcome that punch he threw two years ago.
The Browns, who resisted the urge to reach for a quarterback with their three firstround picks, selected Notre Dame quarterback DeShone
Kizer in the second round, the 52nd pick overall.
The Browns have used 26 different starting quarterbacks since 1999, the most of any team in that span.
“I do think there’s a lot of potential and I think there’s a lot of room for growth,” Kizer said. “My goal right now is to figure out a way to learn as much as I possibly can.”
During his two years at Notre Dame, Kizer started 23 games, posting a 12-11 record. After spending all of his 2014 freshman season on the bench, Kizer went 8-3 in 11 starts in 2015.
Five of the 22 players the NFL invited to be at the draft this week were not picked in the first round Thursday. Of the five, four of them curiously went home Friday, opting not to stick around for the second and third rounds.
The only player who stayed among the five was Washington cornerback Kevin King, who was the first pick of the second round by the Packers.
“I came here to walk onto this stage and get a hat and be with my mom and dad on the red carpet,” King said. “It was tough sitting there because your mind is all over the place, but this is what I came here to do.”