Joe Mixon brings his troubled history and huge talent to Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals took a chance and selected Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon with the No. 48th selection in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft, and now the team will shoulder the scrutiny that comes with taking a player with Mixon’s history.

Mixon, 20, may be the most talented running back in the draft class. Only Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey finished the 2016 season with more all-purpose yards per game in the FBS, but Mixon provided those skills at nearly 30 pounds heavier than McCaffrey.

He averaged 6.7 yards per carry over his 300 career carries at Oklahoma with 17 touchdowns on the ground, nine touchdown receptions, one kickoff returned for a touchdown, and even a touchdown pass.

But his actions off the field will keep him under the microscope as he begins his NFL career. And it’s likely the reason why Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook, and McCaffrey all went ahead of Mixon:

Most of the concerns and questions about Mixon’s character stem from an incident in July 2014 before he even began his freshman season with the Sooners. Following a police investigation, Mixon was charged with misdemeanor assault for punching a woman in the face, breaking four bones. A video of the graphic encounter was released to the public in December 2016.

The running back was suspended for the entire 2014 season by Oklahoma and in October he entered an Alford plea, meaning he was allowed to maintain his innocence while also admitting that the prosecution has enough evidence to convict.

When Mixon finally made his debut with the Sooners in 2015, he didn’t speak with the media until nearly four months into his collegiate career when Oklahoma was forced to make him available before the Orange Bowl to College Football Playoff rules. At the advice of legal counsel, Mixon didn’t answer questions about the assault, refusing to even say whether or not he was sorry about what occurred.

It wasn’t until November 2016 that Mixon wrote a letter apologizing for the incident, prior to police finally releasing the video. Mixon apologized for the content of the video shortly thereafter.

”Mr. Mixon asked us to once again say he is sorry for the way he acted that night,” a statement through his attorneys said after the release of the video, via the Associated Press. “He has publicly apologized to Ms. Molitor, her friends, his family, teammates, and the University. He hopes that his voluntary release of these recordings will help put this matter to rest.”

With domestic violence in his past, the NFL barred Mixon from participation in the 2017 NFL Combine — a decision that not all NFL personnel agreed with.

In the NFL, it will be a question if Mixon’s off-field transgression was a single moment, or a indicator of a pattern of behavior that could continue into his professional career.

During his time as top recruit at Freedom High School in Oakley, Calif., Mixon was ejected from a game during a scuffle (1:20 mark), and raised eyebrows in November 2016 when he had a heated altercation with an OU parking attendant that earned him a one-game suspension.

The Bengals will hope those concerns don’t follow him to the NFL, and believe his tremendous upside makes the risk worthwhile — a risk the team has a history and reputation for taking.

It’s pretty simple why Mixon is getting a chance at a professional career, despite a past that excluded him from the NFL Combine. He’s really good.

Mixon has the frame, build, and elite attribute of an NFL running back at 6’1, 226 pounds with a 40-yard dash time reportedly in the 4.4-4.5 range. His smooth, gliding running style and versatility out of the backfield has drawn comparisons to Le’Veon Bell and Matt Forte.

Like Reggie Bush in the 2006 NFL Draft, Mixon hits the NFL as a highly touted prospect despit little starting experience at the collegiate level. While Bush gave USC a little bit of everything as a change of pace from the bruising style of LenDale White, Mixon was in a similar role as the complementary back with Samaje Perine.

Mixon started just five games for Oklahoma in 2016, mostly due to an injury that sidelined Perine for three of those games. But despite averaging 15.6 carries per game and 3.1 receptions, Mixon was among the nation’s most productive players.

His ability to do it all made him dangerous no matter where he was on the field for Oklahoma.

While his days returning kicks and punts are likely over in the NFL, there’s no doubt he will be used out of the backfield as a pass catcher who will inevitably draw mismatches against opposing linebackers.

Mixon’s also a player who can be trusted as a pass blocker, making him a running back who can stay on the field for three downs, regardless of the situation.

Mixon’s elite physical traits make him a player who has the ability to score a touchdown every time he touches the ball. Only three players had more rushes of 30 or more yards during the 2016 season, and all had many more carries than Mixon. He had a rush of at least 15 yards 11.9 percent of the time he carried the ball last season.

Most of those big plays happened because of his skills as a running back, rather than his raw physical tools. He has a natural shiftiness and strong balance that make his hips difficult to wrap up in traffic, coupled with a strong stiff arm that keeps players away in the open field.

While Mixon’s skills made him an early selection despite his character concerns, it’s still no guarantee that he’ll make a significant impact in the NFL.

He can be exceedingly patient while waiting for a seam and doesn’t consistently explode through a hole when it’s there, often tip-toeing through traffic looking for the big play rather than consistent yardage.

Mixon also had a tendency to be careless with the football, fumbling three times in a game against Texas and clearly pulling a DeSean Jackson against Ohio State, although the play was still ruled a touchdown:

Mixon has the skills and tools to be an every-down running back, but little experience in that role. He’ll have to be more careful with the football and prove himself durable enough to handle it with the Bengals.

The Bengals have a reputation for taking on risky players with character concerns. It has burned the franchise in the past, but it also resulted in productive players like linebacker Vontaze Burfict.

Cincinnati has somewhat of a logjam at running back now with Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard, but the team was No. 23 in the NFL in yards per carry with 4.0 yards in 2016. Both Hill and Bernard were below that mark and the most productive player was Rex Burkhead, but the New England Patriots scooped him up in free agency, leaving some yards and touches to be had.

Hill doesn’t seem worried at all that his touches will be diminished by the addition of Mixon.

Mixon will try to fill that role and begin the process of rebuilding a negative image that will follow him to Cincinnati.