Green Bay Packers: Should They Consider Drafting Joe Mixon?

Joe Mixon has been completely taken off some teams draft boards, but should the Green Bay Packers follow suit or take advantage and snatch him up?

Joe Mixon was a star running back at the University of Oklahoma. He’s also on video punching a woman in the face back in 2014. Now, for anyone that’s not seen the video, it’s pretty graphic, Mixon hits hard. Regardless of what she said or even physically did first, there’s no condoning Mixon’s actions caught on tape.

The NFL is weird with second chances. Ray Rice didn’t get one after beating his wife, but Greg Hardy did. Michael Vick received a second chance as well. Justin Blackmon and Josh Gordon had multiple chances after multiple failed drug tests as well. Donté Stallworth and Leonard Little were both given chances after separate drunk driving incidents ended in death. In fact, Little got in trouble for driving drunk again later in his career, and got another chance.

So where does this leave Mixon as he’s one of the prospects available in the 2017 NFL Draft? He clearly made a major mistake, but so have others. While his actions are not something anyone would agree with he deserves a second chance like everyone else, right?

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In college, Mixon was a menace on the field. He picked up 1,274 yards on the ground (6.8 yards per carry) and 10 touchdowns during his final season with the Sooners. He also had 37 receptions for 538 yards and five touchdowns. That sounds like someone the Packers could really utilize in their offense. While Montgomery was great, Mixon is more powerful, and gives them another option should he falter.

There’s a chance Mixon falls—and far. Some teams already have him off of their draft boards. For those that don’t, however, it would be hard for some teams to pass up on him late in the draft. The Packers should be one of the ones willing to pass on the obviously talented running back.

For a team with as high-powered of an offense as Green Bay, there’s no need for distractions. While a franchise running back would be nice, they can get by with Aaron Rodgers, you know, one of the best quarterbacks of all-time.

Sure, Mixon might have made a horrible mistake, rehabilitated his mental state and this incident might be in his past. He may never do anything bad again, but this lingers. There’s no reason for the Packers to bring on the media circus when they already have an offense that can take a team to the Super Bowl. Mixon might get his second chance, but it won’t be with the Packers—or at least it shouldn’t be.

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