The Cincinnati Bengals once again looked past a player’s off-the-field issues when drafting Oklahoma RB Joe Mixon. It’s a topic I sound off with in the latest #My1MoreThing.
Once again the Cincinnati Bengals found great value in the NFL Draft, getting a very talented player much later than he should’ve been drafted if the draft was determined on talent alone.
So confident that no other team would take the plunge on Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon with the 41st overall pick, the Bengals traded down seven spots and got a fourth-round pick from the Vikings to boot.
The gamble paid off too, as they were able to get “their guy” when their turn came up seven spots later.
It’s not a surprise though considering that only four of the 32 teams polled by ESPN’s Adam Schefter said they wouldn’t even consider drafting the Sooner runner with any pick in the draft:
In an anonymous survey over past week with all 32 NFL teams, only four said they would consider drafting RB Joe Mixon. But only takes one.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 29, 2017
The story about Mixon knocking out Amelia Molitor is not new news and ever since video surfaced of the incident late last winter reporters everywhere have attacked this at all angles.
We’ve all seen the video by now. You can defend Mixon all you want, I will choose not to. But it doesn’t matter; the Bengals are the ones writing him the check.
My disappointment though doesn’t come from the Mixon pick alone. Rather it stems from the Bengals’ repeated willingness to overlook character when assessing talent during the Marvin Lewis Era.
There is a direct correlation in my eyes to choosing players repeatedly that have had their character called into question by their off-the-field actions and having your football team continue to lack poise during clutch on-the-field adversities.
Lewis-led teams are 0-7 in post-season play. In the Lewis era, the Bengals are 8-29 (5-17 during the Dalton-Green era) in regular-season games played after 7:00 p.m. and playoff games, otherwise known as ‘primetime.’
I sound off on Joe Mixon and the Bengal ignoring character time and time again during the #My1MoreThing segment of Episode 3 of The GetSportsInfo podcast.
Listen to that clip on our SoundCloud page:
What’s your take? Share with me on Twitter #My1MoreThing @DanClasgens.
*Image from Twitter (@Elise_JesseWLWT)
