Joe Mixon
Joseph Tyler Mixon is an American professional football running back for the Houston Texans of the National Football League. Mixon played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners, earning first-team All-Big 12 honors in 2016. He was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2017 NFL draft.
Early life
Mixon attended Freedom High School in Oakley, California, where he played football and basketball for the Falcons. He was a three-year starter at running back for the Freedom High School Falcons football team. He rushed for 1,134 yards and 13 touchdowns as a sophomore on 171 carries. In his junior year, he rushed for 1,443 yards and 21 touchdowns on 201 carries. In his final year, he rushed for 1,704 yards and 23 touchdowns on 226 carries.Mixon played in 16 basketball games for the Falcons. He had a 12.2 points per game average and a free throw percentage of 57% and made 79 field goals. His team went 22–2 overall and 10–0 in league play that season.
Mixon was ranked as a five-star recruit and the top-ranked running back in the nation by the Rivals.com recruiting network. In January 2014, he committed to the University of Oklahoma to play college football. He had 47 offers, and ultimately chose Oklahoma over Alabama, California, Wisconsin, and UCLA.
College career
Mixon attended and played college football for the University of Oklahoma from 2014 to 2016. He was suspended from the Oklahoma football team for the 2014 season after a misdemeanor assault charge in October 2014.In 2015, Mixon earned playing time his redshirt freshman year, playing in all 12 games with three starts. In his first career game, Mixon had a 76-yard touchdown reception, the longest catch ever by a Sooner freshman running back. In addition, he ran for 27 yards on five carries against Akron. On October 24, against Texas Tech, he had 154 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. In the annual rivalry game against Oklahoma State, he had 136 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. Oklahoma qualified for the College Football Playoff in the 2015 season. In the semifinals against Clemson in the Orange Bowl, he was limited to four rushing yards and 11 receiving yards in the loss. During the 2015 regular season, he ran for 749 yards on 110 carries, averaging 6.8 yards. He rushed for seven touchdowns and set his career long carry at 66 yards. He also recorded 25 receptions for 345 yards, averaging 13.8 yards per reception, and four touchdowns.
Mixon started the 2016 season with 40 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, and 77 receiving yards in a loss to Houston. In the next game against Louisiana–Monroe, he had 117 rushing yards in the 59–17 victory. On October 1, against TCU, he had 105 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, five receptions, and 70 receiving yards. On October 15, against Kansas State, he had 88 rushing yards, 34 receiving yards, one receiving touchdown, and threw a 26-yard touchdown. On October 22, he had the best statistical performance of his collegiate career with 31 carries for 263 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns to go along with four receptions for 114 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns in a 66-59 win over Texas Tech. His career day against Texas Tech marked the first of six consecutive games with at least one rushing touchdown. On November 12, against Baylor, he had 124 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, five receptions, and 63 receiving yards. He followed that up with 147 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown against West Virginia. On December 3, against Oklahoma State, he had 99 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, two receptions, 19 receiving yards, and a receiving touchdown. On January 2, he had 91 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns, five receptions, and 89 receiving yards in the victory over Auburn in the Sugar Bowl.
After the 2016 season, Mixon decided to forgo his remaining two years of eligibility and enter the 2017 NFL draft.
College statistics
Professional career
Pre-draft
Coming out of college, some analysts and scouts graded Mixon as a first-round talent but projected him to be selected in the third or fourth round due to his prior history. He was ranked the fifth-best running back by NFLDraftScout.com, the fourth-best by Sports Illustrated, and the third-best back by Pro Football Focus. Although he was a talented prospect, the NFL declined to invite him to the NFL Scouting Combine. ESPN reported that on the weekend of the combine the Cincinnati Bengals met with Mixon in order for them to get a chance to talk with him extensively about his character. On March 8, 2017, Mixon performed all of the combine tests and completed the positional workouts at Oklahoma's Pro Day.Cincinnati Bengals
2017
Mixon was selected by the Bengals in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He was the fourth running back to be selected in that year's draft. He was viewed as a first-round talent by some scouts, but several teams removed him from their draft board entirely due to character concerns after a prior assault on Amelia Molitor, a female student at Oklahoma. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said, "While I believe in second chances and giving players an opportunity for redemption, I also believe that playing in the NFL is a privilege, not a right. For me, personally, I believe that privilege is lost for men who have a history of abusing women." After Mixon was drafted, ESPN writer Dan Graziano wrote that, "No 2017 draft pick enters the league under more intense scrutiny or controversy." The editorial board of Cincinnati TV station WCPO criticized the draft pick and called for a boycott of the Bengals, writing, "Instead of buying a Bengals ticket this year, take the $50 or more you would have spent on that ticket and donate the money to a nonprofit that works to prevent violence against women." On June 2, 2017, the Bengals signed Mixon to a four-year, $5.45 million contract with $2.81 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $2.10 million.On September 10, 2017, Mixon made his NFL debut in a 20–0 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. He had eight rushes for nine yards and three receptions for 15 yards. In Week 3, against the Green Bay Packers, his role in the offense expanded with 18 carries for 62 yards. In Week 5, against the Buffalo Bills, he recorded his first career rushing touchdown, a five-yard rush in the fourth quarter. In Week 8, against the Indianapolis Colts, he recorded over 100 scrimmage yards for the first time in his career, 67 of them coming on a long run-after-catch play in the second quarter. After three disappointing weeks of 31 rushing yards against the Jacksonville Jaguars, 37 rushing yards against the Tennessee Titans, and 49 rushing yards against the Denver Broncos, averaging just 2.79 yards per carry over the time span but recording two touchdowns, Mixon led the NFL in Week 12 with a career-best 114 rushing yards against the Cleveland Browns, along with a touchdown and 51 yards receiving. Mixon closed out his rookie season with 96 rushing yards against the Ravens in the 31–27 victory. Overall, in his rookie season, Mixon finished with 626 rushing yards, 4 rushing touchdowns, 30 receptions, and 287 receiving yards.