While Joe Mixon might be one of the most talented players' in this year's draft, he's also a player that has the most controversy surrounding him. Mixon, a former Oklahoma Sooners' running back has had a video tape of him punching a woman dogging him during the lead-up to this year's draft. Because of that tape, more NFL teams than not have announced they aren't going to go anywhere near him. The Green Bay Packers are not one of those teams telling Mixon he needs to keep a wide berth. The team recently had him in for a predraft interview. It appears the Packers are looking at Mixon as a project they might be able to fix.
Mixed messages for Joe Mixon and the Green Bay Packers
After news broke that the Packers were looking to have Mixon in for that meeting, the team seemed to be doing some back pedaling. Joe Mixon wasn't spending the day with the team or anything like that. Instead, the meeting was just a few minutes long and Green Bay claims they aren't entirely sure what they could have learned from the visit in the first place. “You’re not going to pick somebody based on what he tells you in a 10-minute interview,” Packers head coach Mike McCarthy told ESPN. “It’s an opportunity to communicate, interact, and from that you gather information." It's simply not clear what kind of information inviting Mixon in for a meet is going to gather.
Mixon has been on the visit trail since last month
Barred from the NFL combine, Joe Mixon has been finding other ways to make sure teams know he regrets what he did and can truly be a changed person once he gets to the league. Despite this good-will tour, there are plenty of teams who are looking the other way. The Green Bay Packers are a different situation apparently because they are so desperate to find themselves a franchise level running back.
The question, as it has been for the other teams that have thought about drafting Mixon is and will always be, should they be taking this chance? He might end up falling into their lap as a draft steal, but the real work begins should that happen.
