Cincinnati Bengals

Bengals select former Oklahoma RB Joe Mixon in second round of NFL Draft

Published May. 2, 2017 4:14 p.m. ET

Cameron DaSilva

The Cincinnati Bengals have been known to take chances on players with character concerns, and they continued to do so on Friday night. With the 48th pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, they selected former Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon.

Mixon comes with baggage as he was suspended at Oklahoma for punching a woman during a confrontation at a sandwich shop near campus, fracturing four bones in her face. He was charged with a misdemeanor at the time.

He reached a settlement after a meeting with the woman last week, but what he did caused him to be taken off of some teams’ draft boards completely.

On the field, Mixon is a first-round talent. If not for the character concerns, he likely would have challenged Leonard Fournette as the top running back in the class. He rushed for 1,274 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2016 while adding 538 yards receiving.