WEIGH IN: Would You Support The Vikings Drafting Mixon?

Would you support the Vikings drafting Mixon?

The marks from analysts are nearly unanimous: Among the most talented running backs in this very talented draft class is Oklahoma’s Joe Mixon.

Under normal circumstances, that would mean he could be a target for a majority of NFL teams this offseason, including the Minnesota Vikings.

The rub, however, is that there is nothing normal about Mixon’s circumstances as he enters the NFL and the team that brings him aboard will be bracing for some serious backlash.

Mixon’s notable off-field transgression was made very public when security footage of him violently striking a young woman in an Oklahoma restaurant. The court of public opinion has largely shunned Mixon following the incident, as well as not getting invited to the Senior Bowl and NFL Scouting Combine, but out of fairness here is what he had to say for himself to The MMQB earlier this month:

“Because at the end of the day, I’d never gotten in trouble before that point, and never after.You can’t judge someone on a mistake they made. I’m sure you’ve made mistakes, I’m sure everyone’s made mistakes. It’s what you do after and what you learn from it. It’s not like it’s been a string of things after that incident. It was a one-time thing. I made a bad decision, I made a bad mistake.

If I could take it back, I would. I can’t. So I have to keep moving forward, doing the right things. I can’t keep worrying about something that happened three years ago.

After missing the opportunity to perform in front of the NFL’s scouting collective in Indianapolis, Mixon instead showed his stuff to a crowd gathered for Oklahoma’s pro day on Wednesday. The Vikings were heavily represented and reportedly met with Mixon.

 

Mixon further complicated his Draft standing by outperforming, during his pro day, all of the running backs that attended the Combine in Indianapolis. He ran the forty-yard dash in 4.43 seconds, according to USA Today, but his straight-line speed wasn’t the only thing that flashed today.

 

It was surely his face-to-face conversations with Mike Zimmer and other NFL decision-makers that will ultimately decide his Draft Weekend fate, however. It has also been pointed out the Vikings have a connection to Mixon through running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu:

 

The Vikings have a perceived need at running back, with both Adrian Peterson and Matt Asiata expected to find new homes this offseason, but they also do not currently possess a first round draft pick due to the Sam Bradford trade. Their first selection, if they don’t move around via a trade, comes at 48th overall in the second round.

So, using the poll just below, and also the comments section where your voice can be heard, I ask you to weigh in on how you would feel if the Vikings took the Draft’s best running back who comes with baggage caught on tape.

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