Mel Kiper: Joe Mixon is most talented RB in draft

No one really knows where Joe Mixon will be taken in next month’s NFL Draft, but the general consensus among scouts and talent evaluators is that the former Oklahoma running back has incredible potential.

Mixon has little chance of being selected ahead of Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook and possibly Christian McCaffrey, but that has everything to do with his off-field issues. Just ask ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper.

“On talent, he’s the best running back in the draft,” Kiper told Jason Lisk of The Big Lead. “On talent, and on ability, the kid averaged over six yards a carry in nine games this year, he averaged almost 15 yards a catch, he had a 97-yard kickoff return against Ohio State, he’s 228 pounds and he ran 4.43. He was a top kid coming out of high school, so he’s an elite — like [Leonard] Fournette — to me he’s a better back than Fournette, on talent.”

Of course, talent is not the biggest concern for teams when contemplating whether they should give Mixon a chance. Mixon was infamously suspended for the 2014 season after knocking out a woman nearby the Oklahoma campus, breaking several bones in her face. A video of the incident was released back in December. He was also suspended last season for an incident with a parking attendant.

Despite all that, Kiper would be surprised if Mixon slips past the second round.

“Initially, I thought he would be a third-round pick. … I went on ESPN and said third round. Then, I kept hearing, ‘Ain’t gonna get to the third round, he’s a second-rounder,’” Kiper said. “Then you hear maybe late first. … Teams like Oakland at 24, Green Bay, those type of teams would I think at least be possibilities. If you had to say, ‘Where do you think?’ I don’t think he goes any later than in the second.”

At least three teams have reportedly labeled Mixon off-limits, but the 20-year-old’s stock is definitely on the rise. It wasn’t long ago that it looked like Mixon might go undrafted. That now seems highly unlikely.