Mixon was a better athlete at OU than Zeke as OSU. Mixons ball skills down field is what makes him special.
He would have been a top 10 pick in the first round and not drafted by a shitty team like the Bengals. They struggled with Mixon until they struck gold with the LSU combo at QB/WR.
Most agents don't let teams like the Bengals draft their best clients and will send all types of signals to make them think twice.
If Mixon had been a Top 10 pick than more than likely he's going to a shit team like the Bengals cause typically it's the shit teams that get the top picks.
Also if agents don't let their clients go to a shit team like the Bengals how did they their Heisman winning, national champion, record setting QB client go to a shit team like the Bengals who were the worst team in the league? And how did an agent let Jamarr Chase go there? What you're referring to with agents dictating the draft happens in the NBA more often that not. In the NFL teams pick who they want cause they have the leverage which is why it's rare to even see a rookie holdout into training camp nowadays.
Its why teams like the Lions draft guys with 2nd round talent such as TJ Hockenson top 10. Mixon had so much talent the Bengals were willing to take a shot. If they didn't draft him there is no telling if he goes next pick or the 4th round.
The Lions drafted Hockenson there cause he was projected to be a top talent for whatever reason. That same organization drafted Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford, Penei Sewell who were all considered elite talents.
Also it's safe to say that Mixon wouldn't have gone in the 4th because he was the Bengals 2nd of 12 picks that they made in that draft. They had a pick in every round and if he was likely to fall like you speculated they would have waited until the 3rd or 4th round to take him
Using him as some type of measurement is silly. Factors like TV contracts and public opinion can get a player cancelled quickly. All that protesting and you forgot Kapernick got damn near blackballed for less.
Mixon and Rice were before the Me Too era and the rise of the female sports reporter. Carter isn't going undrafted but its a big difference in top five money and possible 2nd round.
If it's so easy to get cancelled then why was Mixon drafted? Ray Rice who was a proven player never played another game. And unlike Rice the woman that Mixon hit on video was a white woman which should have made it easier for him to be cancelled. I guess ESPN didn't have female reporters working for them at the time except they did.
There's a big difference between Top 5 and Top 20 money. Even if Carter went #7 overall he would have lost out on some money.
I didn't check but I don't think Mixon currently has a deal that breaks the bank. When Burrows deal comes up, Mixons past will come up as s factor because you cant make him the face of the franchise. So he might get cut.
Mixon's contract averages out to 12 million a year and has the same base salary as Alvin Kamara so he's doing fine. Mixon already isn't the face of the franchise because the Bengals have better players and more important positions and when Burrows deal comes up he'll get paid cause Burrow is one of the 2 faces of that franchise. And Mixon may be gone not because of the punch but because he's a RB who's accumulated wear and tear on his body and the Bengals have to pay Burrow, Chase a year after that and potentially Tee Higgins as well and Top WRs are getting about 30 million a year and QBs get more than that. And to top it off Mixon's backup was just as effective this past season.
Mixon will never make the money he potentially lost. In the bigger picture Im happy he was able to have a career but you can't dismiss the money lost.
No shit!! No player gets back the money they lost. Aaron Rodgers hasn't gotten back the money he lost cause he went from possibly going #1 to being drafted #25 or so. Randy Moss didn't get back the money he lost cause he fell as far as he did when he was a projected Top 5-10 pick. Your next contract is based on your performance and not where you were drafted so that you'll never get that money back in the NFL.
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