Open Rants by IbelieveinEli10

All of the conversation surrounding why a team should or shouldn't draft Joe Mixon centers around how much value people place on his talent in relation to how much they care about off-the-field issues. Some people say that you shouldn't draft Mixon because "he's a bad dude" or "he hit a woman and you just can't forgive that" or variations of that statement. People who want to draft him say things along the lines of "you don't need a team with only angels" or "you can win championships with guys who aren't boy scouts." 

I think both of these analyses are missing the point. The reason you don't draft Mixon before, say, the 6th round is not because you're passing a moral judgment on who Mixon is or because you're taking a stand against domestic violence. The reason that you take issue with guys with legitimate character concerns is because, if they screw up in the league, they don't get on the field. No one cares how much talent you have if you can't play on Sundays. Look at Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Michael Vick, Randy Gregory, Lane Johnson, Brian Cushing, even Tom Brady to a lesser extent. Roger Goodell has laid down the law hardcore in the NFL and players have been getting suspended like never before. Guys who come into the league with a history of off-field issues will be on an even shorter leash. 

The danger of Mixon not being able to play on Sundays because of poor decisions off the field is high. There's already an almost guarantee that football players will miss time due to injuries. The draft is a gamble and many a great player's career has been derailed by injury, despite their talent, work ethic, and off-field goodness. Why would you want to throw one more variable in that could take a contributing member of your 53-man roster off the field? 

Mixon should be extremely low on draft boards if not completely off of them for purely economic reasons. He's a big gamble and bad investment.