The Pewter Plank
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Buccaneers Work Out Joe Mixon, Twitter Reacts

By James Yarcho

Dec 3, 2016; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners running back Joe Mixon (25) eludes a tackle attempt by Oklahoma State Cowboys cornerback Ramon Richards (7) during the second quarter at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 3, 2016; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners running back Joe Mixon (25) eludes a tackle attempt by Oklahoma State Cowboys cornerback Ramon Richards (7) during the second quarter at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Buccaneers invited controversial prospect Joe Mixon for a workout earlier this week. What do Bucs fans think?

There may be no player more polarizing in this draft than Joe Mixon. Arguably the most talented running back in the entire class whose draft stock dropped significantly due to an incident where he punched a girl in the face, breaking five bones, and was caught on video. With the incident came suspension from Oklahoma and Mixon was not invited to the scouting combine. The Buccaneers used one of their thirty allotted visits to bring Mixon in to workout and – likely – to interview thoroughly.

There are two sides to every story and Mixon’s worst moment was caught on video. I am in no way excusing the action because it is inexcusable. Yes, every eighteen year old kid does stupid stuff, but not every kid’s stupid stuff include punching a female in the face. That being said, Jason Licht has a vetting process he has used on questionable character players – Jameis Winston, Noah Spence – that he trusts to discover if these players are bad people or made a dumb/awful decision.

So would the Bucs really draft a player that would likely lead to such backlash and criticism? We’re not sure. I took to Twitter to see what fans thought of the possibility of Mixon wearing pewter and red this upcoming season and the results were a bit surprising.

There were a few people representing the “no way, no how” crowd;

However, the surprising vast majority said they trust Jason Licht to make the right decision. Here are a few examples;

The responses I expected were more along the lines of a 50/50 split. What we got was a massive outpouring of support for the pick. Not so much because of the talent Joe Mixon would bring, but because the fans trust Jason Licht to make the right decision. Licht went so far into the process on Winston he was talking to school janitors. If there’s truth to be found on Mixon, Licht and his crew will find it and act accordingly.

David Harrison and I will be discussing Mixon to great extent on the next Walking The Plank podcast as he and I have differing views on this situation.

Next: Adrian Peterson Too Risky?

It’s no secret Joe Mixon will help this team win games. He’s an electric three-down back that has incredible vision, breaks tackles, makes defenders miss, can catch out of the backfield, and has breakaway speed. The only question is, has he helped himself get better as a human being to be worth the trouble that comes with the pick?

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