With as much talk as there has been about Joe Mixon’s character issues and off field concerns, we sometimes lose sight of the fact that he is an NFL prospect due to his performance on the field. If Mixon were some nobody, teams wouldn’t have clamored to see him perform at Oklahoma’s pro day and few would have reported the results as news. I’m not one to dismiss the assault that will unfailingly be mentioned along with Mixon as a prospect, but for today I’m going to look solely at his pro day performance.
Joe Mixon, RB
Joe Mixon had a pretty solid pro day performance. #RAS shows pretty much what we already knew, great size, speed, explosion. pic.twitter.com/r2DFFZkOZh
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 8, 2017
Initial reports had Mixon’s 40 at anywhere between 4.38 and 4.48. The official number was reported as 4.5, however, which is fine. Considering Joe Mixon weighed in at a rock solid 228, anything in the 4.5 range would have been acceptable. A good bench and above average explosion numbers helped even out his scores after below average agility times. He also looked smooth both in running back and wide receiver drills. The interview process, which players like Malik McDowell and Caleb Brantley struggled with despite having far fewer questions to answer, was no problem for Mixon and all accounts I have seen were positive.
Dede Westbrook, WR
Surprisingly, 'top tier athlete' DeDe Westbrook posted a 1.48 #RAS even using the more generous pro day numbers. pic.twitter.com/jzuvig83Ur
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 8, 2017
Where Joe Mixon shined in every facet of his pro day, Dede Westbrook probably torpedoed his draft chances in every possible way. Sure, he ran a strong 40 time, but nobody questioned that he was fast. Poor explosion drills, failing to put on any weight over what he played at in college (even John Ross, who played slimmer, showed up above his expected size in an attempt to impress scouts), and horrible agility drills saw Westbrook’s relative athletic score fall into the bottom tier.
If it were just athleticism, you could chalk it up to a bad day. As it is, Westbrook has character issues to answer for as well and failed to do so. Tony Pauline reports that “I’ve been told Westbrook’s interviews here in Indianapolis have been horrible. Those at the interviews say Westbrook has been guarded and seemed untruthful.” Add in that he skipped working out at the combine before he bombed out at the pro day, and you’ve got more than enough reasons for teams to question a player who at this point looks like a less athletic Titus Young.
The Others
There were a large number of other players at Oklahoma’s pro day, though none with as high a profile as Mixon or Westbrook. The only player to measure above average for RAS was linebacker Jordan Evans. A former second all-Big 12 selection in 2015, Evans had a decent but not notable 2016 and would have to rely on strong special teams ability to find himself in an NFL camp this offseason.
From the #Oklahoma Pro Day, some #RAS cards. Jarvis Baxter, Dakota Austin, Daniel Brooks, Jordan Evans pic.twitter.com/v3yILPSVpz
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 8, 2017
From the #Oklahoma Pro Day, some #RAS cards. Geno Lewis, Austin ROberts, Ahmad THomas, Jordan Wade pic.twitter.com/7AwWNFEJVd
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 8, 2017