After being barred from the NFL Scouting Combine under an NFL conduct policy, Joe Mixon got his chance to run a 40-yard dash and go through the combine's other drills in front of NFL scouts on Wednesday at Oklahoma's pro day. The third-year sophomore didn't disappoint.
Mixon ran an official (time will be sent to NFL teams) 4.50-second 40-yard dash, per NFL Media senior analyst Gil Brandt. Eight RBs had faster 40 times at the combine. Mixon also turned in a 35-inch vertical jump. That mark would've tied for 10th-best among RBs at the combine. He recorded a broad jump of 9 feet, 10 inches.
"I left it all on the line," Mixon said after his workout. "It's all over with now. I showed what I can do."
Vikings GM Rick Spielman and coach Mike Zimmer, who could be in the market for a RB in this year's draft, were in attendance for the pro day.
"I thought all of his results lined up with my expectations," said NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein. "... This workout simply validates the athleticism we've seen on tape."
Mixon was among several draft prospects not invited to the combine in Indianapolis under an NFL conduct policy that bars players who have misdemeanor or felony convictions involving violence or use of a weapon, domestic violence, a sexual offense and/or sexual assault. Mixon punched a female student in 2014 as a freshman and was suspended for the season, but was not convicted in the case. However, the NFL reserves the right to bar any player from the combine after considering the underlying circumstances of each case.
"It's real early," Mixon said. "At first I was off a lot of teams' boards. Now a lot (are) interested now. I can only hope, wish and pray for the best outcome in the situation. That's to be drafted."
Mixon is considered among the draft's top running back prospects, ranked No. 5 in a loaded draft class at the position by NFL Network draft expert Mike Mayock. Mixon met with four NFL teams -- the Lions, Saints, Bengals and Browns -- on the night before his pro day, per NFL Network's Aditi Kinkhabwala.
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