As we head toward the 2017 regular season, we at Bengals Wire are taking a deeper look into how the offensive rookies on the Cincinnati Bengals could fare in 2017. Today we’ll take a look at running back Joe Mixon. Perhaps the most controversial pick in recent NFL draft history, the Bengals decided that his talent was worth the backlash that was sure to follow.

Although Mixon was not invited to the combine due to his troubled history, he had an impressive pro day at Oklahoma. He ran a 4.43 second 40-yard dash, which would have been fourth best at the combine. He also posted a 35-inch vertical, which would have put him in the top 10 at the combine. Lastly, he pulled off a 4.25 second 20-yard shuttle time, which would have put him fifth at the combine. Looking at these numbers, it’s evident that Mixon is a special talent, as he is a bigger back, closer to Leonard Fournette in size as opposed to Christian McCaffrey.

But when you watch his game tape, it’s mind blowing that he lasted until the second round. If not for his unfortunate mistake his freshman year, he would have easily been a top 10, maybe even a top-five pick in this year’s draft. His patience, vision and explosion when running the ball jumps out at you. That’s the first thing you see, but when you watch some more tape, you realize his receiving ability is off the charts as well.

With that said, let’s take a look at Mixon’s best and worst case scenarios in 2017: