NFL Draft 2013: Will the New England Patriots Select Tyrann Mathieu in Round 2?
By Josh Hill
It’s called pulling a Belichick: you don’t talk to anyone, you are publicly known as a surly gentleman but you win at everything you do and get every single thing that you want — usually when you’re taking it away from someone else. The New England Patriots have been notoriously solid when it comes to getting who they want and who they need in the NFL Draft and they might fall into old habits this April when it comes to Tyrann Manthieu.
Will the New England Patriots make Tyrann Mathieu a second round pick?
If you look at it on the surface, the pick is a stretch in every possible way. But if you look at Belichick’s history and you look at Mathieu’s combine you’ll begin to see that the artist formerly known as Honeybadger is rising on draft boards and it’s only a matter of time before that mid-round projection becomes a second or third round reality.
But Belichick loves one upping everyone, which lends to the radical theory that he’ll go out on a limb and take Mathieu at the early in the draft. Paul Allen on KFAN 1130 in Minneapolis suggested Belichick may even take Mathieu in the first round, but that’s extremely unlikely to happen. However, taking Mathieu higher than expected isn’t.
He ran a 4.50 40-yard dash which was best for 19th among defensive backs and safeties at the Combine. Everything Mathieu did was applauded by scouts, saying he had quick hips and dashing speed. Even if Mathieu wasn’t at the op of any lists, keep in mind that he sat out an entire season and apparently had been doing nothing but smoking pot and partying.
If I smoked pot, partied and then went to the combine, the result wouldn’t be good at all. But Mathieu managed to hang tough with some of the best defensive prospects in the draft and no without a doubt improved his draft stock.
Every year in fantasy football you have a guy picked out that isn’t a top tier guy but is going to be massive for you. Mahtieu is the equivalent to a fantasy football sleeper, which differs greatly from a draft sleeper. A draft sleeper is supposed to be good down the road but a fantasy sleeper is supposed to be an impact player right away that season.
Unless he was reeking of Mary Jane and Jack Daniels when he interviewed with the Patriots, the chances he’s moving up on their draft board is very likely. If Bill Belichick can turn the loud mouthed Randy Moss into a quiet team player, turning Mathieu from a talented dope smoking cornerback into a significant piece of a Super Bowl caliber defense is going to be well worth the risk of taking him before anyone else is willing to.