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Peter King was asked on Mut & Merloni today a variety of questions relating to the New England Patriots in the 2013 NFL Draft, and he was asked about Tyrann Mathieu. The famed Sports Illustrated NFL writer said on Mathieu, “I think Bill [Belichick] is exactly the same way. If Bill loves this guy, he’ll take him, and he’s not going to let all these things stand in the way of him taking him. But … if you’ve got a bunch of B+ guys, A guys, who never had any trouble and who are the equal as a corner of Mathieu, maybe not the playmaker, certainly, that he is, but if you’ve got all these really good players at the position who you’re not going to have to worry about at 10 on a Friday night, why would you not pick one of them instead of Tyrann Mathieu? That’s where I would fall on this. You’ve got enough things to worry about when you build your team. This is a guy who absolutely consistently got in trouble in college, consistently. When you have to transfer from a football factory, which I’m sure he got 93 chances to turn his life around and he didn’t do it, do you really want to take a chance on that guy? Again, Bill Belichick can handle it because he’s done that over the years. If you’re given the choice, why do it? I think there are cover guys who are his equal who are still left on the board.”

This is all very true. If there is any team in the best chance to sap the best of Mathieu’s abilities, then it would be the Patriots. However, I’m not sure where he fits. I view him as an ideal slot cornerback who would struggle on the outside (if the Pats view him as a potential outside CB, then that’s significant) and would be awful at safety. Mathieu has the upside of a guy like Cortland Finnegan, but he has the downside of a guy who is out of the league after his rookie year. The Patriots already have a solid slot CB locked up in Kyle Arrington, and he isn’t much of an outside corner himself.

Mathieu could be a quality pick for the Patriots in like the third round, but it all depends on how sold the Patriots are on him. I’m not exactly high on Mathieu, but I’ll trust Bill Belichick and the Patriots front office on this issue. King’s insight to this issue is invaluable, and I would recommend following the link above to WEEI and checking out the other thoughts he poured on the 2013 NFL Draft.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

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With the 59th pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, the Patriots should be a in a position to snap up a quality wide receiver, especially if a quality WR fell. Now, the Patriots will likely go a different direction if they took a wide receiver in the first, but they took a defensive tackle in the mock draft that is being analyzed.

Tyrann Mathieu isn’t worth taking in the second round for the Patriots, because he is a slot corner. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I have my doubts as to whether or not Mathieu can succeed anywhere else- I’m not the only one with those doubts. The Patriots already locked up Kyle Arrington to a four-year deal, and he is definitely a slot corner who would struggle elsewhere (but is solid in the slot). I don’t think the Patriots are going to take Mathieu after giving Arrington that kind of a deal, and I don’t think Mathieu is worth taking in the second round anyway. If the Patriots want to build more depth in the slot, then they can just take him in the third. There really isn’t a need for this team to add another slot corner, and I think it’s just the same overplayed “Bill Belichick will do this” or “they really like him”. First off, how do you know this isn’t a smoke-screen? Second, do you really know what Belichick is going to do? How often do you talk to him?

Anyway, Mathieu can be a decent pick for the Pats in the third round if they really like him, but he just doesn’t fit a need and isn’t good enough to warrant a second-round selection. Based on what happened in this mock draft, I would have taken Oregon State Beavers WR Markus Wheaton to add help to the wide receiver corps. Wheaton would be a good pick in the second, because he is the best vertical threat in this draft- that’s something the Patriots need.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

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While I think it is likely that Mathieu ends up with the Patriots, I don’t think it’s a “sure-fire” thing by any means. Looking at Mathieu’s skill-set, he is a unique player who fits best as a slot cornerback with the upside of a Cortland Finnegan type player. He could also play at safety or on the outside at corner, but the Patriots don’t seem to have room at safety for Mathieu, and the most important thing to note is that Mathieu won’t transition too well at safety.

He’s also not going to be the best fit on the outside, so Mathieu is best utilized on the inside. However, the same can be said for Kyle Arrington, who is clearly in the Patriots future plans after receiving a four-year deal. A solid slot corner, Arrington is, however, a disaster on the outside in coverage- the Patriots probably have no plans of moving him back out there.

Either the Pats are content to have two slot-type CBs on the roster, or, more likely, they are willing to take the gamble on Mathieu’s character and his ability to transition to the outside. I don’t think he is best fit on the outside, and I think that’s a bigger gamble than gambling on his character concerns. Sure he makes plays, but that playmaking ability is best realized in the slot- his height and strength concerns mean the jury is still out on his ability to start outside. Mathieu’s physicality makes up for all that, though, so some of the height concerns are just crutch arguments.

But the Patriots don’t have picks between the fourth and sixth rounds (including those rounds), and they might use their third-rounder on Pittsburgh Steelers restricted free agent wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders. Let’s just say, I would rather have a known commodity to stretch the field vertically than a nickel corner who is something of a gamble.

I know I should trust in Bill Belichick, but the counterargument to that is the recent history of defensive backs the Pats have drafted. Then again, Tavon Wilson looked solid last year and Ras-I Dowling showed talent when healthy (it’s too bad he was almost never healthy).

Tyrann Mathieu has upside, but it seems like the Patriots would be reaching if they selected him this year.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.