2013 NFL Mock Draft: New England Patriots take Tyrann Mathieu

Each week, I like to take a look at the picks made on the FanSided.com main page in their 2013 NFL Mock Draft and argue whether or not the New England Patriots made the right pick in their mock draft. This week, the folks on FanSided.com did a two-round mock draft, which you can read here. In the first round, they had the New England Patriots taking North Carolina Tar Heels defensive tackle Sylvester Williams (my take here), and they used the Patriots second-round pick on former LSU Tigers star defensive back Tyrann Mathieu.

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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.

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