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Throughout the silly season, the word around the blogosphere has been that LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu would hear his name called during the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Well, I’m here to tell you otherwise.
Originally seen as an elite talent, “Honey Badger” helped the Tigers reach the 2011 National Championship after putting together a legitimate Heisman campaign as a cornerback. Since then, though, Mathieu’s future as an NFL player has been brought into question.
Mathieu was dismissed from the LSU football team following the 2011 campaign after failing numerous drug tests. Instead of transferring, he got himself into a rehab program and decided to enter the draft after sobering up. Even after a season away from the field, Mathieu knew that he had plenty to offer the NFL.
Despite all of the twist and turns that Mathieu’s stock has taken in the last year and a half, I’m convinced that he will be drafted before the third round gets under way.
The first indicator for me was Mathieu’s performance at the 2013 NFL Combine, where the former LSU star turned heads and made teams rethink his positioning on their draft boards. On top of putting up respectable numbers in the 40-yard dash (4.5 sec) and three-cone drill (6.87 sec), Mathieu excelled in positional drills while displaying the ball skills that he became known for during college. Seeing as he was away from the game for a year, Mathieu looked completely in rhythm.
Recently, we received even more good news from the Combine. According to reports, Mathieu passed his Combine drug test, further alleviating any concerns that drugs were still a threat to his short-term football career.
What really makes me believe that Mathieu has turned over a new leaf is his honesty and willingness to confront his demons. Since entering the draft, he has admitted to failing over 10 drug tests. This offseason, Mathieu focused on honing his skills while staying clean by enlisting former LSU teammate and Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson as his mentor. He’s finally seeing the bigger picture and isn’t going to let his last chance go to waste.
At this point, Mathieu has shown that he’s ready to overcome his addiction and make the most of the gifts that he’s been given. All offseason long, he has stayed on the right path while giving every NFL team the indication that football is his No. 1 priority. If that truly is the case, there’s no reason to believe that Mathieu can’t be the same type of playmaker at the next level that he was during his college days.
While I’m sure some teams wouldn’t risk a second-rounder on Mathieu, he only needs one team to believe in him. There’s no way “Honey Badger” makes it past the second round on April 26. You have my word.
Gil Alcaraz IV is a Content Planner/NFL Featured Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @GilAlcarazIV, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
