Would Tyrann Mathieu Be Worth The Risk For The Bengals?

August 2, 2012; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers cornerback Tyrann Mathieu (7) during the fall camp practice at the Charles McClendon Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Former LSU cornerback, Tyrann Mathieu, also known as “the Honey Badger” has not played in a football game since 2011.

In 2011, Mathieu was a great player, he lead LSU to a 13-1 record, their only loss came in the National Championship Game against Alabama. Mathieu was undoubtedly the star player, not only at LSU, but in all of college football. Mathieu was on top of the world, until he got into some trouble.

In August of 2012, Mathieu was kicked off the team after failing multiple drug tests, then things got even worse in October of 2012 when he, along with three other LSU players, got arrested for possession of marijuana.

That arrest ended any hope of Mathieu playing for the Tigers again, and perhaps his football career. Mathieu is not giving up though, he hopes an NFL team will give him another chance.

A team that knows all about second chances are the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals have signed a lot of players that have been in trouble in the last decade. A ton of names come to mind, Mathieu could be the next name.

Mathieu has worked out with several NFL teams such as the Bengals, Patriots, and the Buccaneers, so there is some interest in him from a few teams.

The million dollar, well in this case, the multi-million dollar question is: Is drafting Tyrann Mathieu worth the risk?

My answer is absolutely.

You can’t look past the amazing plays the Honey Badger made in 2011, the interceptions, the pick-sixes, the punt returns, everything he did seemed amazing. He was one of, if not the most impressive player in all of college football.

Yes, he made mistakes, but everyone does. He was charged with possession of marijuana, but he could have done a lot worse things than that.

You can argue that he isn’t worth the risk, because he hasn’t played since 2011. But think about when Michael Vick got arrested and spent a couple of years in prison, after he was let out, a lot of teams were interested in him. Now he’s the starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles.

One mistake shouldn’t define a person. Tyrann Mathieu has done more good in his life than bad. In interviews, you can tell that he is a changed person, he says he is clean, and he says he will never do drugs again.

The 5-9, 186 pound cornerback hopes to be drafted in the first or second round. Whoever ends up with him, I think, will be very happy with the end result.