Category: Tyrann Mathieu

CBS Sports ranks Tyrann Mathieu among NFL’s 10 best safeties

CBS Sports ranked Tyrann Mathieu among NFL’s 10 best safeties. He can continue to build on his Saints homecoming | @DillySanders

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The New Orleans Saints brought some hometown talent back in the 2022 offseason in Jarvis Landry and Tyrann Mathieu. Injuries spoiled Landry’s return home but after a rocky start Mathieu had a very good season back home. Garrett Podell of CBS Sports recently went through the safeties in the NFL and gave his top-10 for the 2023, which included Mathieu.

Here was Podell’s reasoning for ranking Mathieu at No. 9:

Tyrann Mathieu at age 31 doesn’t play quite like the whirling dervish of his early years that earned him the “Honey Badger” moniker and 2010s All-Decade Team accolades, but he still remains stout in coverage. Mathieu was Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded safety in coverage last season with a grade of  88.1. He earned the mark by only surrendering 7.6 yards per reception when targeted (tied for the fourth-fewest among safeties with a minimum of 500 coverage snaps), as well as just a 65.9 passer rating when targeted (the sixth-fewest among safeties with a minimum of 500 coverage snaps). The LSU product’s return home to Louisiana last season with the New Orleans Saints helped Dennis Allen maintain a top-10 scoring defense, 20.3 points per game allowed (ninth-fewest in the NFL), in his first season as New Orleans’ head coach. 

Mathieu, who led the team in interceptions last season (3), certainly deserves to still be ranked top-10 among his peers. His cohort Marcus Maye was not listed in the list or as an honorable mention, which is understandable (injuries limited him to 10 games) but he was still solid last year. Mathieu also made the list higher than former Saints safety Marcus Williams, who was just included as an honorable mention.

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Tyrann Mathieu makes the list of the NFL’s best safeties, but so do several ex-Saints

Tyrann Mathieu made the list of the NFL’s 11 best safeties, but so did several players drafted and developed by the New Orleans Saints:

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How do you feel about Tyrann Mathieu’s debut with the New Orleans Saints? The veteran safety experienced some hurdles and hiccups to start his 2022 season, but he settled in as the year progressed and, by campaign’s end, was easily one of their most reliable defenders. Mathieu led the team in solo tackles (64) and interceptions (3), and his 91 combined tackles were a personal best. He was also the only player to log at least one interception, forced fumble, and fumble recovery for New Orleans.

Expectations are higher for him going into 2023. Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar shared his list of the best safeties in the NFL, and Mathieu made the cut. Mathieu was listed at No. 5, with Farrar highlighting his ball skills and ability to tackle over the middle of the field:

After three seasons with the Chiefs in which he picked up a Super Bowl ring and firmly established himself as one of the NFL’s best hybrid safeties, Mathieu went back home to Louisiana, as the former LSU star signed a three-year, $27 million contract with the Saints, and got to work in Dennis Allen’s aggressive, man-heavy coverages. Mathieu played just 315 snaps at free safety last season as opposed to 525 in the box, 195 in the slot, 74 along the defensive line, and 19 at cornerback. But when defending passes in the deep third, he allowed just six catches on 14 targets for 71 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and a passer rating of 53.0.

But he isn’t the only safety with strong ties to New Orleans to make the cut. Former Saints second-round draft pick Vonn Bell was ranked at No. 11, having further developed his game in a three-year run with the Cincinnati Bengals that led to him signing a lucrative free agent contract with the Carolina Panthers offseason.

Another former Saints safety, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, was ranked above Mathieu at No. 3. He competed for the NFL lead with six interceptions last season, his first away from New Orleans, and his first campaign in which he primarily lined up at safety rather than in the slot. The trade that sent him away brought him everything he sought but a long-term contract — he ended up signing a prove-it deal with the Detroit Lions this spring.

That’s not all. Bell and Gardner-Johnson’s old teammate Marcus Williams was included as an honorable mention. Another former Saints second-round pick, Williams was one of the NFL’s best ballhawks (his 15 interceptions ranked 12th in the league), which helped him earn a substantial contract with the Baltimore Ravens last year as a free agent.

So what can we take away from this? The Saints know what they’re doing in evaluating the secondary, especially at safety. Few teams have drafted and developed talent with this kind of consistency. Between Dennis Allen’s coaching and Jeff Ireland’s eye for talent, as well as all the contributions of their position coaches, scouts, and support staff, the Saints are doing well in the defensive backfield even with so many of their former players suiting up on other teams.

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Tyrann Mathieu shares blunt reaction to news of Cardinals cutting DeAndre Hopkins

Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu shared his blunt reaction to news of the Cardinals cutting his former teammate DeAndre Hopkins:

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There aren’t many NFL players with a greater appreciation for what DeAndre Hopkins brings to the table than Tyrann Mathieu — they were teammates on the Houston Texans back in 2018, when Mathieu had the unenviable task of trying to slow down the All-Pro receiver in practice every day. So when news broke of the Arizona Cardinals’ surprising decision to not only release Hopkins over the weekend, but to do so without maximizing their immediate salary cap benefits, Matheiu’s reaction was appropriately blunt.

“They tanking fasho fasho,” Mathieu wrote from his official Twitter account. He knows Arizona very well, too; he started his NFL career there and has a good idea of the things team owner Michael Bidwill and his management team value and what they don’t. After hiring a new head coach and front office staff while being without Kyler Murray for at least the start of the regular season due to an injury, it’s abundantly clear that the Cardinals aren’t looking to be competitive in 2023.

Choosing to release Hopkins now rather than wait until after June 1 (or using the limited post-June 1 designation) would have ushered in more salary cap savings this year while deferring some costs to 2024, but Arizona chose not to do that. As Mathieu observed, the Cardinals know they aren’t going anywhere or accomplishing much of anything in the fall, so they’re instead playing the long game and settling in for a difficult season with a lot of losses. That decision won’t be popular with fans, but that’s the direction their team is headed.

So could Mathieu help recruit Hopkins to New Orleans? It’s unclear whether the Saints are even interested, but at least one well-connected ESPN reporter sees enough reasons to speculate about a potential match. Hopkins would elevate the Saints receiving corps, but he won’t come cheaply. After the Baltimore Ravens disrupted the free agent market in their deal with Odell Beckham Jr., odds are Hopkins is seeking a contract that many teams won’t be eager to match.

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WATCH: Jamaal Williams earns Tyrann Mathieu’s ire at Saints draft-day crawfish boil

WATCH: Jamaal Williams earns Tyrann Mathieu’s ire at Saints draft-day crawfish boil by dipping his crawfish in… barbecue sauce?

It might take longer for Jamaal Williams to assimilate to New Orleans culture than we first thought. The Saints’ big free agent pickup joined many of his new teammates at a draft-day crawfish boil, but his first exposure to the “mud bugs” didn’t go as well as hoped.

“I don’t understand how people eat pounds of this. I probably only ate ten and I’m already sweating,” Williams laughed, wiping his brow. “Y’all got any barbecue sauce?”

That earned a grimace from Tyrann Mathieu, who scoffed at the notion of needing barbecue sauce, ketchup, or anything else, “No, no, when they cook ’em they cook ’em in a pot with a bunch of seasoning, so they’re already seasoned.”

Williams got his barbecue sauce and swore it hit the spot, petitioning his case to Mathieu and their teammates while taking a shot at Will Levis: “There’s a whole dude that puts mayonnaise in his coffee and y’all worried about barbecue sauce?”

Hey, he’ll come along. It just might take some time. Williams is a big character with plenty of charisma, but more importantly he’s a big-time player. He’ll be a key piece of the Saints running game as they work to share the load with Alvin Kamara and rookie third-round pick Kendre Miller.

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Saints veterans Bradley Roby, Tyrann Mathieu respond to Adam Jones’ criticism

Saints defensive backs Bradley Roby and Tyrann Mathieu responded to Adam Jones’ criticism, pointing out their pass defense ranked second-best, not dead-last like he claimed:

It’s been a tough week for Adam “Pacman” Jones, who caught the ire of New Orleans Saints players when he mistakenly claimed they had the worst defense in the league last year during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. Among other things, he called out the Saints cornerbacks as some of the worst in the NFL.

And some of those players responded. Cornerback Bradley Roby acknowledged Jones as a friend on Twitter (laughing to their peer Casey Heyward that “Pac the homie he ain’t about to say anything,” after being corrected) but point out that the Saints pass defense ranked second-best in the league last year. Only the Philadelphia Eagles allowed fewer passing yards per game (171.6) than New Orleans (184.4).

Veteran safety Tyrann Mathieu chimed in, too, offering his own explanation for Jones’ bizarre misinformation. He suggested that Jones, like many outside observers, saw the Saints start out slow in 2022 and assumed that they “never really got the wins geauxing that we just threw in the towel.” That wasn’t the case, and they ended the year by winning three of their last four games.

For his part, Mathieu is expecting more wins to follow in 2023. We’ll see if Jones circles back to admit he got this wrong later or if he’ll just continue to ignore reality and substitute it with his own.

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Tyrann Mathieu says Joe Horn was his first favorite Saints player

There aren’t many New Orleans Saints players who can say they grew up as a fan of the team, but Tyrann Mathieu can. He says Joe Horn was his first favorite Saints player:

There aren’t many players on the New Orleans Saints’ roster who can say they grew up as a fan of the team, but Tyrann Mathieu can. The hometown hero has deep roots in the city, and like a lot of fans he recalls growing up watching games locally on the family TV. And when the Saints asked their followers on Twitter to name their first favorite player in black and gold, he was quick to respond: Joe Horn.

That’s probably a common sentiment for many Saints fans. Horn was a superstar in New Orleans, earning four Pro Bowl nominations from 2000 to 2004 and setting multiple team receiving records. In 2004, he ranked second-best in the NFL with 1,399 receiving yards. When he left the team in 2006, his 50 career touchdown receptions were also a team record, though he was eventually surpassed by tight end Jimmy Graham (51) and wide receiver Marques Colston (72).

Still, “Hollywood” Joe Horn left his mark on New Orleans as one of the most prolific receivers in franchise history. Fans like Mathieu have a lot of fond memories from his heyday. And as a rare fan-turned-player, Mathieu knows exactly what sort of standard Horn set for those who’d get to wear the fleur-de-lis after him.

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Alvin Kamara thinks Tyrann Mathieu wears Tennessee orange well after lost bet on LSU

Alvin Kamara thinks his New Orleans Saints teammate Tyrann Mathieu wears Tennessee Volunteers orange well after a lost bet on the LSU Tigers:

They’re all wearing black and gold now, but many New Orleans Saints players are still proud of their college colors. And Tyrann Mathieu is about as famous as former LSU Tigers can be, so it makes sense that he’d make a bet with his new teammates about swapping team gear going into a big game. Unfortunately for him, Alvin Kamara and the many other Tennessee Volunteers on the Saints’ roster were all too happy to oblige.

The Vols ran amok in Baton Rouge, winning an early-afternoon kickoff by a dominant margin of 40-13. Afterwards, Kamara shared a video on his official Twitter account from the Saints locker room of Mathieu wearing a bright orange Tennessee sweatshirt — with his fellow Vols Bryce Thompson and Alontae Taylor getting plenty of photos. Their college teammates Shy Tuttle and Marquez Callaway were presumably just offscreen, laughing.

“Yeah that boy look good. Who dat? What dat?” Kamara taunted before going in for a close-up, with Mathieu laughing and covering his face. “Yeah y’all know who that is. That’s that Badger man. That’s that Badger, that’s what happens.”

It’s all in good fun, and it goes to show the strong locker room culture the Saints have built over the years, as well as how easy a fit Mathieu has been there. He’s widely respected around the NFL, as are the Tigers, so Kamara and the Vols are getting their licks in when they can. Let’s hope the Saints keep winning games so this camaraderie can continue to flourish.

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WATCH: Tyrann Mathieu bags his first interception in a Saints uniform

WATCH: Tyrann Mathieu bags his first interception in a Saints uniform

Now that’s what you want to see. Tyrann Mathieu closed out the first quarter against the Minnesota Vikings with his first interception in a New Orleans Saints uniform, perfectly reading the passing design to pick off Kirk Cousins near midfield. It’s exactly the spark the Saints needed while trailing Minnesota 7-0 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

And it had to feel vindicating for Mathieu. He leapt in front of Vikings tight end Irv Smith Jr. to take the ball away — the same player who beat him on a crossing route earlier in the game to convert a first down. Hopefully the Saints can build some momentum off of it. This isn’t just Mathieu’s first interception in his hometown team’s jersey; it’s the first pick for the Saints all eyar.

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Tyrann Mathieu questionable for Week 1 Saints game with an illness

Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu is listed as questionable for Week 1’s game with the Falcons due to an illness. Cornerback Paulson Adebo (ankle) has been ruled out:

Here’s a situation to watch closely. Friday’s final Week 1 New Orleans Saints injury report listed star safety Tyrann Mathieu as questionable to play in Sunday’s season opener with the Atlanta Falcons, having missed practice due to a sudden illness. It’s a surprising development given Mathieu’s regular participation in practice throughout the week, but these things happen.

The timing just couldn’t be worse. The Saints are already down starting cornerback Paulson Adebo, who is still recovering from a preseason ankle injury. This comes just a week after the team traded nickel corner C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the Eagles, which was followed by big free agent acquisition Marcus Maye being arrested following what’s been described as a road rage incident.

While that isn’t expected to impact Maye’s early-season availability (the NFL typically waits for the legal process to resolve itself before issuing suspensions and other discipline), it does illustrate the variety of hurdles the Saints secondary is experiencing. New Orleans built this team on the strength of its pass defense. That’s still the case with Marshon Lattimore anchoring one side of the field at cornerback with experienced backups Bradley Roby and P.J. Williams eager to step back into the lineup (and rookie draft pick Alontae Taylor hungry for his own opportunity), but playing a heated rival without Adebo and possibly without Mathieu is, ah, a challenging proposition.

There’s nothing to be done for it now. We’ll see if anything develops on this front after Saturday’s walkthrough practice, and then it’s off to pregame warmups Sunday morning. One way or another, the Saints secondary depth is going to be tested sooner than they may have anticipated this year.

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Saints practice takeaways, Day 19: Jameis Winston makes impressive progress

Jameis Winston, former LSU Tigers impress during New Orleans Saints practice and more takeaways from Day 19, via @RossJacksonNOLA:

It was a high-energy practice on Tuesday for the New Orleans Saints who near their final preseason matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers as the week goes along. The Saints spent a portion time today running through team drills and finished again with a two-minute drill to close out practice. There were some back and forth moments as the offense bounced back and responded to a defense that was dominant on Monday. Here are our key takeaways from Day 19 of Saints practice.