Ability to cover tight ends
Although he isn’t a big guy—standing 5’9 and weighing in at 185 pounds—Mathieu plays much bigger. What I mean by that is that he is stout and can take on bigger receivers. While he is forced to use his hands more than one may like, he is able to stick with tight ends and limit their production.
In this clip, Mathieu is playing man coverage on Zach Ertz. Although Ertz is much larger, Mathieu doesn’t give him any space. The quarterback wanted to go to his check down play and Honey Badger was having none of it. I was genuinely impressed by how big he played as compared to how large he is.
Ability to play in the box, alongside linebackers
This is what I thought would be his main job in Houston, but to my surprise he was only in the box about a third of the time. His decisiveness and quickness goes a long way to helping the Chiefs run defense. According to Pro Football Focus, he ranked eigth among all safeties in run defense, which is, in my opinion, remarkable due to his small stature.
On this play, the Broncos try to run Phillip Lindsay to the outside where Mathieu is waiting. As he takes the handoff, he bounces outside. Mathieu quickly takes away his outside running lane and makes a brilliant tackle. This was an excellent tackle on a running back that was very good at making players miss in 2018.
Ability to play in man coverage at cornerback
Perhaps the most intriguing part of Tyrann Mathieu’s game is his ability to play cornerback. For a defense that is led by an aggressive coordinator, I imagine that this was an attractive piece of his game that the team decided they needed to have in order to be successful in the future. I am curious to see how often Kansas City puts him in one on one situations with wide receivers. I believe that he is very good at it.
Although there isn’t a ton to see on this play, I thought it was important to show how well he runs alongside receivers. He has very good hips that allow him the mobility to play in man coverage. His talent as a corner is intriguing to say the least and I would be surprised if the Chiefs didn’t use him as one on a regular basis in 2019.