Thursday, April 15, 2010
Mel Kiper's worst NFL draft predictions?
I admire Mel Kiper's amazing memory of statistics. His photographic memory of the stats on every college football player comes from year-round study.
But there's no way any human or super computer could predict accurately how every college player will perform in the pros. Even Mel admits he's giving his 'opinion' and freely acknowledges they don't always pan out. The intangibles of heart, work ethic, dedication, etc. are just too hard to measure. And for that matter, the players that didn't have great NFL playing careers, may have gone on to live exemplary lives off the field.
So with all due respect to Mel, what are some of Mel Kiper's worst NFL draft predictions?
"I think Ryan Leaf is more mature than Drew Bledsoe, he's very much a grown up 21 year old."
"Wes Welker is not worth a second round pick. I don't care how much you like his work ethic ... he has done nothing to show a value that high"
Kiper had QBs Dan McGwire and Brett Favre rated evenly heading into the 1991 draft.
“JaMarcus Russell’s gonna immediately energize that Raider Nation, that fanbase, that football team- on the practice field, in that locker room- three years from now you could be looking at a guy that’s certainly one of the elite top five quarterbacks in this league. You’re talking about a 2-3 year period once he’s under center. Look out because skill level that he has is certainly John Elway like.”
"Ki-Jana (Carter) could be the next Bo Jackson"
"He (Peyton Manning) isn't John Elway, Dan Marino or Jim Kelly, but he's as good as it gets in college football," Kiper said of Manning. "A lot of these teams in the NFL are desperate for quarterbacks and he's the best out there, with Ryan Leaf a real close second."
Kiper rated TCU's LaDainian Tomlinson as tied for the 25th-best player in the 2001 draft, and only the third-best running back that year, behind Mississippi's Deuce McAllister and Wisconsin's Michael Bennett.
He thought Houston QB Andre Ware "was going to be a great NFL quarterback."
Kiper was high on Southern Cal WR Mike Williams; Detroit took him 10th overall in 2005, Williams made seven starts, had 44 catches and two TDs, and was out of the league after three seasons.
Who's the top 5 on Mel Kiper's Big Board for the 2010 Draft?
For April 7,
1) Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska, DT
2) Gerald McCoy, Alabama, DT
3) Eric Berry, Tennessee, DB
4) Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame, QB
5) Sam Bradford, Oklahoma, QB
