Mel Kiper should be a politician

[Survivor]

I agree with Larry. Go look at your favorite team's scouting staff. While many are former college players and coaches, lots of them are relatives or transfers from business operations. Kiper is much an expert as any of the other guys... You might not agree but don't call him a fraud. Scouts are like stock brokers... Professionals at educated guessing.

[CCBrink]

Him and McShay agree on the first 5 picks of tomorrows draft. WTF

First 11

[Senser81]

You haven't met too many scouts lol. Teams employ scouts with far less credentials than Kiper on a yearly basis, and teams don't actually keep track of hits and misses by their scouts either (they really don't). Scouts just provide their opinion with the information they have and collected. There can be wildly differing opinions on the same player in the same draft room. And honestly, Kiper is getting paid to be a scout and an on-air personality, so, really, he's a professional scout. Most, if not all teams also subscribe to his draft book, too (as teams and colleges do all of the time, subscribe to these scouting services, many of which started out as amateur operations).

But really, all of the underlined is fluff. Who cares?

As for not being confined by a system, it is what makes his job, if you want to call it that, more difficult, as theoretically, is projecting talent, not fit to a certain team, scheme, or whatever. When a players busts and Kiper ranks him high, we'll bust Kiper's balls about it, but we forget, a team made that pick, too.

I've seen a few actual team horizontal boards for the draft (Dolphins in person twice, got some info on the Jaguars draft board from someone I trust, and I do recall a Cowboys one from a few years ago)...their board and evaluation is no better or worse than Kiper...as for one of the Dolphins boards, it was laughable before and after.

There are 32 teams with varying opinions and criteria, and then everyone outside of that bubble has opinions of their own. Just take it for whatever it is worth to you, which is probably nothing. Its one big game of luck outside of a few players every year.

My friend is an NFL scout, and has been for years. Amazingly, after his first year in the business, he had more "credentials" than Kiper because he could list 1 year of NFL scouting experience on his resume, whereas Kiper cannot.

Aside from that snarkism, I agree with the rest of your posting for the most part.

[Senser81]

Go look at your favorite team's scouting staff. While many are former college players and coaches, lots of them are relatives or transfers from business operations.

Who??

[Scikotic]

Who listens to this ass-hat anyway? The only one worth listening to is Mike Mayock. Anyone with half a brain already knows this...

[Sven Draconian]

Who listens to this ass-hat anyway? The only one worth listening to is Mike Mayock. Anyone with half a brain already knows this...

So only people with half a brain like Mayock?

[Senser81]

Why would you be mad? You are making a ton of money and laying pipe every night with a different chick. The only person who has a better job than you is Michael Buffer.

[Survivor]

Who??

Okay... I'll just go down the list of GMs...

Jeff Ireland - stepson of HOFer - relative

Mike Tannenbaum - accounting/sports management major - business transfer

Tom Heckert Jr - second generation NFL exec - relative

Mark Dominic - Sports Management major at Kansas - business transfer

...it happens all the damn time.

[Senser81]

Okay... I'll just go down the list of GMs...

Jeff Ireland - stepson of HOFer - relative

Who is Jeff Ireland a relative to? The owners of the Miami Dolphins?

WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

Two guys whos opinion on player eval I always thought were far better than others. Mel Kiper ,Joel Buchsbaum(pfw).

One is dead.
The other doesnt seem to be working as hard.

For Mel I think his uniqueness has been cheapened by the myriad of bootleg "experts" with no access and no tape , and no connections.

[Blick]

I can't get behind guys who bash a guy like Kiper who's been in the business for so long.

There have been years where I have looked over videos and videos and more videos of potential draft picks and thought I had a good handle about players...but I didn't know shit. That was only a sample of what real scouts do.

I think my evaluations of players that I actually do watch are pretty good, but the sheer volume of players that you have to go through to be a scout is just crazy.

[Senser81]

LOL at Kiper ripping the Locker selection by saying "he had a completion percentage of 55%"....Kiper must have watched a lot of tape to come up with that "gem".

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

LOL at senser81 ripping Kiper by reiterating something he heard him say on TV....senser81 must have watched a lot of ESPN Draft Coverage to come up with that "gem".

[killgod]

Why would you be mad? You are making a ton of money and laying pipe every night with a different chick. The only person who has a better job than you is Michael Buffer.

I've always wondered if he gives a "Lets Get Ready to Rumble" pre-insertion.

[Senser81]

LOL at senser81 ripping Kiper by reiterating something he heard him say on TV....senser81 must have watched a lot of ESPN Draft Coverage to come up with that "gem".

I didn't watch it first-hand, but I have reviewed "a lot of tape".