Draft Grades = Arrogance

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

It is hilarious to hear all of these draft pundits like Mel Kiper grade teams on their draft. For what seems like the zillionth consecutive year, Kiper gives the defending SB Champ (Ravens) the best grade as a suckup score that makes him pretend like he knows the real deal.

Rather than grading himself and trying to understand where HE whiffed, Kiper "grades" teams based on the superficial evaluations that he gives. Let's remember a few things:

-These teams are investing more money in players than most major companies are paying their CEOs, despite that these are kids coming out of school.

-It follows that the cost that each team pays to get insider information likely costs more than Kiper's house, conservatively.

-Players are willing to sit in a room for hours and answer psychological questions and tests for teams that might pay them millions. They won't give that luxury to entertainment-focused draft pundits.

-Teams love to blow smoke at draft pundits to disguise their true intentions.

Considering all that, it still amazes me that teams like the Patriots (after drafting Tavon Wilson last year and Duron Harmon this year) or the Giants (for Justin Pugh) still tend get criticized for "reaching." Same thing with the Steelers, who apparently didn't know that the running back they drafted ran a slow 40-time. To think, they must have missed that stat! Other players that were reaches in recent memory: Richard Seymour, Osi Omeniyora, Sebastian Vollmer. In fact, usually these out of left field picks tend to be the best ones. The pundits act like these teams don't realize that the glittering gold names are still on the board and haven't read Kiper or Mayock's grade before drafting.

When Super Bowl winning franchises make a "reach pick" that doesn't make sense in the eyes of these pundits, it's obvious that the pundits need to go back to school and figure out what they missed. But rather, they lazily apply grades to these picks based on their lack of knowledge about the player and the game of football.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

Well they have to fill up the draft talk with something and it makes for built in drama. You'd think there would be a site out there that would grade the "pundits" on their predictions after say a 3-5 year waiting period, but nobody holds them accountable.

For someone like me, I have no clue on the player and tend to take it all in stride and wait for the preseason/camp reports to get some perspective.

As for Kiper going with the Raven,s that would be like Merril Hoge saying the Steelers are the best. goes hand in hand with their homerism.

 

[nabwong]

I don't begrudge them. It's just show biz. There's nothing useful for people in the know. I mean, it's basically the NFL's version of US weekly. People can believe whatever they want and I don't have to get upset.

 

[Crazy Patriot Guy]

I started a thread the other day concerning how reaches are looked at.

Matt Barkley was expected to be gone by mid 2nd round at the latest. He waited until Day 3.
Jessie Williams was a possible 1st round pick and sat until the 5th.
Da'Rick Rogers went undrafted.

Nobody saw that coming. Not anaylsts, not fans, no one.

However, if you take a player in the 2nd round that was rated as a 4th rounder, everyone turns into Nostradamus all of a sudden. "He certainly would have been available later in the draft, there's no doubt." That is the frustrating part for me, the absolute certainly people have about a player's availability as the draft goes on.

 

[belichick010405]

I also like the guys that are already starting to talk about the 2014 draft......

If there is one guy that I am going to be glued to watching this year is Brett Hundley, QB, UCLA. I like Mallett and with that said, if there is one guy that I would love to see running the Pats after Brady calls it a career, it is Mr. Hundley.

Brett Hundley - UCLA Bruins - 2013 Player Profile - Rotoworld.com

This guy would go toe to toe with Kaepernick.

 

[JoeSixPat]

As long as gives himself an A, I don't care what any other football talking head thinks.

 

[KDPPatsfan85]

Draft grades are just used to keep the NFL interesting during the off season. Also, there was a secret pick in the first round which brings the grade for the Patriots to an A+.

 

[Brady2Moss]

This is why I mute ESPN and listen to PFW in Progress' Draft Show. Much more enjoyable and no Mel Kiper crying that Jimmy Clausen is still on the board for 2 rounds.

 

[mustache]

I really dislike how mediots whom have very limited exposure to the prospects and no access to the coach's tape and real first hand observation of the prospects. Pay no attention to them. Best you can do is watch the games they play in, but understand that you too are working without one fifth the information that real NFL teams are using let alone one of the very best drafting franchises like the Patriots.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

i really could care less....people grade free agency..just how it goes. Some like to guess as to how they think teams did at picking players and addressing the teams need

 

[Nitro]

I'd like to see someone look back through their history and grade the graders.. I bet it wouldnt be very flattering for them

 

[mgteich]

That happens all the time. The top 100 are graded by how many are drafted in the top hundred. The mock drafts are also compared.

I have no clue what you think the analysts should do if not express their opinions regarding player quality and the draft. Should they simply report who was picked and give the combine stats. Agree or disagree with any analyst you want. They have a job and they are doing it. If we don't like one analyst, don't buy anything from their site and don't even go there. No one is forced. After all, we understand that most poster think that they could do a better job than those on television. In the end, we are just talking about being jealous of the Kiper's of the world. We want their job and their pay.

I'd like to see someone look back through their history and grade the graders.. I bet it wouldnt be very flattering for them

 

[RobAllan]

I have to say, seeing how this thread already has 2 likes and given the timely nature of the subject matter, I was really expecting a lot out of it. The first post wasn't angry enough, though, which most readers thinks represents a lack of commitment from this OP. I will probably click back into the thread to see if this post gets any likes, which means this thread is still working really hard to become a favorite.

For right now, however, I can't give this thread more than a B. It's 1st round content, but 3rd round execution. Will probably be read in the 2nd or 3rd visit to the message board.

 

[TruthSeeker]

It's all for fun. Shouldn't be taken too seriously. I see nothing wrong with it. A lot of us football fans absolutely love the draft, and we study the guides back and forth. But what everyone should realize is, these guides are just that, guides. They aren't the bible, they aren't the last say, AND they certainly aren't set up like most teams draft boards. For instance, for all we know, the Pats may have had Aaron Dobson as their top rated WR, while I had different guides that had Justin Hunter, Keenan Allen, and Cordarrelle Patterson rated as the #1 receiver.

I use these guides for informational purposes ONLY. I used to think they were the Bible of draftable players, and if Logan Mankins is rated a 3rd round pick, and we take him in the 1st we reached big time. BB's board is based more on best available athlete, what player best fit his system AND obviously, intelligence. It's no surprise these guides had Dobson and Boyce rated way further down than where they were taken, but they don't take in mind the players intelligence.

Once again, these ratings are all in fun, I saw the Pats get a D on one website, I personally gave them a C. We won't know for several years. I bet Kiper was raving about the Pats 2006 draft with Maroney and Chad Jackson, we all know how that worked out.

 

[Ring 6]

That happens all the time. The top 100 are graded by how many are drafted in the top hundred. The mock drafts are also compared.

I have no clue what you think the analysts should do if not express their opinions regarding player quality and the draft. Should they simply report who was picked and give the combine stats. Agree or disagree with any analyst you want. They have a job and they are doing it. If we don't like one analyst, don't buy anything from their site and don't even go there. No one is forced. After all, we understand that most poster think that they could do a better job than those on television. In the end, we are just talking about being jealous of the Kiper's of the world. We want their job and their pay.

Curious perspective.

As to the topic at hand, I think the point was that you have someone predicting the draft who then turns around and grades the teams based on how closely they match thier prediction. I can certainly see the irony in that, can you not?

 

[Lampshade]

Now if they had all just drafted liked I told them to, everyone would have got an A+.


That's what it's saying. By the time you finish reading the article it should already be gone from your mind.

 

[patsfaninpa]

Curious perspective.

As to the topic at hand, I think the point was that you have someone predicting the draft who then turns around and grades the teams based on how closely they match thier prediction. I can certainly see the irony in that, can you not?

I think most of them are full of it. Especially Kiper. Mayock seems ok. But, they have their own ranking system 1-100. They grade it off of that. Not their mock. Most of them say their mock doesn't necessarily reflect their rankings. I have no problem with someone criticizing a pick. We're all entitled to our own opinion. BB has made a lot of mistakes drafting defensive backs. And, when he reaches for a guy that there isn't much consensus on. I think it's fair to criticize the pick. Overall, it seems we did fine. I like Mayock's analysis. Doesn't mean he's right. But, he had Collins, Dobson and Ryan ranked just about where they were picked.

 

[tonyto3690]

No really. You grade based on what you know and what you believe will happen.

Luck could have blown his arm and leg out the irate preseason game and never played a real nfl snap. Doesn't mean it would have been any less of an A+ pick.

No one is saying they guarantee x y or z player will be this or that. They are speculating, just like the rest of us.

 

[Sporin]

I saw this and thought it was pretty spot on...

@JonHeymanCBS
cant wait to read stories on draft "winners & losers'' from the same folks who went 3 for 32 on their mock drafts!

:rocker:

Sports reporters have about as much actual "accountability" as Weather girls... particularly around the Draft.

 

[Rob0729]

Draft grades are like power rankings. They are useless exercises that mean nothing other than to draw eyeballs to their website and increase ad revenue.