Mel Keiper Jr

Gives the Steelers the worst draft grade. Says we reached for both the lineman.

 

Eh I’d say the guy knows a lot more about the players than us but maybe he just doesn’t like the Steelers

 

Being a draft analyst is like being a below average weather person. You can be wrong most of the time and blame it on unpredictable circumstances. That's Mel Kiper, Jr. I never took him seriously.

 

He loves Balt, if that tells ya anything

 

Well there you go!

Still he’s supposedly a draft guru so let’s see how it turns out

 

For reference, he gave the Steelers the worst draft grade in the division last year. We had a pretty solid draft in 2020 IMHO

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.be...worst-grade-in-division-ravens-browns-bengals

 

Here’s from another source on the score


Grade: C-
The Steelers went against the current trend of avoiding a running back in the first round, but Harris brings authority to a backfield that lacked star power last year. However, he might quickly discover his new offensive line is nothing like the one Harris ran behind at Alabama. Pittsburgh surprisingly chose to ignore that unit until the third round, even though it's been a major area of concern. Although selecting a tight end in the second round may give Ben Roethlisberger another weapon, that might be irrelevant due to the poor protection in front of him. While the Steelers added a few quality players, they may have been better off beefing up their offensive line first.

 

Isn't this about the equivalent of or more reaching than teachers/professors handing out student grades prior to the beginning of the semester? They're all big time blowhards IMHO.

 

I think it is fair to question whether they should have prioritised the OLine. Reading the various reports on Green and Moore I don’t think they were over drafted however, in fact some other analysts are calling Green a steal.

They took impact skill position players early, believing that the draft was much deeper at the OLine position. It’ll be 2-3 years before we know if this was the right thing to do. It’s not just about this year.

We should not worry about Kiper or any other analyst. Go back and read the draft grades from last year to see how ridiculous some of them turned out to be.

 

Opinions are like, well, you know... and he is one of them. Besides, there are 32 teams that have people dedicated to know exactly what their individual teams strengths, weaknesses, and needs are. This idiot is trying to judge each of these 32 teams like he knows better who they should have drafted? I find that highly unlikely. Again, these people are not held accountable for sh@t they get paid to write or say. He should preface each of his nonsense with " for entertainment only- not responsible for the content of anything written or said".

 

He does, but...

"Cornerback Justin Layne (No. 83), a converted receiver, could be a starter as a rookie. I thought he had a chance to go in the top 40 picks."

"H-back Jaylen Samuels (165) is one of the most versatile offensive players in the entire class."

"I had Tyus Bowser rated higher than T.J. Watt, but it was close."

"Senquez Golson is one of my favorite players in the draft, an INT machine at Ole Miss who plays bigger than his size and has the hands I wish more wide receivers had."

"The fun one to watch will be Sammie Coates, not only because every wide receiver the Steelers take in this range seems to turn into Superman, but also because he truly is one of the physical freaks in this draft."

Moral of the story is while Kiper is correct a lot, he's also wrong alot. The NFL draft is nothing but a gambal and calculating the odds a player will work out. Harris could be a complete bust but Moore could be an all-pro LT. Time will tell.

 

I dont think he is necessarily wrong.... on paper.... but now it's up to the players and coaches to prove Kiper wrong on the field.

HACK

 

The funny thing about some of these analysts is prior to the draft they espouse the BPA method, but afterward criticize teams that didn't address a particular need in a particular set of rounds. While there can be instances where it could be fairly argued that players from more than one position are available at a pick who have relatively equal grades, there are plenty of instances where they're not. Some analysts will conduct due diligence and name the player they felt the team should've picked, most don't - they'll just stick to a tagline of 'team x didn't address position y until the z round... C-.'

While a fair argument could be made that, given the players available, the Steelers could have gone OL in the first over Harris (and second with Frieiermuth as well), equal argument against can - and obviously from Colbert, was - made for the players selected. I typically lean toward stabilizing the line first, but didn't have a big issue with the direction Colbert went. But that's looking at the specifics of the players in play at the time, not just because 'they didn't address the line until the third.'

 

To be fair, he wasn't wrong about Coates, who was a physical freak. Unfortunately, with the exception of a few games early in 2016, he couldn't figure out how to apply those gifts. He wasn't wrong about Samuels being versatile, either. He is just equally below average at many things.

 

Kiper looked smarter when there were fewer people doing what he does. He's good at pulling information from lots of places, but that was a hell of a lot more valuable 30-plus years ago than it is now.

 

Analysts fall in love with their board. If teams go against how an analyst had the players slotted, then they assume it is a reach.

I get why Kiper graded the Steelers poorly. People seem to hate first round running backs. Taking Freiermuth over Humphrey was a solid pick, but did not address the biggest need which is center. Taking Green over Meinerz is considered a reach by some. The rest of the draft is full of guys who are perceived to be projects. I wasn't expecting a passing grade from Mel.

 

I mean...


This is the same Mel Kiper Jr that thought Julio Jones was going to bust in the NFL. Given that alone, I would say that he is quite overrated despite his immense influence on those that do not pay attention to the draft too much.

 

My favorite line.... The Steelers have done nothing to prepare for life after Ben


2017 Josh Dobbs 4th round 135th over-all 7th QB taken

2018 Mason Rudolph 3rd round 76th over-all 6th QB taken

2019 Dwayne Haskins 1st round 15th over-all 3rd QB taken

Insert your favorite 3rd or 4th round from this draft and we will see where they are in a few years.

HACK

 

So had the Steelers traded up for Haskins and not Bush...he would have been singing their praise.....Kiper had Haskins as possibly the 1st pick in the draft.



HACK

 

Nope, not really. He may at one time had some useful thoughts but those days were in the last millennium.

 

Don’t let other people do your thinking for you if you can help it.

 

Who the hell is Mel Kieper? Sorry, couldn't help myself.