flapgreen
Footballguy
You nailed it with the first part. If he's so good at evaluating and they're his rankings, why would he change them based on rumors? He's not doing mock drafts.I think he gathers a lot of rumor during the draft process and the later rankings may be based more on what he is hearing that what his personal opinion is.
When he dropped Teddy Bridgewater after his pro day, he said that just seeing he player in person changes things for him.
I think the pressure of group think and all the negative stuff he heard caused him to change his mind about Bridgewater. The same may be true for him with Kizer.
So if you look at it that way, the earlier ranking is based on what he saw on the field. The later ranking is based on what he has heard.
Mayock is also the main source I know of who said he heard Jay Ajayi's knee was bone on bone. No one else said this that I am aware of.
I might be going too easy on him. I don't think he presents the later rankings as being based on what he has heard. That is just kind of the way I see it being.