Mel Kiper's Big Board (1 Viewer)

[Mr. Brownstone]

Kiper is still overrating Leon Hall.

Apparantly Hall did himself a lot of favors in his workout. Branch however, not so much...

Since when did Branch have a bad workout? His combine numbers- albeit he did not do too much there mirrored those of Adam Carriker despite having 30 pounds on him. His numbers were also among the best among 300 pounders and up, despite him being the 2nd heaviest. Sure he didnt hold up too well at the pro day- per some sources. Does that workout alone negate all the fantastic tape on the guy? Branch is and was a monster on that line and routinely was double-teamed, only to still find his way into the backfield. He will be a ferocious 3-4 DE.

And for Kiper not to have him on the big board is almost a travesty. :X

EDIT: And where is Reggie Nelson?

I hope the teams drafting prior to #17 agree with Mel.

 

[Deranged Hermit]

Kiper is still overrating Leon Hall.

Apparantly Hall did himself a lot of favors in his workout. Branch however, not so much...

Since when did Branch have a bad workout? His combine numbers- albeit he did not do too much there mirrored those of Adam Carriker despite having 30 pounds on him. His numbers were also among the best among 300 pounders and up, despite him being the 2nd heaviest. Sure he didnt hold up too well at the pro day- per some sources. Does that workout alone negate all the fantastic tape on the guy? Branch is and was a monster on that line and routinely was double-teamed, only to still find his way into the backfield. He will be a ferocious 3-4 DE.And for Kiper not to have him on the big board is almost a travesty. EDIT: And where is Reggie Nelson?

Whoa there big man. I saw almost every game both guys played. Branch took A LOT of plays off. Couple that with the sub par pro day and now he has a knock against him that he's lazy. Don't get me wrong, I think he's talented. I've seen him blow up quite a few plays in his time at UM, but DT's can slip further than most other positions in the draft. I don't think he'll drop out of the first, but I could see him go 20-25 in this draft. He's a steal there....

 

[Jiggyonthehut]

Kiper is still overrating Leon Hall.

Apparantly Hall did himself a lot of favors in his workout. Branch however, not so much...

Since when did Branch have a bad workout? His combine numbers- albeit he did not do too much there mirrored those of Adam Carriker despite having 30 pounds on him. His numbers were also among the best among 300 pounders and up, despite him being the 2nd heaviest. Sure he didnt hold up too well at the pro day- per some sources. Does that workout alone negate all the fantastic tape on the guy? Branch is and was a monster on that line and routinely was double-teamed, only to still find his way into the backfield. He will be a ferocious 3-4 DE.

And for Kiper not to have him on the big board is almost a travesty.

EDIT: And where is Reggie Nelson?

I hope the teams drafting prior to #17 agree with Mel.

I hope for the Jaguars' sake you are right as well- though i wouldnt mind moving up to snipe him if Carolina shows interest. Shack has a habit of going after players he likes and can start off the bat- case in point Clint Ingram. I really really hope that we get him regardless of the circumstance. Unless Landry falls to us. In which case, I become a religious man.

 

[Jiggyonthehut]

Kiper is still overrating Leon Hall.

Apparantly Hall did himself a lot of favors in his workout. Branch however, not so much...

Since when did Branch have a bad workout? His combine numbers- albeit he did not do too much there mirrored those of Adam Carriker despite having 30 pounds on him. His numbers were also among the best among 300 pounders and up, despite him being the 2nd heaviest. Sure he didnt hold up too well at the pro day- per some sources. Does that workout alone negate all the fantastic tape on the guy? Branch is and was a monster on that line and routinely was double-teamed, only to still find his way into the backfield. He will be a ferocious 3-4 DE.

And for Kiper not to have him on the big board is almost a travesty.

EDIT: And where is Reggie Nelson?

Whoa there big man. I saw almost every game both guys played. Branch took A LOT of plays off. Couple that with the sub par pro day and now he has a knock against him that he's lazy.

Don't get me wrong, I think he's talented. I've seen him blow up quite a few plays in his time at UM, but DT's can slip further than most other positions in the draft. I don't think he'll drop out of the first, but I could see him go 20-25 in this draft. He's a steal there....

Absolutely agree, its certainly a possibility. However, the point of a big board is to show the top 25 players in the draft, not where they will be drafted. And I see no reason why Branch shouldnt be on that list. He's easily one of the most talented players in this draft. PS: I may or may not have a on Branch.

 

[MrPhoenix]

Kiper is still overrating Leon Hall.

And still very down on Alan Branch.

 

[redman]

The fact that he has Ted Ginn drafted as the 2nd WR, shows Kiper is an idiot. There should be at least 5 WR's picked before him and Jarrett. Now some horribly managed team will pick Ginn early and probably in round 2. They instantly expose themselves as incompetant.

He's far from an idiot. Let's answer this question: Who's more qualified, you or Kiper?

Nowadays, as opposed to 10+ years ago, the disparity between the information that Kiper has and that we have via the internet is quite small. Kiper's not an idiot, but OTOH he's simply a guy who started tracking and commenting upon college prospects for the NFL draft rather than having a true NFL background. What was Kiper saying about Desmond Howard and Peter Warrick?

If this is true there would be more Kiper Clones on TV. I think what the internet/loads of information has done is it allows fantasy football fan to begin to think they are the expert and know more than someone who has been in the buisness for 20 years. I don't read Accounting info on the net and go try to tell accountants they are idiots because I realize there is a reason they are in the position they are.

Where did I say he was an idiot? I'm just pointing out that you can, for example, get access to video on prospects now whereas you couldn't in recent years. Kiper is not a "football man". He was just a guy who was a fan who began to accumulate information on prospects every year and publish it at a time when virtually no one else was doing it, and fortunately for him this occurred at the same time that ESPN was growing and increasing its football coverage and draft coverage in the 1980's, so he parlayed that into a career. Kudos to him. He has a job that most guys on this board would kill for.

I just don't think that his views are gospel, and history has done nothing but prove me right. He's knowledgeable about prospects, but that doesn't necessarily translate into wisdom regarding projections for their NFL careers.

 

[benbadman]

Mel Kiper, and his Mel's Big Board, is also now in Madden NFL 2007 lol! His wavy 'do and mugshot is there every offseason when I do rookie scouting drills.

Damn you, Mel!

 

[milfordshane]

13. Joe Staley Sr. OT Central Michigan

Former TE who's developed into a natural left tackle

I realize this kid has nice size and plenty of athletic abitlity, but he's a project at LT. Seems a little lite in the lower body and needs to improve his overall strength. He hasn't faced the same kind of competition as the other top LTs in the draft and will need to adjust. His performance at the senior bowl wasn't completely impressive, so this surprises me.

I thought he would be a slight reach for Baltimore at the end of the 1st.

Maybe Mel knows something about the kid I don't?

 

[massraider]

13. Joe Staley Sr. OT Central Michigan Former TE who's developed into a natural left tackle I realize this kid has nice size and plenty of athletic abitlity, but he's a project at LT. Seems a little lite in the lower body and needs to improve his overall strength. He hasn't faced the same kind of competition as the other top LTs in the draft and will need to adjust. His performance at the senior bowl wasn't completely impressive, so this surprises me.I thought he would be a slight reach for Baltimore at the end of the 1st. Maybe Mel knows something about the kid I don't?

Reasons:After Thomas, no one is excited about this tackle class.With the increase in zone blocking, athletic linemen are at a premium.I agree with you, I think there has to be a at least a little concern that he's a blown up TE without enough sand in his pants to hold up.

 

[milfordshane]

13. Joe Staley Sr. OT Central Michigan Former TE who's developed into a natural left tackle I realize this kid has nice size and plenty of athletic abitlity, but he's a project at LT. Seems a little lite in the lower body and needs to improve his overall strength. He hasn't faced the same kind of competition as the other top LTs in the draft and will need to adjust. His performance at the senior bowl wasn't completely impressive, so this surprises me.I thought he would be a slight reach for Baltimore at the end of the 1st. Maybe Mel knows something about the kid I don't?

Reasons:After Thomas, no one is excited about this tackle class.With the increase in zone blocking, athletic linemen are at a premium.I agree with you, I think there has to be a at least a little concern that he's a blown up TE without enough sand in his pants to hold up.

This seems like a valid concern and one that would give me pause if I were a GM.I agree the draft calss is short on LTs, but 13th overall in talent? Seems a little inflated.Mel does have a habit of changing his rankings drastically leading up to the draft, so maybe we'll see an adjustment. edited because I type like a drunk toddler