Grading the NFL Draft

I happen to think it’s silly and pointless for Mel Kiper or ANY reporter to give ANY team an A+ or an F in the NFL draft, seeing as how none of the men selected has yet played a single down, and we have absolutely no way of knowing whether ANY of them will be stars or busts.

I’m much too lazy to do this myself, but… it would be interesting to get a list of Mel Kiper’s grades from 5, 6, 7 years ago, and see if he was on target or waaaaay off. I’d be willing to bet that LOTS of drafts that he rated “A” turned out to be pretty weak in retrospect. And quite a few drafts he panned undoubtedly contained some current superstars.

After all, I recall MANY sportswriters saying that the Rams had gotten “a steal,” when they got Lawrence Phillips at the 5th spot or so in Round 1. In retrospect, those writers were mighty foolish. You’d THINK they’d admit, after that, that they don’t really know what they’re talking about, that they’re just guessing, like the rest of us! You think maybe the guys who gave the Chargers an A for taking Ryan Leaf (whom the “experts” and “insiders” assured us had MUCH greater upside than Peyton Manning) a few years back will finally admit that they have no business judging a draft until years later?

Yeah, sure.

I think Mike Vick is a perfect example of the pratfalls of grading in advance. Mike is a physical genius who has the potential to revolutionize and dominate his sport in a way that Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan did with their own sports. I’ve watched every game he ever played in college, and I kid you not when I say the guy is magic.

On the other hand, Mike’s had two ankle injuries in two years, and now he’s going to be running with the big dogs. His style of play invites tragic, career-ending injury, and he’s almost as young and unpredictable as Bernie Kosar. Only time will tell on this one, but if wishes were grades, Atlanta gets an A+ from me for taking the risk.