Looking Back: Mel Kiper’s 2005 Draft Grades
Media Gossip/Musings, NFL, NFL Draft March 3rd. 2009, 3:45pm
Pundits and NFL draft experts skewer executives retrospectively over poor draft picks (see Matt Millen). However, many of these after-slighted draft picks reflected both conventional wisdom and the prevalent guru opinion. Thankfully, ESPN has offered links to its draft coverage from previous years, so we can unearth a few skeletons from Mel Kiper Jr.’s overly coiffed closet. Here a few gems from Mel Kiper’s 2005 Draft grades.
Detroit Lions: C+ Give the Lions credit for going away from their biggest needs to take receiver Mike Williams, who was clearly the best player available at No. 10 overall, but you have to wonder if they got enough help for the defense. Williams gives Detroit perhaps the best young receiving corps in the league
Both Mike Williams and Charles Rogers were rated in the top two on Mel’s big board. They were both wide receivers and both drafted by Detroit in the top 10. Both were also colossal failures. Both are now out of football.
New England Patriots: C Guard Logan Mankins was a reach in the first round but the Patriots obviously like his size and nastiness, and he will help fill the void left by Joe Andruzzi’s departure via free agency. Ellis Hobbs has good size but not enough skill to be more than a nickel back, and safety James Sanders was a teammate of Mankins at Fresno State and both were helped by the relationship between Patriots coach Bill Belichick and Fresno State coach Pat Hill. Tackle Nick Kaczur could play guard as well but came off the board a little early and Matt Cassel is a big project at quarterback.
Batting at the bottom of the order, the Patriots took two starting offensive linemen and a starting cornerback for a team that went undefeated during the regular season. They also got a starting quarterback in the 7th round.
Chicago Bears: A- Cedric Benson has all the makings of a star running back and Mark Bradley fills a need at wide receiver while also bringing excellent special-teams skills to the table.
Cedric Benson had as many touchdowns as intoxication arrests in 2008, and not for the Bears. Mark Bradley has 68 receptions for 963 yards and 7 touchdowns, in four seasons.
San Francisco 49ers: B A good first day but an average second day. There were no trade opportunities compelling enough that San Francisco wanted to give up the No. 1 overall pick, but quarterback Alex Smith is a player who’s easy to like.
Totally trust this guy when he claims you’re an idiot for not taking Matthew Stafford #1 overall.
61 Responses to “Looking Back: Mel Kiper’s 2005 Draft Grades”
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March 3rd, 2009 at 3:51 pm
I think Kiper’s hair helmet is blocking his brain from properly analyzing the draft.
March 3rd, 2009 at 3:51 pm
You missed the best part at the end there – on the second day San Francisco drafted Frank Gore.
March 3rd, 2009 at 3:52 pm
To be fair, Rogers was pretty good before he got injured, and Williams seemed like a can’t miss prospect. It’s kind of a fluke bust in my eyes.
March 3rd, 2009 at 3:54 pm
jesus christ.
RIP joel buchsbaum.
March 3rd, 2009 at 3:54 pm
typical bspn
/jimmy
March 3rd, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Wow, it’s almost like he can’t tell the future with 100% accuracy or something.
Fire this man!
March 3rd, 2009 at 3:55 pm
You forgot a gem …
Buffalo Bills: C+
The Bills traded their 2005 first-round pick in the JP Losman deal but got a steal in the second round when receiver Roscoe Parrish fell to the late second round. Parrish will be a nice addition to the passing game and is also an effective returner, and his college teammate Kevin Everett could turn into a nice tight end. Center Raymond Preston was a reach in the fourth round, though, and Eric King will probably be a situational nickelback in the NFL.
March 3rd, 2009 at 3:57 pm
We’ve exposed Sean Jean as the real Matt Millen.
March 3rd, 2009 at 3:57 pm
nah, i actually find kiper interesting.
March 3rd, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Maybe when he was playing at USC, but he was as big as a tackle after sitting on his duff for a year.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:00 pm
This is true.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:02 pm
So sad what happened to that guy
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Williams should have stayed in school
/Bill Cosby’d
//His Bank Account’d
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Asinine
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Didn’t matter to Mr Millen. Williams was an available receiver, therefore he had to be taken in the first round. Receivers cannot be drafter in later rounds – it is not allowed.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:05 pm
@Clown – At least they still have Losman right?
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:05 pm
steelers got a C+ for a draft that ended up with 3 starters and a reserve OL guy for the Super Bowl champs. Bengals got an A- for Pollack and Thurman.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Williams and Clarett should’ve been allowed to return to school. I think they got screwed.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:10 pm
I agree Ruck, they were dumb for challenging the rules to begin with though.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:12 pm
@Clown – At least they still have Losman right?
Coming soon to an NFL sideline in a city near you. Bills have four QB’s under contract right now, and he isn’t one of them.
Maybe he’ll end up behind Matty Ice in the ATL if Mularkey wants to torture himself again a little more
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Unfortunately by that point Clarett was pretty deep in with his shady pals.
Williams I could see though.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:13 pm
they were dumb for trying to capitalize while they could? for trying to take advantage of a rule that pretty much every other sport doesn’t have?
no, they weren’t dumb, they were pioneers who got eaten by bears.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:14 pm
let me try that one again…
for trying to GET AROUND a rule that pretty much every sport…
never fucking mind…they weren’t dumb for trying.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:15 pm
i thought espn insider was free now???
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:18 pm
And then all the other pioneers, said to themselves “Shit. We better not fuck those bears.”
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Sadly Losman is an upgrade over our dear departed Ken Dorsey here in Cleveland.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:19 pm
EXACTLY!
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Yeah, I agree with Spencer. At the time, it was a very relevant issue and there was no doubt a lot of hype regarding those guys. Plus, the system isn’t going to change itself. It was definitely circumstances that the NCAA (which I loathe) should have recognized and allowed them to come back.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Only weathermen and NFL Draft Gurus receive the deference and respect afforded to real experts and professionals, without the associated accountability.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:23 pm
CNBC stock pickers would also like to be added onto that list.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Yeah, fuck Kiper. He should have known that Pollack would (literally) break his neck and that Thurman would convict his way out of the league. What an idiot!
/both those guys were beasts’d
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:25 pm
@fluffy- no wonder you are hating on the Bills. you are a clowns fan
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:29 pm
I actually like the Bills Irish, loved it when the two teams had camp scrimmages together a few years back.
But that draft turned to shit for them.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:29 pm
if TBL can call a guy that drowned a bust, I can call I guy that broke his neck a bust. and I’m guessing Thurman wasn’t choir boy that one day started running with some bad kids in the neighborhood. you take a flyer on thugs hoping that they grow up, sometimes you get burned.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:30 pm
What exactly constitutes a “real” expert? Where do you go to get one of those certificates because I sure want one!
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:30 pm
Sadly Losman is an upgrade over our dear departed Ken Dorsey here in Cleveland.
As lee Corso says, “Not so fast, my friend”
You haven’t seen very much of the Human Turnover Machine, I guess -lol
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Other sports don’t have that rules because you need to be bigger, stronger etc. in order to play in the NFL. Besides being a star college football player is not a hard life, tough out all those keggers, pussy, and free dinners from boosters for a couple years then make some bank.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Clarett is dumb in everyway possible.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:32 pm
I have been one of the few bears fans that always liked Benson, give him half an offense line and he can produce, look at what he did on a terrible Cinncy team. I think if he gets with the right team he can be a 1,000 yard back still, the Bears just never gave him a shot. That being said he shouldn’t have gone 4th and I don’t think anyone can disagree that Angelo shouldn’t be allowed to make a pick on the offensive side of the ball.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:34 pm
except for beating michigan and the U.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:34 pm
dollar
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Didn’t they trade away Thomas Jones so that he could be the featured back?
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:36 pm
hah…+1 irish
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Whee are the ones Kiper got right? Oh I forgot, you’re picking and choosing to reinforce your point.
Not convenient at all.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:41 pm
And apparently you missed Ken Dorsey this year jpq, I wouldn’t trust that motherfucker to snake my toilet.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Shit, I could have told you he would going to get convicted out of the league. Welcome to georgia juco players. However, I am in agreeance that he was a beast, Pollack too.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Isn’t that how you craft an arguement?
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Agreeance? That has to be a new one.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:50 pm
My argument was that draft gurus aren’t held accountable for their mistakes and that guys like Mel Kiper Jr. smugly dismiss bad draft picks in the past, when they were 100% for them at the time.
I don’t see why that necessitates me giving a blow by blow analysis of Mel Kiper Jr.’s predictions.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:51 pm
@The Ruckmaker:
The defense gave him a cheap shot in training camp and set him back and then they released him on BS charges from the cops that is what I meant by never giving him a chance. If you watched those bears games he was getting in the backfield half the time and never had a chance, when he actually had a hole he put his shoulder down and was always moving forward when tackled. Then in Cinncy they gave him holes and he finished the year strong, I believe one of the quotes about him was he was one of the greatest red zone runners in college football, the problem being the bears were never in the red zone.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:52 pm
IIRC, Fred Durst made it an accepted term in the American lexicon.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:56 pm
Kiper will never do what Beano Cook did.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Exactly. If the NFL draft was an exact science and Mel, or whomever for that matter, was 100% right (shit, even 65-70%) then they would be making 8 figures for some team.
March 3rd, 2009 at 5:04 pm
“Held accountable.”
He’s a fucking NFL draft “analyst.” He’s like TBL, but on TV.
God, you are so annoying.
March 3rd, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Stop the presses, Mike NYC and I are in total agreement on something!
March 3rd, 2009 at 5:12 pm
if i can find Kiper’s 2003 ‘rankings’ i may do a post on that tomorrow. assessing talent in 2005 wasn’t his strongsuit, clearly
March 3rd, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Billy Beane should be drafting for some of these teams.
March 3rd, 2009 at 5:42 pm
I’m going to start a blog that holds other blogs accountable. The Omblogsman anyone?
I can’t see how this could fail.
March 3rd, 2009 at 5:48 pm
March 3rd, 2009 at 6:47 pm
Stop the presses, Mike NYC and I are in total agreement on something!
What he said. Just ignore him. It’s easy
Totally trust this guy when he claims you’re an idiot for not taking Matthew Stafford #1 overall
Come on. He doesn’t believe that. But he has to play the role, and he drew the Matthew Stafford card and Todd McShay drew the Matthew Stafford Sucks card. It makes such great television!
If they say so.
March 3rd, 2009 at 10:51 pm
Name one game during Staffords time at Georgia where you were impressed with QB skills. One game where he lead a 4th q comeback. Anything? Hes got bust written all over him.