Mel Kiper taking a shot a former Alabama players in the NFL.
- Thread starter BamaJama17
- Start date
so ole kiper is saying that sometimes first round draft picks don't work out? well that is why they pay him the big bucks.
Several of you are missing the point. Kiper never said these guys were bad, he said disappointments. There is a difference between being bad, and it coming out that you were entirely too over valued by NFL GM's. It is much easier to look good when you are surrounded by the talent we have had at the Capstone the last 6-7 years. The difference between pointing out UA and saying "lots of 1st rounders don't pan out" is the pure number of those high picks we have produced. It isn't a black and white issue, it is the grey area of value in relativity to the place picked.
I was discussing this with someone the other day. My response is always that if a program puts 20 guys in the first round at least half of them will not play like first round picks. That's the problem. We have put to many guys in the NFL and of course not all of them are going to be as good NFL players as they were college. It's a numbers game. Most years more than half of the guys in the first round end up being busts or just ordinary starters. Nothing really wrong with being a starter in the NFL but when you get drafted in the first round you are expected to be pro bowl, hall of fame, etc etc. The only issues I have with Mr Kiper's assessment is that some players take more than a year or two to "get it" in the NFL. We live in a world of instant gratification so everybody expects first round picks to be pro bowl as rookies. There's several of our guys that he named and than many have discussed in this thread that it is WAY to early to call them busts or say they have under-performed.
When you have as many players as we have in the first round..there are bound to be disappointments. But let him mention out of ALL the first round picks...which ones haven't worked out well. I bet a good amount..they just focus on Bama.
We are giving him much more time and attention than he deserves. I watch the NFL draft just to laugh at him when his analysis and picks are proven wrong. (For 10 minutes total time.)
This is his M.O. A few years ago he did something similar while discussing Saban's players at LSU (Dorsey, Flynn, Russell, Francois, Tyson Jackson, etc). So I don't think this is a shot at the players as it is a passive-aggressive shot by Kiper to Saban. I don't take Kiper serious and neither should anybody else.
Let me edit a few of them and add some others:
1) Eddie Lacy offensive rookie of the year
2) Julio Jones pro-bowl guy and one of top WR's in the game
3) Milliner starting CB for the Jets
4) Jackson starting CB for Texans
5) Barron pro-bowl safety for the Bucs
6) Lester started some games for Panthers as a rookie- He started over half- As an UNDRAFTED free agent.
7) Andre Smith starting RT for Bengals- Bengals picked up his option and gave him another contract. In NFL you work for the second contract. He's started 3+ years w/out an injury
8) Dre Kirk getting more and more PT with Bengals, will likely start this year
9) Carpenter starting OL for Seahawks- The Seahawks have a unique OL rotation. They go something like 7-8 deep. Carpenter gets as much PT as any of them.
10) Darius starting DT for Bills- He also made the Pro Bowl this year.
11) Hightower starting LB for Patriots
12) Upshaw starting for Ravens
I would add:
13) Chance Warmack- started all 16 games for the Titans last year and greatly improved as the year went on.
14) Carson Tinker- made the roster for the Jags (Idk if they picked him back up this year).
15) Mark Ingram- he had a great second half of the season and playoffs. They have enough confidence in him to let their two regular back go and kept Ingram.
Don't forget Fluker started for SD (not sure how many games).
on the other end, Cody is struggling to get pt in Baltimore.
All schools have disappointments and overachievers. We have just had a ton of folks drafted that it's easier to point out our guys that didn't meet expectations. As others have said, we have guys that far exceeded expectations in the last few years (how Lester went undrafted is an absolute mind boggling mystery to me)
on the other end, Cody is struggling to get pt in Baltimore.
All schools have disappointments and overachievers. We have just had a ton of folks drafted that it's easier to point out our guys that didn't meet expectations. As others have said, we have guys that far exceeded expectations in the last few years (how Lester went undrafted is an absolute mind boggling mystery to me)
If Mel Kyper's football sense were money, He wouldn't have enough money to buy a piece of bubble gum..
Mel Kiper's true genius is the ability to turn an obscure subscription newsletter into a good-paying gig on EPSN.
If he wants to rip on 1st round busts, let him poke at Jerruh Jones.
If he wants to rip on 1st round busts, let him poke at Jerruh Jones.
I heard Mel Kiper say on the radio that if Jimmy Clausen didn't end up being a starting QB in the league he would retire. I ocassionaly send him a message asking when he is going to own up to that one. This guy talks to much and as others have said tons of first round picks disappoint. If you watch the intros on Sunday or Monday night football you won't recognize half the names, they are free agents and late round picks from obscure DII schools. Seriously I watch college football all the time and I don't know a ton of these guys. The NFL finds the best players from everywhere and it's just a completely cut throat competitive league. Some players just aren't going to make it.
My take on this is that over the last 6 drafts Alabama has sent more players to the NFL than any other school. Laws of averages dictates that not all of these players are going to be all pro players. Some of these players land on teams that they just don't mesh well with and some have been battling injuries. The bottom line is if you only focus on the ones that haven't lived up to potential, which is a very small percentage of the total, then it makes the whole look bad. Just a good example of not being able to see the Forrest because of the trees. I say stop being so narrow minded Mr. Kiper.
The rub is that Kiper never defines "disappointment".
Is it disappointing that all of Alabama's first round picks didn't become superstars? Yes.
Is it disappointing that a good chunk of Alabama's first round picks became serviceable starters for NFL teams? No.
Because of the volume of players entering and exiting the league each year, I think the number for guys we have that have been multiple year starters or significant contributors is pretty good.
Is it disappointing that all of Alabama's first round picks didn't become superstars? Yes.
Is it disappointing that a good chunk of Alabama's first round picks became serviceable starters for NFL teams? No.
Because of the volume of players entering and exiting the league each year, I think the number for guys we have that have been multiple year starters or significant contributors is pretty good.
Take a look at this and that is all you need to know:
http://harvardsportsanalysis.wordpr...mel-kiper-jr-and-todd-mcshays-draft-rankings/
http://harvardsportsanalysis.wordpr...mel-kiper-jr-and-todd-mcshays-draft-rankings/
McClain is a legit failure, but that was more of a mental/motivation issue for him.
And Jackson has been a disappointing 1st round CB.
Other than those two, i think every other recent pick has been serviceable or a wait and see, because they haven't played much yet.
A few have been really good like Lacy and Jones.
Ingram was a lower 1st round pick and has struggled with injury.
And Jackson has been a disappointing 1st round CB.
Other than those two, i think every other recent pick has been serviceable or a wait and see, because they haven't played much yet.
A few have been really good like Lacy and Jones.
Ingram was a lower 1st round pick and has struggled with injury.
What teams have to realize is that CNS is able to coach great performances out of kids and that who those players were at Bama isn't necessarily who they will be in NFL. I'm not saying that CNS makes them look better than they are, but rather as good as they can possibly be, and the adjustment to the NFL coaches, who are becoming less and less "hands-on" and aren't half the disciplinarians that CNS is, isn't always kind to them. The ones who want to figure it out will still become good and perhaps great players.
didn't most people (and I mean the smart people on this board) feel that Carpenter and Jackson were overdrafted in the first place?
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