Mel kipers draft grades

[Ever Since '86]

I'm curious to know if we've ever signed this many undrafted FA's?

[nero47]

I'm curious to know if we've ever signed this many undrafted FA's?

Don't know, but this is almost akin to the old 17 round draft days. Back in the day each team took as many as 17 to 20 players in a given year. Tahat way even veteran backups had to fight for their jobs. once in a while a John Unitas or Jack Kemp would show up. In the early nineties, when Dallas was a joke, jimmy johnson traded herschel walker to minn for a boatload of picks. Then because of plan B free agency and Dallas's 1-15 record, he was able to look at every free agent first.

 

It would appear that this FO is using a strategy similar to this. Bring in a playmaker and quality players(not merely by their measurables, but their on-field performance), add what amounts to late round draft choices that were considered draftable as udfa's, then find backup FA's to fill. It may take 2-3 years to get everyone you want, but then you're solid for years to come.

[SageAgainstTheMachine]

I've never had a Starbucks coffee. Being of an age, the thought of paying their prices for a cup 'o joe just...offends my sensibilities. And I like coffee black - I like the taste of coffee as is. If I want a sugar and fat bomb, I'll buy a milkshake instead.

 

A couple of years ago, an older poster in one of the recurring beef and weck threads said that he could get one in his area...for something like 8 bucks. He balked - perfectly understandable to me.

 

 

 

Agreed 100% on coffee...has to be taken black.

 

But the stuff at McDonald's? Blecch...I'll pay the extra dollar at Tim Horton's or Starbucks.

[stuckincincy]

Agreed 100% on coffee...has to be taken black.

 

But the stuff at McDonald's? Blecch...I'll pay the extra dollar at Tim Horton's or Starbucks.

 

Try it again.

[John Adams]

I went back to pull a bunch of Mel Kiper draft grades and point out all the times he was wrong...because I have irrational hate for him. Going back to 2003 (you can Google them all easily), I'd have to say that although he's had some misses, he's more often right in his draft grades. The only good draft of those 7 is 2009. The rest were ****.

 

Some funny stuff below regarding his Bills grades.

 

2003 Notable: A few weeks ago, Donahoe indicated that he might be tempted to grab rehabilitating tailback Willis McGahee with his pick in the first round. But he seemed to cool recently and, to help establish a bit of a smokescreen, neither he nor any of his scouts attended McGahee's on-campus workout last week. The Bills did, though, dispatch their doctor to twice examine McGahee's knee.

Will start as rookie: Probably none, but defensive end Chris Kelsay (No. 2), the kind of high-energy guy Donahoe and Modrak like to get, should see considerable playing time. The only downside is that Kelsay might be a little too much like Aaron Schobel, the incumbent at right defensive end.

Best value: Wide receiver Sam Aiken (No. 4) has nice size, doesn't run very well, but is very polished and should make a nice possession guy. The Bills are looking for some receivers to step up with the departure of Peerless Price to the Atlanta Falcons.

Boom or bust: Obviously, two or three years from now, the big gamble on McGahee will either be viewed as a brainstorm or a brain spasm.

Grade: C+ (because of McGahee uncertainty)

 

2004 Buffalo Bills: C+

Lee Evans will be a big help to the offense with his speed at receiver, and it was a bold move to take J.P. Losman at quarterback. Tim Anderson was a good pick in the third round but Tim Euhus is limited as a tight end.

 

2005 Buffalo Bills: C+

The Bills traded their 2005 first-round pick in the JP Losman deal but got a steal 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 nickel back in the NFL.

 

2006 Buffalo Bills: GRADE: C

While it was a reach to take safety Donte Whitner with the eighth pick, he is a great prospect and I like him. Giving up a third-round pick to get DT John McCargo in the first round was a reach. He's a solid player but not an elite one. Cornerback Ashton Youboty lasted longer than I thought but is a very good pick. Safety Ko Simpson and defensive tackle Kyle Williams are solid. Overall, the Bills reached on both of their first-round picks but drafted players who will help the team.

2008 Buffalo Bills: GRADE: C+

Cornerback Leodis McKelvin is going to be a very good player and I liked the pick. James Hardy is the big wide receiver the Bills need, someone who can be a threat in the red zone. Virginia Tech DE Chris Ellis is a decent pass-rusher, and I thought CB Reggie Corner and TE Derek Fine were reaches in the fourth round. I did like their late-round picks, RB Xavier Omon, OT Demetrius Bell and WR Steve Johnson.

 

2009 Buffalo Bills: GRADE: B+

Aaron Maybin was the pass-rusher this team needed to anchor the defensive line. On the other side of the line, the selections of center Eric Wood and guard Andrew Levitre in the second round were excellent picks. Wood is a very good center and Levitre very well may be the best guard in this draft. Also, Jairus Byrd's ball skills could help him become a very good nickelback in this league. They got the tight end they needed in Shawn Nelson to give this offense another weapon. The reason this team didn't receive an A is because it didn't get a right or a left tackle, which I thought was a need with the trade of offensive tackle Jason Peters.

[Art in PNS]

Try it again.

Agreed . The Newmans coffee at McD's is fine . Love seattle hate starbucks . Stood in line a few yaers ago . asked for a large black coffee. After the pincushion , tattoed mental midget couldn't handle that I left.

[yungmack]

on its face a C would be a generous grade. Based on need (offensive line, qb) we didn't hit the major weaknesses. We used a number of picks to staff a new defensive system when we didn't have the personnel on hand to do implement it, which is a bit puzzling.

 

That being said "on its face" and 75 cents will get you a senior citizen coffee ad Mickey d's (if you're a senior citizen). Time will tell. We get nine wins with these guys playing and we are going to get an A grade.

I guess Nix is an idiot...after all, he didn't identify QB and LT as the team's highest needs, unlike Kiper, and many who comment on this board have done. And because of his foolish failure to draft for these Kiper-defined needs, the draft was a failure. I mean, who the hell does Buddy think he is to NOT do what Kiper says he must?

 

I don't know, maybe I'm an imbecile, but I'm going to trust that Buddy Nix knows more about the real needs the Bills have, and who he thinks are the best players available to fill those needs, surely more than I do.

[SageAgainstTheMachine]

Try it again.

 

Maybe. I've only had it a couple times at airports, but it was just awful as I remember it.

[IHFO]

Try it again.

Sorry cincy but I am a young hip 21 year old college student who feels the need to spend exuberant amounts of money on fancy coffee brands to fully enhance my toolbag image

 

And my dad tells me I have no money management skills...psh

 

I just thought it was slightly humorous you know exactly how much the cup of coffee is haha...that being said my father is 65 so he qualifies for that, but he's addicted to Tim Hortons

[BuffOrange]

Oh, yeah, I'm sure he lies awake nights thinking, "Oh, if only I could be an NFL scout and live in hotels all year long and make 5% of what I make now. Oh, if only."

 

Seriously. People pretending like scouts somehow have a better lifestyle with a bigger paycheck never gets old.

[KOKBILLS]

I have no problems with Mel or what He does...I actually like him a lot...But in this case he's doing exactly what most Folks are doing concerning The Bills...He's looking at The Bills Needs and HIS Board...He's probably coming to the conclusion that because The Bills so greatly need help at LT and QB they pretty much blew it at # 9 by not taking Clausen...then they REALLY blew it by not taking him at #41...Had The Bills gone Spiller, Clausen Kiper would have given them an A+ I bet...Then finally he's downgrading them for not coming out with a decent LT prospect at all...OK, fair enough...

 

But what most "experts" (and non-experts) including Mel are missing is, first and foremost, this is year #1 of a total re-build in Buffalo...The Bills want to be good as fast as they can, but filling Needs only with disregard to THEIR Board, could be disastrous...It could lead to another 5 Years of losing...So The Bills top Scouts (and Gailey) looked at this Draft and saw it's strength was on the Defensive side, especially at D-Line (Mike Mayock said this was the deepest Draft he's ever Graded as far as Defense and D-Linemen were concerned)...They looked at the QB's and LT's they could get at #9 and #41 and they were not excited at all...They looked at CJ Spiller (a Player Gailey Coached against at GT) and saw a Home Run threat, Top 5 talent that could be had at #9 Overall...They fell in love with Spiller at #9...We'll see how that works out...I'm still not crazy about the Pick...But it's hard to argue with their logic on why Spiller was taken...The Bills did not have anything remotely like CJ Spiller...Now they do...

 

At #41 and #72 The Bills turned their attention to the #30 Ranked Run Defense in the NFL...Here's where I really don't get some of the poor Grades The Bills have received...They play in a Division with the #1 Rushing Team in The NFL AND the Miami Dolphins who will Wildcat you to death if you let em.' How is it a bad thing that The Bills addressed this by Drafting 2 Players who can fill holes immediately in a D-Line Rotation? They got 2 guys that fit great into a 3-4 D-line and they're both unselfish hard workers...I just don't see how that's a bad thing UNLESS Clausen turns out to be a Franchise QB...But lets face it...It does not matter what Mel or anybody else says, the chances of Clausen being a Franchise QB are slim at best...He did not last until #48 because the consensus is he'll be the next Montana after all...He lasted that long because most Teams have questions about his abilities...Quite a few Folks thought Brady Quinn was the next great thing too...How's that working out so far?

 

So anyway...The Bills went in a direction they felt was necessary due to their Board, their lack of love for Clausen (at least their lack of belief he'll be any better than Edwards or Brohm), the insistance on fixing the Run Defense, and their feeling they were getting excellent value with the 2 D-Linemen...If Clausen turns out to be all that no question the Bills blew it...Same with McCoy...But if not, in the end, this could turn out to be the building blocks of a heck of a nice NFL Team in a few Years...I think this Draft was a solid B for The Bills...

 

We'll see I guess...

[Mr. WEO]

Mel gave us a c+. After looking over his draft guide I notcied that between our draft and free agent signings he gave 16 of our guys a 6th round or better grade. I would say that Buddy grabbed a bunch of useful players .

There are only 7 rounds in the draft....

[stuckincincy]

Sorry cincy but I am a young hip 21 year old college student who feels the need to spend exuberant amounts of money on fancy coffee brands to fully enhance my toolbag image

 

And my dad tells me I have no money management skills...psh

 

I just thought it was slightly humorous you know exactly how much the cup of coffee is haha...that being said my father is 65 so he qualifies for that, but he's addicted to Tim Hortons

 

 

You are young, hip...and an honest man.

 

BTW - at McD, 55 qualifies one as an official dinosaur. I wonder now and then if they would sell me a Happy Meal at a discount.

 

That's all I've got for now - the GASPM crowd (Give All Servers Protection Money) are hot on my heels.

[bkc]

There are only 7 rounds in the draft....

 

 

correct making 6th round or better grades all the more impressive

[bkc]

There are only 7 rounds in the draft....

 

 

buddy added 16 draftable platyers to a very thin roster

 

I say a nice start

[tennesseeboy]

buddy added 16 draftable platyers to a very thin roster

 

I say a nice start

he added 16 players to the roster...everyone added about 16 or more players to their roster. The question is how many wins is your team gonna get next year with those players. If we get nine wins, I'll agree with you. If we get less, I'll be hoping we get a new coach and gm. Wait and see.