Kiper gives Bills low marks in draft

[C.Biscuit97]

Draft grades It's all entertainment folks. Why people care what a community college grad, never played/ coached/ worked in a front office in football draft "expert" have to say is beyond me. A+ or F-, it means nothing.

[KD in CA]

Yet Kouandjio was #32 on Mel's board and McShay gave him an early 2nd round grade. Seems like good value to me.

 

Yeah, I don't know why they were so dismissive of him and the late round guys. Seems like at a minimum the Bills got guys who fit their style.

[RuntheDamnBall]

Yeah, I don't know why they were so dismissive of him and the late round guys. Seems like at a minimum the Bills got guys who fit their style.

Without whining, can we say if NE picked Kouandijo it would have been labelled a great value by the chuckleheads (at the very least "if anyone can make this work, Belicheck will!")?

 

I mean, is Gronk's case not very similar?

[CountryCletus]

If you do not pick the person he had picked , your pick sucks.

 

That's exactly it!!! If these "experts" suggest for months that team A should take a certain player to fill a glaring position of need and get great value, and said team takes draft a different direction, they can't flip and say it was a great draft. Very similar to how officials won't over turn a poor call and risk making one of their own look bad... Same concept, but in all reality, both scenarios end up making them look incompetent... Kiper and company have no problem coming up with excuses on how players "beat the odds" to become a productive pro... It's very rare when they flat out admit that they didn't see the player for what he was...

[RCOHEN13]

Mel Kiper gave the Bills a C- grade for the draft. LOL

 

It's the traditional time to assign letter grades to teams' draft hauls and this year is no different. ESPN NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.'s draft grades are posted and the Buffalo Bills did not fare well.

 

Kiper gave the Bills a "C-minus," the second-lowest grade of any team. Only the Colts, with a "D-plus" grade, had a worse draft, according to Kiper.

 

The grade is divided into two parts: "needs" and "value." Kiper gave the Bills a "D-plus" for needs and a "C" for value.

 

 

What does mean?? It means the Bills had a great draft and Kiper is a moron. Everybody said Watkins was the best offensive and perhaps player in the draft. But God forbid that the Bills actually trade up and get the "best Player". When the Bills finish 10-6 and Watkins has 1300 yards and 8tds the experts can stuff it.

 

Even KIPER had Sammy as #1 offensive guy and #2 on his big board behind Clowney. Its based on what we paid for him. I just dont get how the falcons got kudos for trade up to get Julio (who is not the prospect coming out of college that Watkins is) and we gave up LESS than them.

 

He posted we didnt adress some "needs" but what he views as needs are not true needs. With us trading up and getting Sammy the TE position will not less used in offense. I foresee mostly 3 WR sets with either Chandler in at TE or Gragg in has good camp as more mobile TE or we go with 2 RB on field, either 1 split out, or both in backfield. I dont get why Marrone and Hackett didnt use 2 back sets with BOTH CJ and Freddy on field at same time. If u are a run heavy O, why not have 2 threats to get ball in back field which will make D have to gamble on which guy will get ball. I think it would be brilliant to constantly run 2 back sets now that we have 4 talented RB's on roster and even Summers looked pretty darn good at FB and can see him progressing alot more as this was his first time with real job in NFL and will work his butt off to cement roster spot and was solid on ST.

 

And at Safety, we DRAFTED 2 guys both in mid rounds last yr and we already have Aaron Williams locked into 1 of safety spots and showed last yr he is MUCH better safety than CB. I expect the FO did their homework LAST yr and knew that both Duke and Meeks had to basically take a "redshirt" yr to learn NFL and learn from 1 of best in Byrd who they knew they had practically no chance in retaining. We did the smart thing LAST yr in drafting not 1 but both of them so we have options and both will work their butts off to EARN that spot, and not simply get handed it. I hope at start of camp, they allow Searcy to BEGIN with the 1's and allow Duke and Meeks to earn their spripes and snaps to see who has progressed more to be the starter opening day. We know what we got in Searcy. Can play solid in the box in sub packages, but just doesnt have the talent to be a starter unless its to fil in for inuries etc.. Why draft a safety when we invested 2 picks last yr???

 

These draft grades are full of crap, and mean ZERO in long run. Most these guys follow the Bills less than any other team and probably.

[stuckinny]

Kiper seems to grade the Bills harshly year in and year out. Giving up a first next year, if they make the playoffs, will not be a killer. The draft was deep this year because nearly twice the number of undergrads declared for it. Blame the new CBA. The talent pool will not be nearly as deep near the top of the first. Watkins was a good trade. Mel did not like it. Tough. I agree Cyrus and company each can be either a great pick or their liabilites limit their effectiveness. Henderson is the only draft pick I see as not making it out of training camp.

 

how can they fix that? Different pay scale for a senior with a degree? Maybe a signing bonus with a degree?

[YoloinOhio]

Even KIPER had Sammy as #1 offensive guy and #2 on his big board behind Clowney. Its based on what we paid for him. I just dont get how the falcons got kudos for trade up to get Julio (who is not the prospect coming out of college that Watkins is) and we gave up LESS than them.

 

He posted we didnt adress some "needs" but what he views as needs are not true needs. With us trading up and getting Sammy the TE position will not less used in offense. I foresee mostly 3 WR sets with either Chandler in at TE or Gragg in has good camp as more mobile TE or we go with 2 RB on field, either 1 split out, or both in backfield. I dont get why Marrone and Hackett didnt use 2 back sets with BOTH CJ and Freddy on field at same time. If u are a run heavy O, why not have 2 threats to get ball in back field which will make D have to gamble on which guy will get ball. I think it would be brilliant to constantly run 2 back sets now that we have 4 talented RB's on roster and even Summers looked pretty darn good at FB and can see him progressing alot more as this was his first time with real job in NFL and will work his butt off to cement roster spot and was solid on ST.

 

And at Safety, we DRAFTED 2 guys both in mid rounds last yr and we already have Aaron Williams locked into 1 of safety spots and showed last yr he is MUCH better safety than CB. I expect the FO did their homework LAST yr and knew that both Duke and Meeks had to basically take a "redshirt" yr to learn NFL and learn from 1 of best in Byrd who they knew they had practically no chance in retaining. We did the smart thing LAST yr in drafting not 1 but both of them so we have options and both will work their butts off to EARN that spot, and not simply get handed it. I hope at start of camp, they allow Searcy to BEGIN with the 1's and allow Duke and Meeks to earn their spripes and snaps to see who has progressed more to be the starter opening day. We know what we got in Searcy. Can play solid in the box in sub packages, but just doesnt have the talent to be a starter unless its to fil in for inuries etc.. Why draft a safety when we invested 2 picks last yr???

 

These draft grades are full of crap, and mean ZERO in long run. Most these guys follow the Bills less than any other team and probably.

In every draft grade review I have seen, this is what brought down the grade. Immediate draft grades are fun and harmless, yet completely meaningless.

[Security]

Yet Kouandjio was #32 on Mel's board and McShay gave him an early 2nd round grade. Seems like good value to me.

 

Their logic has to be that although they were rated that high, they are still risky, and would have been better suited to be on a team that has less holes to fill. Hope one of the 3 Lineman makes enough progress to be a starter.

[ChevyVanMiller]

I apologize if this point has already been made somewhere in the 6 pages of responses, but Kiper gave the Bills a C- because he felt that they overpaid for Sammy. He also downgraded the Browns to a B because he felt that Cleveland passed on Sammy (his #2 prospect in the entire draft) at #4.

 

Talk about having your draft grade cake and eating it, too.

Edited May 12, 2014 by ChevyVanMiller

[C.Biscuit97]

Their logic has to be that although they were rated that high, they are still risky, and would have been better suited to be on a team that has less holes to fill. Hope one of the 3 Lineman makes enough progress to be a starter.

 

RT is one of our biggest holes.

[Kirby Jackson]

In all honesty this was close to my dream scenario. I wanted an elite pass catcher (got the best in 5 years), a starting RT (check) and either Cyril Richardson or Gabe Jackson (check). There were some other things that I wanted like a punter and a DE but you can't get everything. They not only addressed the positions that I wanted but they did it with the player's that I wanted. I rely on those guys to evaluate the prospects but not the team needs. With all due respect to Kiper or any of those national analysts the people on this board understand the Bills needs WAY, WAY, WAY better than they do.

[Cotton Fitzsimmons]

Mel Kiper is a maroon.

 

xsoldier, my good friend, YE OLE couldn't have said it better himself.

[All_Pro_Bills]

Even KIPER had Sammy as #1 offensive guy and #2 on his big board behind Clowney. Its based on what we paid for him. I just dont get how the falcons got kudos for trade up to get Julio (who is not the prospect coming out of college that Watkins is) and we gave up LESS than them.

He gave the Bills a C- based on what we paid for him. As I pointed out earlier on this thread there's flaw in Kiper's logic. You are grading the picks, not the teams strategy or approach to making them. So if the Bills stayed at #9 and picked Beckham with all other picks and trades being made would he would have rated the Bills higher? I suspect he would be saying the Bills reached at #9 for Beckham and still gave them a C-.

 

I was against the idea of moving up for Watkins before the draft (I admit it) because I did not want to potentially give up 2nd and/or 3rd picks in this deep draft. But the fact is the Bills gave up NOTHING this year to move up 5 spots for Watkins. They gave up a 1 and a 4 next year. So if Kiper holds true to form he'll diss the Bills again next year for not having a 1st round pick when using his logic that fact should be ignored because he already discounted their 2014 grade for the loss of those future picks. The guys thinking is flawed.

 

If anybody should be upset here it should be the Browns fans. Their team traded out of the 4 spot back to 9 and got nothing in return this year. Wait until next year is the message from the team's management. They could have had Watkins and Manziel. What a buzz that would have created and the potential combination for years to come! For now they have to bank on the hope the Bills flounder this season and return them a top 10 pick and not one in the mid to high 20's range.

Edited May 12, 2014 by All_Pro_Bills

[thewildrabbit]

Almost every football analyst out there gave the Bills a bad grade for this years draft for one reason. They all think the Bills gave up to much for Watkins.

 

To put it in perspective, last year the Dolphins moved down from #12 down to #3 with the Raiders, and only gave up a 2nd round pick. I can only think the sole reason that gave up next years #1 & #4 is because they didn't want to give up anything in this years draft.

 

Now, Watkins had better show on the field that he was worthy of that trade. Is he that much better then WR Mike Evans, TE Eric Ebron, WR Odell Beckham Jr? The Bills could have stayed put and still drafted both those three mentioned, or traded back and gotten any one of a number of different positions along with an extra #2.

 

Time will tell.

[mannc]

 

Now, Watkins had better show on the field that he was worthy of that trade. Is he that much better then WR Mike Evans, TE Eric Ebron, WR Odell Beckham Jr? The Bills could have stayed put and still drafted both those three mentioned, or traded back and gotten any one of a number of different positions along with an extra #2.

 

Time will tell.

I think we can all agree that Watkins is a great prospect. I would be shocked if he busts. But you have identified the key question: Will he turn out to be a significantly better player than the other options if the Bills had stayed at 9, especially Beckham, the next receiver taken? (Evans does not really count because they would have had to move up to take him too.) The next most important variable is where the Bills finish in the standings this year. If they finish 3-13 and have to relinquish a top-two pick in a year when a couple of franchise QBs are available, then Watkins was probably not worth it, even if he makes the HOF.

[May Day 10]

They rate it poorly... Basically say the worst move was grabbing arguably the best player in the draft....

 

I still disagree that spending a 4th and 1st is an overpayment for a player of watkins' caliber/potential. 1st rounders are vastly overvalued and overrated pre-pick. A year after players are picked, their values usually plummet well below a 1st. You miss a 1st? So what. Denver took tim tebow a few years back and that franchise didn't fall into the earth. The only way this bites the bills in the butt is if the wheels fall off in 2014 and the end up in the top 5-8. I believe the gulf between who would be available at 9 and watkins to be major. Mind you, I'm skeptical on ebron.

 

I wish someone would look at their actual picks to grade as opposed to the nonexistent 2015 1st rounder.

[Trader]

I also saw Kiper say the Bills COULD have stayed at 9 and picked Beckham instead of Watkins. But in doing this I think Mel strayed from the task of evaluating the picks and into the world of evaluating the teams strategy. Well who is the better prospect? And after all, the move surrendered zero 2014 picks but rather next year. So if you want to give the Bills a bad draft grade for the Watkins trade of picks then do it next year, not in 2014.

And he stated that Kouandjio had injury questions with his knee. Well, the Bills staff along with Dr. Andrews checked out his knee and gave him the okay. Who am I going to believe concerning orthopedic problems like the knee? Draft guru Mel Kiper or world class doctor James Andrews?

Overall, I thought it was a pretty could draft that addressed areas of need specifically the offensive line. If these big roadgraders can do the job then if anything it will make me happy to see 3 and 1 turn back to a running situation where the line pushes the defense back a couple yards rather than throwing an incomplete slant pattern and punting.

We Have TJ Graham who is a lot like Beckham and Goodwin who is something like Beckham only faster. Beckham is less than 200 lbs and under 6 feet tall. In college he hears footsteps. If he hears footsteps in college they are going to sound like elephants in the pros. Beckham's production last year paled in comparison to Watkins. If we drafted another undersized receiver the fans would have gone bonkers.

[TheFunPolice]

I honestly think some of them are angry that the Bills got Watkins....

 

Sometimes the simple answer is the best!

[Trader]

Yet Kouandjio was #32 on Mel's board and McShay gave him an early 2nd round grade. Seems like good value to me.

Exactly I think the word hypocrite fits here. If New England drafted Kouandjio he would be the steal of the draft.

[Steve in Carolina]

Trading away Stevie Johnson has to go in the decision. We now have to rely on the questionable Mike Williams and having a 6 foot nothing receiver be a #1. We have no size in the receiver position not a way to be successful in todays NFL undersized receivers with no TE

Dumb comment and a bad beer. How tall was Stevie? Count the number of tight ends on the roster.