Tag: Mel Kiper Jr.

Listen: Mel Kiper, Todd McShay throw down over Giants QB Daniel Jones

ESPN’s Mel Kiper and Todd McShay removed their gloves and went 10 round over New York Giants QB Daniel Jones and his long-term viability.

Is New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones a franchise guy or does the team still have an issue at the position that must be addressed?

For anyone who watched Jones in 2019, the answer to that question is a simple one. But in the mind of ESPN’s Todd McShay, he saw something in Jones that no one else did during his rookie campaign, including fellow ESPN expert Mel Kiper Jr.

The two ESPN personalities took the gloves off and went 10 rounds over Jones on Friday evening, with Kiper insisting he’s a franchise quarterback and McShay suggesting he “clearly” isn’t up to snuff.

Listen to the battle for yourself:

Kiper: “[The Giants] have a franchise quarterback, so now they just have to build the line up…”

McShay: “According to Mel Kiper.”

Kiper: “… well, according to anybody that watches the Giants except Todd. And you… let’s face it, you didn’t like him coming in, so you’re going to ride this false narrative through his career. Never give the kid credit…”

McShay: “It is honestly one of the most surprising things, and it shouldn’t be because I’ve worked with you for so long now, going on 15 years. It still is so shocking to me, because I thought this was going to be an easy one. Like ‘yeah, it’s his rookie year, but he clearly didn’t play as well as I thought..’”

Kiper: “He played unbelievable! Todd! Todd!”

McShay: “I just assumed that was going to be the narrative and you were going to come crawling back to me saying ‘I hope year two is better.’”

Kiper: “Are you delusional? You’ve got to be dreaming, delusional or drinking something other than your bottle of water.”

McShay: “I honestly think you’re delusional if we watched the same games.”

Kiper: “If we go back and watched every Giant game and saw the throws he made, I’d say ‘what are you looking at?’ You can say the same to me, tell me I don’t know what the hell I’m looking at?’ Because if I’m looking at the Giants week after week with what he had to deal with, with receivers in and out….”

McShay: “We spend plenty of time alone in that green room. I’d love to watch every single throw… let’s get somebody to cut it up.”

Let’s hope McShay and Kiper do break down Jones film and share it publicly, because Giants fans would love to see what the heck McShay is even talking about.

Yes, Jones had some hiccups during his rookie campaign, primarily when it came to ball control, but as it was with Lamar Jackson, that can be corrected with quality coaching and an improved offensive line. So if that’s McShay’s benchmark, then clearly he had a similar opinion of Jackson a year prior. . .  Right?

Hopefully the decision-makers at ESPN see the potential in this film session/debate and air it on ESPN2 or ESPN+ in the near future.

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Mel Kiper Jr. dishes on whether Redskins should take Tua Tagovailoa

What if the Redskins pulled a shocker?

Washington Redskins fans had to know this one was going to come up.

The Redskins hold the second pick in the 2020 draft, meaning it doesn’t matter the team took Dwayne Haskins last year — pre-draft questions were always going to wonder if they should take a quarterback again.

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. is the latest to tackle this topic ahead of the combine, with Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa the center of discussion. Here’s what he said, via Garrett Stepien of 247 Sports:

“They consider it if he was healthy. And it goes back to if Drew Brees had been healthy, he’d have been a Dolphin, not a Saint. But he wasn’t, so they opted for (Dante) Culpepper. So again, ere’s a situation with Tua — not completely healthy, medical being an issue, durability being an issue with three separate lower-extremity injuries. I’d think, if you’re the Redskins right now, you move forward with Dwayne Haskins. And you draft Chase Young. But it’s definitely tempting because Tua is better than Haskins, so you want to be better at quarterback than you are. That’s always what you want to be. You can’t get better than great, unless you have a great one, but … if Tua wasn’t coming into this process with that question, I would take Tua. … so I would say it’s definitely worth strongly considering.”

Whether Tagovailoa is a better prospect than Haskins was is hard to say. He’s certainly got more on tape and has some massive upside of his own.

But the Redskins are already married to the idea of Haskins, even if a prior coaching staff drafted him. Adding another passer would sacrifice improving the team in a significant area elsewhere and dash Haskins’ chances before they really get underway.

Interestingly, while this conversation might draw the ire of fans, it’s probably beneficial if the rest of the league thinks the Redskins could take a quarterback again.

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Dolphins’ draft yields drama in latest 2020 mock draft from Mel Kiper

Mel Kiper’s latest 2020 NFL mock draft has a dramatic surprise for the Dolphins, who draft their quarterback — just not the one you think.

The Miami Dolphins have seen the same name tied to the top of their mock drafts for the better part of 4 months. The whole football world expects Miami to lock in, target and acquire Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. It’s been a constant theme for the last year, plus some.

But the Dolphins made the proposition of landing Tagovailoa complicated by winning five football games this past season. If you asked Miami if they could go back and give a win or two back, of course they’d tell you no. But might that answer be different come April? If Mel Kiper Jr’s latest mock draft comes to life, that answer might be yes, after all.

Kiper’s latest mock draft projects the 1st-round and he’s given the Dolphins three offensive talents:

  • Quarterback Justin Herbert, Oregon (5th overall)
  • Offensive tackle Andrew Thomas, Georgia (18th overall)
  • Running back D’Andre Swift, Georgia (26th overall)

And the player Miami has been tied to for so long? Tagovailoa was off the board by the time Miami got on the clock at 5, with the Detroit Lions drafting Tagovailoa with the 3rd pick.

This is no time to panic, Tua fans. There’s clearly posturing taking place between the two sides of the Lions/Dolphins parties. Detroit has the higher pick — they’re a team that needs a lot of help to win now and help save the jobs of their head coach and their general manager. The Lions, surely, would tease drafting Tua if they knew it would increase Miami’s urgency to move up in a deal.

Miami has all the picks in the world, and there is no one that can realistically threaten their trade packages. And so with that leverage, Miami, surely, would tease rather having Herbert (and the picks) than Tagovailoa to passively inform Detroit that the team refuses to be fleeced in a trade.

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Mel Kiper Jr. comes to defense of Bengals fans over Joe Burrow

Here’s a breath of fresh air for Bengals fans.

Cincinnati Bengals faithful have unexpected allies in Mel Kiper Jr. and Stephen A. Smith.

If the last few weeks have felt demoralizing for Bengals fans thanks to the Joe Burrow speculation, the NFL draft pioneer himself stepped in to shut down some of the noise.

Kiper fought back in favor of the Bengals on a recent edition of First Take:

“Well first of all, the bashing of the Bengals…the Bengals have been to the Super Bowl. Four teams in the NFL have never been to the Super Bowl…they had success with Carson Palmer, they went to the playoffs, he got hurt in the playoff game. And then Andy Dalton went to the playoffs…This notion the Bengals have been just horrible…is ridiculous.”

Kiper also made it clear he thinks the Burrow will indeed be the pick and he’ll play there. And at the end of the clip, Stephen A. Smith isn’t too thrilled with the narratives either.

Speaking of narratives, we broke down all that has actually been said about the Burrow situation and why the national perspective has it wrong.

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Mock draft watch: Mel Kiper projects Mekhi Becton to Browns again

Kiper stuck with his first choice to the Browns in his latest update

Veteran ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. updated his mock draft projections for 2020 on Tuesday. Kiper joined the near-unanimous crowd in projecting an offensive tackle to the need Cleveland Browns.

Kiper’s current choice of the top tackle prospects for the Browns is Mekhi Becton from Louisville. He’s the pick at No. 10 in the first round.

It’s not the first time we’ve seen Becton projected to the Browns. The athletic behemoth has gained quite a bit of momentum from the end of the season, when Becton was often slotted as a potential second-round pick. But Kiper has had Becton to the Browns in the first round in his earlier mock, too.

This one is easy: I’m sticking with my pick, because the Browns’ need at left tackle is so obvious. The 6-7, 370-pound Becton can be an immediate starter on Baker Mayfield’s blind side, and he’ll be a beast in the running game in front of Nick Chubb.

It’s odd to think of a 370-pounder being able to operate effectively in a zone blocking scheme like the Browns expect to run under new head coach Kevin Stefanski, but Becton has shown the ability to make it a possibility.

Mel Kiper Jr. sends Henry Ruggs to Bills in second mock (2020 NFL Draft)

ESPN’s NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. send Alabama wide receiver Henry Ruggs III to Buffalo Bills in second mock draft.

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. has changed his tune a bit on the Buffalo Bills in regard to their first-round pick at the upcoming NFL draft.

The ESPN analyst released his second mock ahead of the 2020 NFL Draft on Tuesday. In it, the Bills select wide receiver Henry Ruggs from Alabama. In his first slate of guesses, the Bills also take a wide receiver, but the pick at that point was Colorado’s Laviska Shenault.

Here’s how Kiper breaks down his Ruggs selection:

John Brown and Cole Beasley each were targeted more than 100 times last season. Can you name the Bills pass-catcher who ranked third on the team in targets? That would be rookie tight end Dawson Knox, who came on at the end of the season, finishing with 28 catches on 50 targets. So let’s get Josh Allen another speedy target in Ruggs, who might be the fastest player in the entire 2020 class. I’ve been told to expect a time under 4.30 in the 40-yard dash at the combine. Ruggs is more than a speed guy who will catch deep balls; he improved as a route runner in 2019 and can break tackles after the catch.

Ruggs has a fantastic skill set and will likely be a first-round pick at the upcoming draft. However, he’s not quite the exact type of wide receiver many observers of the team would like to see on the Bills. At 6-feet tall, Ruggs isn’t an overly large target with a big catch radius. The Bills have talent with only modest size already in wideouts John Brown and Cole Beasley. But he does have game-breaking quickness which makes Ruggs a dynamic weapon for any offense.

In Kiper’s second mock, Ruggs is the fourth receiver to be selected as CeeDee Lamb and Jerry Jeudy go early, but speaking of size, Tee Higgins is selected before the Bills as well, but in a bit of a tough way. Those looking for a big-bodied target might be upset seeing Higgins come off the board at No. 21 overall to the Eagles, one pick before the Bills’ first rounder at No. 22.

In addition, Ruggs is also the second-to-last receiver taken in the first round. LSU’s Justin Jefferson goes to the Packers at pick No. 30 as Shenault drops out of Kiper’s first-round range.

Shenault will be a potential first rounder depending on his scouting combine performance later this month. He was diagnosed with osteitis pubis, an inflammation of the pubic bone. But it was announced he’ll avoid surgery, so Shenault is likely hoping to prove at the combine that the injury isn’t anything serious.

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Mel Kiper Jr. gives Bengals predictable Andy Dalton replacement in first 2020 mock

One expert didn’t have a hard time making the pick.

Though one former Cincinnati Bengals coach thinks the team could go with Justin Herbert, ESPN’s Mel Kiper has Zac Taylor picking up Joe Burrow in his first mock draft.

Kiper’s mocks are always an interesting point of conversation as draft season gets underway, yet even he couldn’t go away from the obvious at No. 1.

Here is the explanation from Kiper:

“Did you expect anything else here? The Bengals need a quarterback, and the Heisman Trophy-winning Burrow, coming off one of the greatest seasons in college football history, is the clear No. 1 quarterback in this class. Remember that the 2-14 Bengals can release former starter Andy Dalton with no dead-cap charge, so this can be a clean slate with Burrow — who went to high school in Athens, Ohio — taking over (and 2019 fourth-round pick Ryan Finley serving as backup). One more thing to remember: Cincinnati got zero snaps from last year’s first-round pick Jonah Williams, so he’ll help Burrow immediately. Now the Bengals have to get Burrow some weapons, starting with keeping free-agent receiver A.J. Green.”

Everything is spot on here, with perhaps the only contention being the Andy Dalton point — Bengals staff made it clear at the Senior Bowl the veteran could very much stick around as a mentor or bridge.

But besides that, it’s safe to presume the Bengals won’t go any other way with the first pick. Taylor and Co. got a close look at Herbert at the Senior Bowl, but the resumes and film clearly point toward Burrow.

Barring a trade offer of downright dumbfounding proportions, the Bengals are likely going with the fun local storyline, never mind the historic season and other must-have details.

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