Mel Kiper wrong again

[LeoparCT]

The so called espn "expert" is predicting that the pats draft funchess the wr out of michigan. Does Mel not know that Edelman and Lafell had a very strong end of season run with Jules arguably the MVP of sb 49. The real areas of need for the team is on the O line and replacing our best DT with a younger version. How did old Mel even get that gig anyway?

 

[ZoisKing]

I like the player for us, so I can see that, but we have more pressing needs.

 

[manxman2601]

The so called espn "expert" is predicting that the pats draft funchess the wr out of michigan. Does Mel not know that Edelman and Lafell had a very strong end of season run with Jules arguably the MVP of sb 49. The real areas of need for the team is on the O line and replacing our best DT with a younger version. How did old Mel even get that gig anyway?

I don't think Funchess is the absolute no-no you says he is:

1. Patriots traded for a similar player in Tim Wright who appeared to under perform towards the end of the season.
2. BB privately worked out Kelvin Benjamin last year.
3. BB is always looking for mismatches on offense. Funchess could provide that.

Do we already have the Funchess type in Wright? Maybe, but Wright , for whatever reason, went missing in the second half of the year.

 

[LeoparCT]

I like the player for us, so I can see that, but we have more pressing needs.

Agreed. The guy is probably a first rounder maybe 2nd round at worst but he's purely luxury. The biggest upgrades needed are the O line and at DT and he won't fall enough for us to draft him once the needs are taken care of.

 

[ZoisKing]

Agreed. The guy is probably a first rounder maybe 2nd round at worst but he's purely luxury. The biggest upgrades needed are the O line and at DT and he won't fall enough for us to draft him once the needs are taken care of.

That's exactly what I'm mocking to us right now in our first three picks. Two D line and one O line. Another quality offensive lineman will help our passing game out more than anything.

 

[I.M. Fletcher]

I like the theatre that Kiper provides, but hes obviously not what he was once held up to be. With that said, there are other draft guys who I have a lot of faith in who think Funchess would be a dream get for the Pats.

I am like you, and dont see the fit considered all the other potential needs, but he could have HHWNBN potential, in a bigger frame.

 

[scott99]

Kiper likes the sexy pick. He ignores geniuses like BB, and rates the players according to video and combine numbers. I bet he's NEVER gotten a BB 1st round pick right. Though I've been pissed by several BB picks, and I've been right a decent amount of times, I've been wrong many times. My ex-wife once said to me after we drafted Deon Branch in the 2nd round, many be Belichick drafts guys that HE feels are right for HIS system. This was after I was ranting and raving how much of a reach Branch was because most of my draft guides had Branch rated in the 5th-7th round.

Hate to say it, My ex-wife, who didn't know **** about football, hit the nail right on the head. BB doesn't get it right all the time, but he sure gets it right most of the time. Kiper will NEVER understand the simple fact that BB picks who he feels fits his system. As I said in the receiver draft thread, very rarely do large receivers have success in the BB/Brady era (just Moss and Lafell). This offense is built around small, shifty receivers who are able to get yards after the catch. From Brown, to Branch, to Welker, to Edelman, those were/are the kinda guys that fit our offense. Funchess does not.

Playing Devil's Advocate, I do feel BB would have selected Kelvin Benjamin 29th last year.

 

[Gabriel_p94]

Did kiper even have bud Dupree in the first?

 

[manxman2601]

Kiper likes the sexy pick. He ignores geniuses like BB, and rates the players according to video and combine numbers. I bet he's NEVER gotten a BB 1st round pick right. Though I've been pissed by several BB picks, and I've been right a decent amount of times, I've been wrong many times. My ex-wife once said to me after we drafted Deon Branch in the 2nd round, many be Belichick drafts guys that HE feels are right for HIS system. This was after I was ranting and raving how much of a reach Branch was because most of my draft guides had Branch rated in the 5th-7th round.

Hate to say it, My ex-wife, who didn't know **** about football, hit the nail right on the head. BB doesn't get it right all the time, but he sure gets it right most of the time. Kiper will NEVER understand the simple fact that BB picks who he feels fits his system. As I said in the receiver draft thread, very rarely do large receivers have success in the BB/Brady era (just Moss and Lafell). This offense is built around small, shifty receivers who are able to get yards after the catch. From Brown, to Branch, to Welker, to Edelman, those were/are the kinda guys that fit our offense. Funchess does not.

Playing Devil's Advocate, I do feel BB would have selected Kelvin Benjamin 29th last year.

Whether it will work or not, and I think the size of a WR is irrelevant personally (see Gronk), it's pretty clear BB wants a tall Receiver to add to the offense. Just look at Mark Harrison and the working out of Kelvin Benjamin and the fact that Tim Wright was a make or break part of the Mankins trade. Whether BB now has that player in Wright is a question that needs answering but no-one should be dismissing a Funchess pick to the level the OP does. I don't think it's the most likely pick but I think it's still a possibility - BB likes his game changer picks and Funchess is potentially one of those - a lot more so than some of these DTs.

 

[Username]

I don't like Funchess, for the same reasons I didn't like Jace Amaro last year. He's fine in space but struggles to make contested catches, despite his size. His hands are unreliable under pressure. He's not a precise route runner probably due to his stride. Definitely an intriguing prospect and could be great but I'd be wary of using a first round pick on him.

 

[Off The Grid]

I don't personally like the idea, because I consider Funchess a 2nd/3rd Round Value and because I'd much rather see us load up on Trench Warriors, but Funchess indisputably fills a gaping hole at a Position.

There's a lot of debate in the online Scouting world as to whether Funchess is a Tight End or a Wide Out, but I believe that it's a silly debate which persists only because most folks in the aforementioned online Scouting world inexplicably fail to recognize the existence of a new category of Player: The Flex End.

If a classical Tight End ~ Rob Gronkowski ~ can be described as an Half Lineman/Half Wide Out Hybrid, then a Flex End could be called an Hybrid's Hyrbrid: 3/4 WideOut and 1/4 Lineman, if you will.

Aaron Hernandez was of course the quintessential Flex End: He had a Skill Set that was vastly different from Gronkowski's, but equally different from, say, Julian Edelman's or Brandon LeFell's.

Whether we even need to field Flex Ends is to me a very legitimate question, but considering that Gronkowski is a Tight End, Hoomanawanui is also a Tight End and a marginal one at that, and that Timothy Wright, despite bizarre claims to the contrary, is a Split End ~ like LaFell ~ then it seems pretty clear, at least to me, that there is a yawning, gaping hole at Flex End: Our Roster includes a grand total of Zero.

But the fact that Mad Bill has made little or no effort to replace Hernandez over the last two Years gives us little reason to expect'm to do so now. Kiper's preposterous presumption that we would not only bring the Position back after two full Years but spend a 1st Rounder in order to do so is deranged, to put it kindly.

 

[Off The Grid]

I like the theatre that Kiper provides, but hes obviously not what he was once held up to be.

Nicely put.

Kiper, to me, is to Drafts what Jim Cramer is to the Stock Market: His Pie Hole is beating his Brain, 70-3.

The Vast Majority who've heard of either guy probably think they're experts, but what they are of course are Clowns. Once you learn their Fields, yourself, you realize that they can speak the lingo fluently and loudly enough to fool most folks, but that they've both got their heads up their Assets.

They speak loud and fast and pray that they keep fooling enough people to keep their Jobs.

 

[Username]

Nicely put.

Kiper, to me, is to Drafts what Jim Cramer is to the Stock Market: His Pie Hole is beating his Brain, 70-3.

The Vast Majority who've heard of either guy probably think they're experts, but what they are of course are Clowns. Once you learn their Fields, yourself, you realize that they can speak the lingo fluently and loudly enough to fool most folks, but that they've both got their heads up their Assets.

They speak loud and fast and pray that they keep fooling enough people to keep their Jobs.

Jim Mora said something the other day on NFLN when disagreeing with Mike Mayocks opinion, I thought he may have been alluding to Kiper. He said, and I'm paraphrasing here, "Look, I like Mike and I respect his opinion. Unlike some of the other so called draft experts Mike actually works incredibly hard. He watches tape, puts the work in, contacts coaches and staff for opinions and doesn't just piggy back off other peoples opinions, rehashing them in his own words".

In the last few drafts Kiper has been caught out by a few of the Patriots picks and couldn't offer an opinion, Tavon Wilson and Duron Harmon I think? He normally stops commenting on picks after the third round, unless someone has fallen drastically, and just rehashes his opinion of the main talking points of the first 3 rounds during rds. 4-7. It's like he knows nothing about the guys being drafted. Meanwhile Mayock is still enthusiatically discussing the merits of Zach Morris et al.

 

[Off The Grid]

Nicely put.

Kiper, to me, is to Drafts what Jim Cramer is to the Stock Market: His Pie Hole is beating his Brain, 70-3.

The Vast Majority who've heard of either guy probably think they're experts, but what they are of course are Clowns. Once you learn their Fields, yourself, you realize that they can speak the lingo fluently and loudly enough to fool most folks, but that they've both got their heads up their Assets.

They speak loud and fast and pray that they keep fooling enough people to keep their Jobs.

Jim Mora said something the other day on NFLN when disagreeing with Mike Mayocks opinion, I thought he may have been alluding to Kiper. He said, and I'm paraphrasing here, "Look, I like Mike and I respect his opinion. Unlike some of the other so called draft experts Mike actually works incredibly hard. He watches tape, puts the work in, contacts coaches and staff for opinions and doesn't just piggy back off other peoples opinions, rehashing them in his own words".

In the last few drafts Kiper has been caught out by a few of the Patriots picks and couldn't offer an opinion, Tavon Wilson and Duron Harmon I think? He normally stops commenting on picks after the third round, unless someone has fallen drastically, and just rehashes his opinion of the main talking points of the first 3 rounds during rds. 4-7. It's like he knows nothing about the guys being drafted. Meanwhile Mayock is still enthusiatically discussing the merits of Zach Morris et al.

Perfectly put. That is exactly how I perceive that mouthy parasite!!

 

[ATippett56]

Don't watch ESPN.

I prefer Mike Mayock to Mel Kiper.

I lost all respect for Mel Kiper after his Mike Williams (USC) rant.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/22/nfl-draft-expert-misses_n_5191882.html

Kiper apparently told Merril Hoge he’d see him at Williams’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony after ranking the USC wide receiver No. 1 among all players in the 2005 draft. He’d be out of the league three years later, returning only for a short stint as an afterthought with the Seahawks in 2010.

 

[ATippett56]

ESPN or BSPN

 

[Gabriel_p94]

I don't personally like the idea, because I consider Funchess a 2nd/3rd Round Value and because I'd much rather see us load up on Trench Warriors, but Funchess indisputably fills a gaping hole at a Position.

There's a lot of debate in the online Scouting world as to whether Funchess is a Tight End or a Wide Out, but I believe that it's a silly debate which persists only because most folks in the aforementioned online Scouting world inexplicably fail to recognize the existence of a new category of Player: The Flex End.

If a classical Tight End ~ Rob Gronkowski ~ can be described as an Half Lineman/Half Wide Out Hybrid, then a Flex End could be called an Hybrid's Hyrbrid: 3/4 WideOut and 1/4 Lineman, if you will.

Aaron Hernandez was of course the quintessential Flex End: He had a Skill Set that was vastly different from Gronkowski's, but equally different from, say, Julian Edelman's or Brandon LeFell's.

Whether we even need to field Flex Ends is to me a very legitimate question, but considering that Gronkowski is a Tight End, Hoomanawanui is also a Tight End and a marginal one at that, and that Timothy Wright, despite bizarre claims to the contrary, is a Split End ~ like LaFell ~ then it seems pretty clear, at least to me, that there is a yawning, gaping hole at Flex End: Our Roster includes a grand total of Zero.

But the fact that Mad Bill has made little or no effort to replace Hernandez over the last two Years gives us little reason to expect'm to do so now. Kiper's preposterous presumption that we would not only bring the Position back after two full Years but spend a 1st Rounder in order to do so is deranged, to put it kindly.

I agree with you completely. AHern was a rare case. But I don't think BB made little effort to replace him. I think he just wasnt going to force a replacement just for the sake of having one. AHern at least to me, had an ability to always make the first person miss and pick up more yards. I haven't seen a flex end be able to do that as well as he did. There are some that make the catch and are able to run, but as soon as contact is made they're down. But if BB were able to find a player that fit that profile I think he wouldn't hesitate about taking him. And on the subject of Tim wright. I'm hoping a full offseason will really boost his production. I think hell be able to stay on the field longer instead of just red zone situations.

 

[Gronkandez]

The so called espn "expert" is predicting that the pats draft funchess the wr out of michigan. Does Mel not know that Edelman and Lafell had a very strong end of season run with Jules arguably the MVP of sb 49. The real areas of need for the team is on the O line and replacing our best DT with a younger version. How did old Mel even get that gig anyway?

How many people out there correctly predict who belichick drafts year in and year out?
We're over two months from the draft. The Mock is just a talking point at this stage.

 

[I.M. Fletcher]

Lets not forget, HWWNBN was thought incredibly highly of as a talent by the Pats. I remember Lombardi being interviewed before Gronk and his 3rd season, and lombardi being CONVINCED, HWWNBN was going to have a bigger role in the offense than Gronk. Now, think about THAT for a moment.

I mean, I dont even like to think about him, because its such a freaking waste on all levels, but on a much smaller scale of importance, he could have been an all-timer on our team. So, in that mindset, I am not surprised that Bill hasnt rushed to fill his role with just anyone, or tried to draft the next big thing, since really, there are not many that have been available ever.

Funchess is a talent no doubt, but I dont see the quick feet or tackle breaking ability for him to be a no-doubter in our system.

 

[Big-T]

A Guard, Gurley or Maxx Williams in the first round will do.