2017 NFL Draft Grades: Mel Kiper Is Hung Up On The Value Of Drafting Taco Charlton At 28

[Zordon]

Here why you have to laugh at people like Kiper. I know Risen worships him as the godfather of mocks but even Kiper is prone to show idiocy from time to time.

On April 6th, he talked to the Atlanta Journal Constitution about the Falcons and said this:



So apparently, on April 6th, Charlton is a pass rusher that can possibly be had in the late first round and would fill a need for Atlanta at the 31st pick.

On April 28th, Charlton isn't really a pass rusher but is more of an edge-setting run defender and not a good pick for the Cowboys at 28.

lol close thread.

 

[adbutcher]

I think it is a travesty that a punk like Mel can earn a living off of the backs of real talented people.

 

[Cowboys_22]

I'll grade kipers grading and he gets a F minus.

 

[Bleu Star]

Mel Kiper of ESPN has posted his grades for the 2017 NFL draft, and he doesn't join the chorus of mostly positive feedback the Cowboys have received for their draft.

In his ranking of teams, Kiper has the Cowboys ranked 21st with a "B-" grade, which is due in large part to the value (or lack thereof) he places on Taco Charlton.

Here is part of what Kiper had to say about the Cowboys draft:

I thought they missed an opportunity at pick No. 28 to get a first-round talent -- Kevin King and Budda Baker were still on the board -- and instead chose Taco Charlton, a 6-foot-6, 277-pound defensive end who is a much better run defender than pass-rusher. Yes, Dallas needed an end after DeMarcus Lawrence underwhelmed last season and Randy Gregory was suspended for at least the 2017 season, but a premier pass-rusher made more sense. I don't think that's Charlton, who is No. 46 on my board.

Like many draft analysts who take their own big board as the one single gold standard, Kiper grades the pick relative to his own evaluation of each draft prospect, without considering either team needs, scheme fit, or the distribution of talent in the draft.

link/ http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2017...value-taco-charlton-at-28-kevin-king-t-j-watt

Mel Kiper is an idiot.

 

[8FOR!3]

He might would have had a point but he's harping about not taking Kevin "The Workout" King and Budda Baker give me a break. Maybe if he would've said Reuben Foster instead he would have had a respectable argument of BPA over need. The problem with BPA is that we'd be talking about how the line and pass rush was disregarded. I wasn't very excited about our draft on day one, but I wasn't upset either. I was much more excited after day 2.

 

[Redball Express]

Taco was always likely to go in the first and at least early indication is that the Seahawks would have taken him had we not.

With the abundance of talent in the secondary we played the game correctly. Walking away with Awuzie and Lewis means we absolutely followed the correct path.

Draft grades are silly things to get worked up about but if he truly feels we had the 21st best draft of 32 teams then I think it's him being different for the sake of being different. And hey that's his job... he is in the entertainment industry and the business of generating page views.

Taco wasn't a sexy pick and I was slightly annoyed when he came off the board to us but our draft overall was excellent. Kiper can't change that.

DAK was a 4th rd. pick..

Kiper never had anything great about him.

Look what happened.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

DAK was a 4th rd. pick..

Kiper never had anything great about him.

Look what happened.

Dak was a 4th round pick. The entire collective NFL brain trust didn't have much great to say about him.

 

[Verdict]

No it doesn't. They very well could have had Taco and King in the same tier at the top of the 2nd round, but the depth at corner led to Taco being the pick at 28. At no time did Stephen Jones indicate in any manner where Taco or King or anyone else for that matter ranked on their board (specifically within the second). When there is no clear BPA and both are team needs, value, in this case versus other prospects on the board is the tiebreaker. If they had 2 pass rusher graded as second rounders and 6 corners, you take your chance that one of the 6 corners is there at 60 as opposed to 1 of 2 pass rushers.

I am not going to argue with you about this topic. There is no way to know for sure unless the draft board is leaked.

I said what I think. You can think differently if you like. I really don't care one way or the other who is right, or what you think for that matter.

I just gave my two cents about why I reached that conclusion. I think it's a reasonable interpretation of the facts. It may be right, or it may be wrong. But based on what Stephen Jones said and how he said it, I think they thought Taco was their best bet to get a pass rusher arbitration DE out of this draft and hey reached for him.

If so it is a risk. It may turn out to be a good gamble much like when they passed on Jason Witten years ago. That doesn't make it a good idea necesssarily, or even necessarily a bad idea in a given circumstance. But I am pretty comfortable with my interpretation and I won't replace my thoughts with your interpretation of the facts.

 

[Verdict]

It will be interesting to compare the players we had available at 28 and 60 and see if the Cowboys should have taken a corner and followed up with a DE or made the correct call. Either way that is what makes it interesting.

 

[ConstantReboot]

Mel Kiper is a joke. He gave a C+ grade for Chicago's draft. Everyone else has given it a big fat F.

Thus you have to take what he says with a grain of salt.

 

[ConstantReboot]

I liked both Awuzie and Lewis better than King and the gap wasn't that narrow. The reason I liked both so much more than King is almost 100% about what goes on from the neck up. Both of them are Tough, smart as hell, instinctive guys who simply love to play football. I can't tell you how important I think that is to a DB.

The physical trait that those two have that I like better than King's is twitch. Both can click and close on the ball in the blink of an eye.

The only think about King that I liked better was his height... and you can't have the suddeness and change of direction that I covet with that king of length.

Well said. Everyone forgets about Ronde Barber and that he was too small and too slow to play in the NFL. Look how that turned out to be.

We got players that are smart and instinctual football players rather than the usual gym rats or SPARC champions. I can't be more than happy for getting the picks we got.

 

[ThreeandOut]

I am not going to argue with you about this topic. There is no way to know for sure unless the draft board is leaked.

I said what I think. You can think differently if you like. I really don't care one way or the other who is right, or what you think for that matter.

I just gave my two cents about why I reached that conclusion. I think it's a reasonable interpretation of the facts. It may be right, or it may be wrong. But based on what Stephen Jones said and how he said it, I think they thought Taco was their best bet to get a pass rusher arbitration DE out of this draft and hey reached for him.

If so it is a risk. It may turn out to be a good gamble much like when they passed on Jason Witten years ago. That doesn't make it a good idea necesssarily, or even necessarily a bad idea in a given circumstance. But I am pretty comfortable with my interpretation and I won't replace my thoughts with your interpretation of the facts.

We don't know exactly where Taco was on their board. But in general, they pick players that are near the top of their board.

Here are the other things that we do know. They felt that they had a better chance of getting a better CB than DE in round 2. As it turns out they got the top rated player on their board, a CB, in round 2. On the other hand, the pass rushers they had interested in (Basham, Rivers) were taken squarely in the middle of round 3. The league felt they were 3rd round players and the Cowboys could have very well thought so as well. So we know they wouldn't have gotten their best available player at 60 by taking a DE.

The CB they took at 60 was also their best available player.

So if they hadn't taken the DE at 28, they would have had to bypass their best available player to get the DE or they would have gone without one.

 

[BHendri5]

Kiper man come on, I have picked better than him and I do not get paid for it. Way back with the Leaf and Manning picks is when I knew he does not know what the hell he is talking about

 

[DallasDomination]

Kyper seems like he has a screw loose or something is off with him.

 

[visionary]

Bottom line is that this was as close to a perfect draft for the Cowboys (keeping player talent and team needs in mind) as one could have hoped for. We got one of the top DEs, 2 very very good CBs for our scheme and a safety who has s real chance to compete. In the secondary give me intelligent players who can tackle any day. I've been griping about the return game for years and they upgraded that. Now we can quibble about the lower Rd picks but you have to believe that the scouts and coaches know way way more about them than people on here or TV analysts

I still think that Jaylon is a big key here. If he can contribute at a high level all year then we could have the makings of a really really good defense that will be better at the end of the year

So the long and short of it is that this was a great draft from my POV. Let's give these players a chance and see how they pan out.

 

[visionary]

I liked both Awuzie and Lewis better than King and the gap wasn't that narrow. The reason I liked both so much more than King is almost 100% about what goes on from the neck up. Both of them are Tough, smart as hell, instinctive guys who simply love to play football. I can't tell you how important I think that is to a DB.

The physical trait that those two have that I like better than King's is twitch. Both can click and close on the ball in the blink of an eye.

The only think about King that I liked better was his height... and you can't have the suddeness and change of direction that I covet with that king of length.

This
Give me the intelligent guy who will be in position, loves the game and is a solid tackler in the secondary

 

[Supercowboy1986]

If I remember correctly, TF was a "reach" for us when he was taken with a 1st, I remember the draft experts saying TF had a 3rd round grade and look what happened.

The situation with TC is similar. TC is being considered a reach due to the inconsistencies from draft experts about whether or not TC had a first or second round grade.

I'll reserve judgement until I get to see him play in the NFL.

 

[speedkilz88]

I am not going to argue with you about this topic. There is no way to know for sure unless the draft board is leaked.

I said what I think. You can think differently if you like. I really don't care one way or the other who is right, or what you think for that matter.

I just gave my two cents about why I reached that conclusion. I think it's a reasonable interpretation of the facts. It may be right, or it may be wrong. But based on what Stephen Jones said and how he said it, I think they thought Taco was their best bet to get a pass rusher arbitration DE out of this draft and hey reached for him.

If so it is a risk. It may turn out to be a good gamble much like when they passed on Jason Witten years ago. That doesn't make it a good idea necesssarily, or even necessarily a bad idea in a given circumstance. But I am pretty comfortable with my interpretation and I won't replace my thoughts with your interpretation of the facts.

Your interpretation is built off ignorance of how the board is set up. The Cowboys routinely have around 18 first round grades. And they can more than 40 second round grades. There are leaked boards from past years that support that.

 

[visionary]

If I remember correctly, TF was a "reach" for us when he was taken with a 1st, I remember the draft experts saying TF had a 3rd round grade and look what happened.

The situation with TC is similar. TC is being considered a reach due to the inconsistencies from draft experts about whether or not TC had a first or second round grade.

I'll reserve judgement until I get to see him play in the NFL.

Not sure I agree
TF was never considered a first Rd pick and therefore was considered a reach
Taco has consistently been mocked in the first Rd by all the pundits so I can't agree that he was a reach by any stretch

Now, if you say, we should have taken Foster because he was BPA, that is a different conversation but I'm happy we got Taco

 

[Plankton]

Somehow, I think if Kiper had lauded the Taco Charlton pick and the Cowboy draft, there would be far less complaining and stating that he's an idiot.

Let's be clear - Mel Kiper is not a scout. He doesn't attend the Combine, he doesn't attend pro days. He doesn't step foot onto college campuses, and doesn't attend games in person. What he is, is an information gatherer. He will watch video of guys, but largely has the blanks filled in by scouts that he has a relationship with. If you read his blue books back in the day, there was precious little in the writeups breaking down the capabilities of players, and more a regurgitation of the players statistics, and him stating whether he was excited about a player or not.

If Kiper doesn't give a pick or the entire Cowboy draft a high grade, who cares? Does it make their effort any less or any more than any of us think?

If you liked the Cowboy draft, you shouldn't need props from a Mel Kiper to feel better about it.