Kiper - 2014 Draft Re-grade....

[Risen Star]

Dallas Cowboys

1(16) T Zack Martin Notre Dame
2(34) DE Demarcus Lawrence Boise St.
4(119) OLB Anthony Hitchens Iowa
5(146) WR Devin Street Pittsburgh
7(231) DE Ben Gardner Stanford
7(238) OLB Will Smith Texas Tech
7(248) S Ahmad Dixon Baylor
7(251) DT Ken Bishop Northern Illinois
7(254) DB Terrance Mitchell Oregon


Post-draft grade: B

Summary: Here's what I wrote then: "Give Jerry Jones credit: I don't think it's unfair to at least be tempted by the prospect of Johnny Football with that blue star on his helmet, playing in that football theatre. But Manziel isn't making Dallas a better team in 2014, and Tony Romo -- for all the derision -- is a really good QB when he gets protection. The Dallas offensive line with Zack Martin isn't just the strength of the team, it's arguably among the top few units in the NFL. They are going to be able to run the ball. I had Martin as high as the top 10, so that's not a bad pick."

I'm thrilled to see Martin do so well, because I really was a big fan. He as one of the better guards in the NFL this year and, along with Joel Bitonio of Cleveland, top rookies at that position. The one thing I should point out: If you draft a player at No. 16 with the intention of moving him to guard, you're expecting him to start. I'm not saying Dallas couldn't afford to miss, but they had to assume he was a starter because Martin obviously has more value at tackle. So the grade has to jump because they nail the pick, and it leads to more wins.

It's relatively quiet after that. DeMarcus Lawrence is going to be a player but had only 277 snaps after not seeing the field until Week 9. Anthony Hitchens provided some useful depth, as well, with over 600 snaps. That's really about it, though you could mention undrafted CB Tyler Patmon seeing some time. All in all, Dallas hit one great pick (so far) and mostly dodged a bullet in doing so. They also won a bunch, which is an added bonus.

New grade: B+

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draf...l-kiper-regrading-2014-nfl-draft?refresh=true

 

[Risen Star]

The Eagles went from a B+ to a C+. The Commanders from a C+ to a C-. The Giants from a B to an A.

 

[DBOY3141]

I have high hopes for Gardner and Bishop next year being active members of the "rushmen".

 

[KingintheNorth]

Hitchens was the only thing keeping me from giving the Cowboys an A and I was wrong about that. I still wish we kept our 3rd round picks. I like Lawrence but would have liked Kony Ealy and Trai Turner more.

Agree with him on the Giants as well. Initially, their draft didn't look so hot but a few of those players were much better than I expected.

 

[Leadbelly]

It doesn't sound like Kiper really watches the rookies unless they're really big time. I'm betting he just looks at the stats and sees if they got on the field.

Hitchens was significantly more than a guy who just provided depth. By the end of the year, he was a starting level LB on merit.

 

[Gaede]

How does getting the first all pro guard in how many years not necessitate an A?

How rare is it to get an all pro as a rookie? Even with minimal contributions from the rest, Martin more than cancels it out

 

[dwreck27]

Yeah and having 3 of your starters during a 2 round deep playoff run be rookies (martin, D-law, hitchens)

sounds like some immediate playmakers who provided help to a great team

 

[big dog cowboy]

4(119) OLB Anthony Hitchens Iowa

He's a gem.

 

[Risen Star]

It doesn't sound like Kiper really watches the rookies unless they're really big time. I'm betting he just looks at the stats and sees if they got on the field.

Hitchens was significantly more than a guy who just provided depth. By the end of the year, he was a starting level LB on merit.

He was a scrub on a bad defense. On a defense with NFL talent he's not even on the field.

I think that's why Kiper treated him accordingly.

 

[cowboys1981]

He's a gem.

I love the pick up and it cemented a very good draft.

 

[Alexander]

It doesn't sound like Kiper really watches the rookies unless they're really big time. I'm betting he just looks at the stats and sees if they got on the field.

Hitchens was significantly more than a guy who just provided depth. By the end of the year, he was a starting level LB on merit.

The Durant injury give him a shot. Otherwise, he would probably have just been a special teams player.

 

[Leadbelly]

The Durant injury give him a shot. Otherwise, he would probably have just been a special teams player.

That's not really relevant to how he played.

 

[TrailBlazer]

Hitchens impressed me. I figured he would be overwhelmed, a step slow, and toast in coverage. He played all 3 positions and was solid.

 

[Derinyar]

Hitchens is a starting level LB at this point. He's probably not a star level player, and probably never will be, but you get someone who can start and play in the 4th and you've had a really nice pick.

 

[Idgit]

So, Kiper's still not relevant. Got it.

 

[AsthmaField]

Dallas had 4 picks before the 7th round... of those 4, Martin, Lawrence, and Hitchens ended up playing and contributing a lot. Street is the only one who wasn't a big contributor from them.

Bishop and maybe Gardner from the 7th round is a good haul from the last round of the draft.

There were only about 3 good players taken in the 4th and Hitchens was certainly among them. (Bashaud Breeland, Andre Williams). Hitchens is the only one of them to start at 3 different positions which makes his contribution even that much more impressive. The guy is a smart, good player and he is anything but a scrub.

It kills me that some cowboy fans will never like Hitchens because they were initially wrong about him being a bad 4th round pick. I would just admit being wrong and move on enjoying a good player that my team stole in the 4th.

 

[AsthmaField]

So, Kiper's still not relevant. Got it.

 

[xwalker]

Dallas had 4 picks before the 7th round... of those 4, Martin, Lawrence, and Hitchens ended up playing and contributing a lot. Street is the only one who wasn't a big contributor from them.

Bishop and maybe Gardner from the 7th round is a good haul from the last round of the draft.

There were only about 3 good players taken in the 4th and Hitchens was certainly among them. (Bashaud Breeland, Andre Williams). Hitchens is the only one of them to start at 3 different positions which makes his contribution even that much more impressive. The guy is a smart, good player and he is anything but a scrub.

It kills me that some cowboy fans will never like Hitchens because they were initially wrong about him being a bad 4th round pick. I would just admit being wrong and move on enjoying a good player that my team stole in the 4th.

You're assuming that they are actually Cowboys fans...

 

[xwalker]

So, Kiper's still not relevant. Got it.

It would be fun to look at Kiper's 1st set of rankings from all past years and compare them to actual results.

If he was ranking based on his own film watching, then the rankings shouldn't vary that much.

In reality he throws out some rankings and gets feedback from team sources and then continues to repeat the process. I don't think any of his final rankings are based on his own film study.

 

[Idgit]

It would be fun to look at Kiper's 1st set of rankings from all past years and compare them to actual results.

If he was ranking based on his own film watching, then the rankings shouldn't vary that much.

In reality he throws out some rankings and gets feedback from team sources and then continues to repeat the process. I don't think any of his final rankings are based on his own film study.

He's about the least impressive of the big name guys out there doing it, in my opinion. And, yeah, you have to question the worth of rankings that change dramatically in some cases after just one year in the league. I know this stuff is just content that's manufactured for fun, but really, theres' a draft pick and there's the job the coaching staff does developing talent. You can't really separate those two easily after one season.

Plus, it's pretty obvious from his review that he didn't put nearly the work into watching the play on the field once the players get into the NFL that he (or others) did when the players were coming out of college. He's probably just looking at snap counts and going off of some recollections for however-few hours he ended up putting in on this.