The value of Pro Day
It's not always as important as people like to think. Two years ago, Winston Justice benchpressed 225 pounds 38 times and had a 39-inch vertical leap, only three inches less than Keith Rivers' impressive effort Wednesday. But Justice weighed 320 pounds. A sure-fire first-round pick, the consensus makers and NFL scouts said that day.
Justice ended up being picked in the second round.
Welcome to the world of Mel Kiper's "wig". One minute you are living large, being told that with the 17th overall pick in the first round of the NFL Draft, your name will be called. In real world of the NFL, you sit in that cheap plastic chair and let out a resounding "WOW", as the Miami Dolphins pick Ted Ginn Jr. instead of Brady the "Heisman". In other words, don't listen to what Mel's wig is saying about you, because you are not going to picked number one over-all (ask Reg about that), or even 3rd or 4th over-all. Matt (after he's done beer bonging with the ASU co-eds) can contest to that.
Agreed...they're throwing around the word "guru" pretty haphazardly these days. When you talk about Mel Kiper the "NFL Draft guru", I think of him and his "tremendous potential" and his "knowledge of the game". He's got a "great motor". I think we're looking at his "late first-day, early second-day potential". Mel lost all credibility when he referred to J.J. Stokes as the next Jerry Rice. How did that work out for ya Mel?
Kiper is very knowledgeable when it comes to the NFL draft. He's off on some evaluations, but it was the "dumb" Miami Dolphins that chose Ginn. Who, in all honesty, did not think Bush should have been the #1 pick, and Leinart would not go higher? Some teams go for "the best player available", some for "need", some "trade out", some draft for financial reasons, some are "poor judges of talent", etc. The prognosticators or 'gurus" have no control over these methods. I agree with SW's premise...some of these tests they give the prospects are great if you're starting a track or debating team. Draft day coverage is enjoyable to watch, and Kiper adds credible/interesting information to the show.