What was Mel Kiper Jr.'s grade for the Phins Draft?

[Jimmy James]

I hate all this "you can't grade the draft" talk. What do you folks think the point of the draft and the point of grades are?

You're perfectly fine with grading a 1st grader who is very much a work in progress on his abilities even though they change and an A in 1st grade can translate into anything in high school. Try to put a grade on a draft, and you get all wonky.

The draft is a test of skill. If it was impossible to figure out who was going to be good, the NFL could just randomly allot the players to the teams by drawing names out of a hat! It is entirely appropriate to grade it as soon as it is done and to continue grading it at whatever periods you care to do so.

 

[Buffalo Sucks]

Grading drafts years after the fact remains the way to go.

Great piece on SI.com grading teams' cumulative drafts over the last 5 years, now that there's been sufficient time to make some sort of intelligent analysis.

Miami got a D. It's a Don Banks srticle, check it out.

 

[infiltrateib]

Here:

Mel Kiper, circa 2001, grading San Diego's draft:

San Diego Chargers: I have no problem with the selection of running back LaDainian Tomlinson, after trading out of the No. 1 spot and moving down to No. 5. General manager John Butler hopes he can do for the Chargers as Thurman Thomas did for the Bills. I like Drew Brees going in the second round. He is competitive and has a Captain Comeback mentality. Playing in San Diego with better weather conditions could enhance his arm strength a bit. That was a question mark about him going into the draft. Tay Cody could be a backup defensive back. I thought linebacker Carlos Polk was overrated. Tackle Elliot Silvers is nothing special as a fifth-round pick. Zeke Moreno, who could be a backup linebacker, also has value as a deep snapper. Defensive back Robert Carswell played better as a junior than he did as a senior. Grade: C+

And the Seahawks? "Seattle Seahawks: I had an A+ for the Seahawks after the first day. They did the best of any team, led by the selection of receiver Koren Robinson."

Don't get me wrong, the guy is a guru and I have a lot of respect for him... but he can be wrong.