Mel Kiper Jr. tells story about how Bills QB Josh Allen inadvertently made him look like an idiot
The NFL Draft is unpredictable. In every sense of the word, no one truly knows "for sure" what will happen in round one or anything that follows. Even for a draft analyst that's been around for quite some time, Mel Kiper Jr. has learned that lesson the hard way on many occasions, including one involving […]
The NFL Draft is unpredictable. In every sense of the word, no one truly knows "for sure" what will happen in round one or anything that follows.
Even for a draft analyst that's been around for quite some time, Mel Kiper Jr. has learned that lesson the hard way on many occasions, including one involving Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen.
Kiper detailed a story about the weeks leading up to Allen's draft in which he was in a class with QB Baker Mayfield.
"Okay, so I remember a draft a few years ago [and] I had done it the night before. I walked down for breakfast and I had Josh Allen locked in to the Cleveland Browns. It was no question Josh Allen was going No. 1. I figure I got that right. I get down to breakfast and I'm told that it's going to be Baker Mayfield and it's like, okay. That's how you feel about mocks, guys… I couldn't even eat breakfast that morning. I'm like, 'Are you kidding me? I can't get the first pick right!' And it just came out this morning for everybody to see. Talk about looking like an idiot. Are you kidding me? You just came out with a mock draft with all the latest information and Kiper's got Josh Allen going No. 1, and now we're going to find out it's gonna be Baker Mayfield. That guys, is why I couldn't care less about mock drafts.
Now? Do I do them? And do I try to be right? I don't mail it in. I make calls. I'm trying like hell to get that right. But at the end of the day, the first thing I'm looking at after the draft and three years down the road, I'm not looking at mocks – I'm looking at my ratings and how accurate or not accurate they were."
— Mel Kiper Jr., Draft Analyst at ESPN
This type of story just goes to show that mock drafts can be a fun exercise, but even the top dogs in the draft space miss quite often.
There is just a tough line between inferring and actually having factual info leading up to the picks. Teams like to keep their prospect views close to the vest, and nothing proves that more than this cautionary tale from Kiper.
All in all, Bills fans are happy that it worked out the way it did. Allen is one of the best quarterbacks in football.
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