ESPN conducted a media conference call Wednesday, April 6, with NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper, Jr., who discussed a number of 2011 prospects. (A full replay of the call; Kiper photos). Select comments:
On Texas A&M linebacker Vonn Miller…
“A lot of these 3-4 guys have made it big…most that have come out as 3-4 outside linebacker combo types have done great…You have very few busts the last 15-20 years since (Lawrence) Taylor created that position. What separates Miller is production when he’s healthy. He led the nation in sacks two years ago and would have this year had he not had the ankle injury early on. Then you think about leverage off the edge. The kid gets like a motorcycle driver coming around the corner. You wonder how some of those guys can stay on the bike on motocross and this guy is the same way. He comes around that edge and I don’t even know how he stays on his feet. He gets this tremendous leverage on those big tackles and they just can’t handle him. There’s a great motor he plays with, great leverage he plays with, great speed, attitude, approach, all those things are why.”
On the 2011 quarterback class…
“These quarterbacks all have red flags, every one of them. There is no consensus quarterback in this draft that everyone agrees on.”
On Washington quarterback Jake Locker and how his Draft stock has fallen since last year… “Performance. He had to go out and play. He had to play to the level of a No. 1 pick and he didn’t. That’s it, that’s the bottom line. You have a year and you have to perform to the level of a first-round pick. He struggled again with accuracy. He didn’t have great talent around him. He did play through injuries – I give him credit for that, but the accuracy is an issue. Getting in the pocket, awareness, instinct and accuracy are an issue…For me, I still hold out hope that Locker can be a real good quarterback. He’s a great kid. He’s got all the physical skills you would want. But when the ball leaves his hands sometimes you don’t know where it’s going, especially from the pocket. He’s got tremendous ability. He was the No. 1 pick overall going into this year for a reason…Had Jake Locker just had a good year not a great year he would have been a No. 1 pick. To have a very mediocre year, a struggling year, is why he is where he is right now, a mid-first to late-first round pick.”
On Clemson defensive end Da’Quan Bowers and how his injury affected his Draft status…
“He’d of been the first or second pick overall if he didn’t have the knee concern. He was a great player this year. What he did this year different from last year – and I said this back in August – is that last year he didn’t finish. He would be close, but he wouldn’t get the sack. He got hurries, he got tackles for loss, but he didn’t get sacks. This year, to be the first or second pick, he needed to finish…I have him going 12 to Minnesota right now because of the knee concern. He had a great year. He did everything he could do on the field and more to be the first and second pick, but unfortunately he has the knee concerns.”
Looking beyond the first round of the NFL Draft…
“I always say look at the fifth, sixth and seventh rounders. Now it’s Day 3, it used to be Day 2…It’s the most underrated day, the third day, for obvious reasons, a lot of these guys are better than the guys that go on the first day or second day…How about Cody Grimm, a seventh round pick that was doing great until he got hurt?… (Mike) Williams [a fourth-round pick by Tampa last year] was great form the get go. (LeGarrette) Blount was one of the top 10 rookies in the NFL as Mike Williams was…Gerald McCoy, who they drafted third overall, struggled and did not play to the level of his talent. (Ndamukong) Suh outperformed him by a mile…The guy that went early, third pick overall, didn’t produce the results expected and the guys that went fourth, seventh and undrafted did.”
On Colorado offensive tackle Nate Solder…
“Issue with him will be consistency…You have to keep developing your strength quotient. Is he a talented kid with a lot of upside? Yes, he is…He’ll be there in the 20’s and he’ll be a guy that you roll the dice with hoping that you can have your line coach develop him, your strength coach develop him. He lacks a lot of experience because he was a former tight end…He’s not a finished product. He’s not an Anthony Costanzo who’s going to come in ready to play at a solid level…with Solder you have to mold him into an outstanding left tackle.”
On Carolina Panthers 2010 top pick Jimmy Clausen…
“I might be proven wrong four or five years from now. I’m not saying I’ll be right on that, but I’m not going to let one year where he had some struggles on a horrible football team with rookie receivers that weren’t even highly rated coming out…No tight ends of consequence, that’s what they went and got (Jeremy) Shockey for and an offensive situation there that was not very good. They put him in the worst possible offensive situation anytime he threw the ball…So Jimmy Clausen is supposed to be written off as a reject? I don’t buy it. But remember, a lot of people didn’t like Clausen. I was one of the few that liked Clausen. … I was on that island last year all by myself almost. Find me another person in this evaluation business that liked Clausen. I don’t know of any. So I’m out there. I’ll stay. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong.”
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