Mel Kiper Jr. Articles - Page 2

Well, this isn’t where we usually see the Kansas City Chiefs at this time of the year. Usually, KC fans at this point of the season are preparing for their first-round matchup, or, more often, enjoying their first-round bye. This year, though, the Chiefs are preparing their mock drafts for the 2026 NFL Draft after […]

To say that ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. is a fan of Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders would be an understatement. The unabashed leader of the Sanders bandwagon ever since he landed in Colorado along with his father Deion, the 2025 NFL Draft took on a second life for how Kiper reacted to each quarterback being […]

Arch Manning showcased the poise and leadership that Texas fans have been waiting to see during the Longhorns’ 23-6 win over Oklahoma. The sophomore quarterback didn’t post eye-popping numbers, but his command of the offense and willingness to battle through pain impressed both teammates and coaches. Despite taking several hard hits the week before against […]

Not long ago, Arch Manning was the presumed next king of football. Heisman Trophy, the NFL Draft’s No. 1 overall pick, you name it. But the Texas football star has struggled as the Longhorns’ starter, and that’s reflected in Mel Kiper’s inaugural 2026 Big Board. Less than two months after Manning was frequently discussed as […]

On Saturday, the Notre Dame football team picked up its fourth straight win with a dominant 36-7 victory over North Carolina State, pushing their record to 4-2 on the 2025 football season. As many predicted, the Fighting Irish have begun to run the table after their 0-2 start, but with no strong opponents on the […]

All eyes were on quarterbacks Fernando Mendoza and Dante Moore as the two faced off this past weekend. The two are considered the top quarterbacks for the 2026 NFL Draft. Now, ESPN’s draft guru, Mel Kiper, has released his first NFL Draft Big Board of the year, and he has Dante Moore at the top. […]

Penn State football quarterback Drew Allar watched his team take a tumble in the top 25 rankings. But is his NFL Draft stock trekking downward after the Oregon loss? Mel Kiper Jr. weighed — by giving Allar a dose of reality. Kiper dove into Allar’s league chances on his First Draft Podcast Wednesday. The verbose […]

The team with the biggest expectations in college football for the 2025 season was easily the Texas football program. The Longhorns were ranked as the top team in both preseason polls, and with Arch Manning taking over under center, the expectations were through the roof. Now, after two weeks, there are doubts about whether Manning […]

The Cleveland Browns turned heads during the NFL Draft when they drafted Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round. The projections had him going to Cleveland with the fifth pick, according to ESPN’s Mel Kiper. However, the Browns waited and added him to a rookie class alongside Dillon Gabriel. With Arch Manning on the horizon, Kiper […]

ESPN’s coverage of the 2025 NFL Draft raised eyebrows after the Tennessee Titans picked Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward No. 1 overall. Longtime analyst Mel Kiper Jr. went on a rant about teams not selecting Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders. His rants caught the attention of Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal, who called out Kiper […]

Miami football head coach Mario Cristobal shaded Mel Kiper for how he covered Cam Ward throughout the NFL Draft process. The superstar quarterback was unsurprisingly taken with the No. 1 overall pick by the Tennessee Titans. Ward was phenomenal in his one season with the Hurricanes, racking up accolades like the Davey O’Brien Award and […]

Well, the Shedeur Sanders saga with the Cleveland Browns moves on. Even Stephen A. Smith can’t get enough of it. And here is one of the instigators, Mel Kiper Jr., who handed out the Browns draft grade after a weekend full of Sanders rants. Kiper said a lot of talk has been directed Sanders’ way, […]

The Atlanta Falcons made just five picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. Part of the reason was their trade late on Thursday night to get back into the first round. After taking Jalon Walker with the 15th pick, they traded with the Rams to get to 26. By making the trade and picking James Pearce […]

Thank goodness NFL teams don’t listen to Mel Kiper Jr. Therefore, the Miami Dolphins can rest easy, as can the Green Bay Packers. But Kiper still blares across the airwaves, and he’s still on one with his reaction trending over breathless Shedeur Sanders coverage. Kiper rages on about the quarterback, according to a post on […]

The Miami Dolphins’ 2025 NFL Draft strategy has left a lot of people confused — including ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. — and a lot of it circles back to the ongoing Jalen Ramsey saga. Entering the draft, the Dolphins were dealing with a mountain of issues: losing Jevon Holland in free agency, a glaring need […]

Amid an offseason full of change, the Detroit Lions added seven new players in the 2025 NFL Draft. Despite the Lions’ historical excellence in the draft, ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. sees several potential problems with general manager Brad Holmes’ decision-making. Kiper did not agree with many of the Lions’ picks, particularly the order in […]

One season is all it took for Jaylen Daniels to get to the top of the NFC, battling it out in the NFC Championship. Recent analysis by Mel Kiper mentions Daniels is playoff bound, and gave them a “B+” for their 5 Draft picks. Time is ticking in Washington, Daniels is playing on that precious […]

The NFL Draft is now over, and the hope is that every team is happy about what they were able to do over the course of three days. The Dallas Cowboys are one of the teams that had an early top pick in the draft, and they wanted to make sure they took care of […]

The Buffalo Bills are headed into the 2025 season with sky-high expectations. In January, they lost in the AFC Championship Game, falling to the Chiefs in the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons. The Bills entered the NFL Draft with a glaring need at cornerback and filled it in the first round. However, […]

Led by No. 11 overall pick Mykel Williams, the San Francisco 49ers left the 2025 NFL Draft with nine new players added to the roster. As usual, ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. believes the team largely nailed the three-day event, with one caveat that will determine its success. Kiper liked most of the team’s […]

The Kansas City Chiefs have had a sense of urgency during the 2025 NFL offseason. Kansas City lost in embarrassing fashion during Super Bowl 59 and is doing everything they can to prevent it from happening again next year. They helped themselves with an impressive performance during the 2025 NFL Draft. ESPN’s Mel Kiper released […]

NFL insider Mel Kiper is criticizing the New Orleans Saints for some of their choices in the 2025 NFL Draft. Kiper felt the Saints had an up-and-down draft, giving the team a B minus grade in his evaluation. “Reach, reach, reach. That’s what I have in my notes for the Saints. Too many reaches. I […]

The Las Vegas Raiders have been busy this offseason, and that continued in the 2025 NFL draft, where they brought in a new crop of players who they are hoping will be pillars for the franchise moving forward. The best of the bunch is running back Ashton Jeanty, whom the team selected with the No. […]

As hosts of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers unsurprisingly received the loudest ovations for each of their eight selections. While most of them were reasonable given their roster needs, ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. believes they left one significant stone unturned. The Packers’ need for receivers was blatantly evident, and Kiper […]

NFL insider Mel Kiper is giving his take on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2025 NFL Draft performance. The Steelers picked up some defensive help, as well as offensive players in the draft like most teams. Kiper is giving the team a B minus grade, per ESPN. Kiper says that the Aaron Rodgers situation seems to be […]

For the most part, the Chicago Bears’ 2025 NFL Draft class was a win. They had to go into enemy territory to pull it off, but ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. believes the team will look back on the class in a few years as a big success. After a couple of trades, the […]

2025 has been a great year for the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles are still flying high after their dominant victory over the Chiefs in Super Bowl 59. Now they have upgraded the roster after making smart moves during NFL free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft. One NFL draft analyst praised the Eagles for crushing […]

The 2025 NFL draft is officially in the books, and one team that many folks agree assembled a strong draft class is the New England Patriots. In fact, when combining the work the Patriots did in the draft with their free agency additions, Mel Kiper of ESPN believes that they could be a sneaky good […]

The New York Giants have had an exciting 2025 NFL offseason. New York has completely revamped its quarterback room and added playmakers on both sides of the football. Now that the 2025 NFL Draft is in the books, the Giants are receiving praise from national analysts. ESPN’s Mel Kiper handed out draft grades in an […]

The 2025 NFL Draft is officially in the books. Now that all 257 players have been selected, the NFL media will now start handing out grades to each team. One NFL draft analyst handed out some low grades to a few teams after the conclusion of Day 3. ESPN’s Mel Kiper handed out draft grades […]

The Cleveland Browns were quite busy during the 2025 NFL draft, and when all was said and done, they put together a strong body of work. In fact, according to Mel Kiper, he believes that the Browns had the best draft class of any team across the league, with two moves in particular catching the […]

The Dallas Cowboys still have to figure out the Micah Parsons contract. But in the 2025 NFL Draft, they got linked to two Alabama stars. And drafting one of them, another Tyler, earned a scolding from Mel Kiper Jr, according to espn.com. Dallas grabbed Crimson Tide offensive guard Tyler Booker at the No. 12 spot. […]

The Kansas City Chiefs are looking to reload their roster in preparation for another Super Bowl run. They added an offensive line piece in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, picking up Ohio State’s Josh Simmons with the No. 32 overall pick. The pick was a good one in the eyes of ESPN’s […]

Thursday’s NFL Draft began with fireworks. The Cleveland Browns traded the second overall pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who selected Colorado two-way superstar Travis Hunter. Jacksonville sent picks No. 5, 36 and 126, plus a 2026 first-rounder, to Cleveland for picks No. 2, 104 and 200. Here’s what ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. thought […]

The Green Bay Packers had an excellent first night of the 2025 NFL Draft. Green Bay hosted the draft this year and had plenty of fans on hand for the festivities. The Packers finally selected a wide receiver in the first round for the first time since 2002. They have received almost universal praise for […]

As expected, Cam Ward came off the board early as the Tennessee Titans took the quarterback first overall on Thursday night. But the 2025 NFL draft class’ second-ranked passer, Shedeur Sanders, was not selected in Round 1. The New Orleans Saints passed on Sanders with the ninth overall pick, as some insiders expected. But when […]

Draft day is here! The 2025 NFL Draft will get underway from Green Bay on Thursdsay night, and it will be Jim Harbaugh’s second draft since becoming the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers. Harbaugh was the coach of the Michigan football team from 2015-2023, and he won a national championship with the Wolverines […]

The 2025 NFL draft is nearly upon us, and one team that several folks will have their eye on is the New York Jets. Armed with the No. 7 overall pick, the Jets have several different options they could pursue, but one name that several different NFL insiders keep looping back to is Penn State […]

The Kansas City Chiefs have the 31st overall pick in the NFL Draft. The key to their dynasty has been great draft picks, and they have another chance to add to their team this weekend. Mock drafts can get wild at the end of the first round, but Mel Kiper Jr thinks he knows where […]