I agree with the gist of what Kiper says - until he gets to the bonus motive.
None of the draft gurus are perfect. Each has his pluses and minuses.
I like the way the War Room organizes information, but sometimes they'll whiff entirely and miss a really good player.
I find that Kiper will often see the same thing in a player that I do when I watch tape. But he also will whiff on key players and, because he tries to scoop everyone else by putting up mocks and rankings too early, often must backtrack on previous assessments.
Pete Prisco provides the most technical player-by-player analysis -right down to hip-flexibility and how a kid breaks down to tackle in the open field. But I don't think his over all judgement in ranking one player over another is all that good.
Ourlads (Sabo and Hessler) doesn't do mocks based on "who the team is likely to take" but instead does them based on "who they think the team should take."
I miss Joel Buchsbaum - he did a terrific job of getting scouts to comment on each player - both pro and con. He also coined the phrases: "Looks like Tarzan/plays like Jane", "All Pro from the neck down" and "Will make your draft or break your heart."
And in the end, I think the most underrated source of draft info is -
Ourselves!
Many of us quietly keep lists of prospects who don't grade out all that well, but whom "we just like." (Brusci, Vrabel, Dilger, Hutchison (G), Ty Carter, Rocky Calmus and Urlacher were on recent past lists. This year, my preliminary list includes Madieu Williams, Teddy Lehman, Bo Schobel, Greg Jones, Locklear and Cotchery).
My list is based on whether or not these guys are "football players" in the old school sense of the term. (They love the game, play that way and consistently make plays). And looking back over previous drafts, I find my short list is where I find the best value.
