The NFL Draft has been synonymous with Mel Kiper Jr., regardless of whether a fanbase agrees or disagrees with his mock draft. The ESPN analyst has been a part of the network coverage since the 1980s, where he provides insight on the nation’s potential draft picks.
Ahead of the 2021 NFL Draft, Kiper Jr. spoke to the New York Post, where one of the questions that he answered is over being the rockstar of NFL mock drafts. Kiper Jr. revealed that he enjoys the job now more than ever; the 60-year-old admits that it wasn’t a glamorous job when he started.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Kiper Jr. said. “‘Why don’t you get a real job? Why would people want to watch that? Why would ESPN want to televise that? Why are you putting out books? Nobody cares about the draft.’ How many times did we hear that back in the ’70s and ’80s? To fight through all that negativity and still have resolve that you believe in what you’re doing and see where it is right now, every time I turn the computer on, you’ve got a million mock drafts, a million draft sites, a million articles about the draft. This was not the way it was in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s.”
Mel Kiper Jr. started doing work for ESPN in the 1980s, but he had to grind during the 1970s to get there. Also, some criticism was not precisely for his mock drafts, but that nobody would be interested in this type of content. Fast forward to 2021, and the NFL Draft is an event that many fans are excited to see because of the hope that comes with it.
Why is he still around?
“I think being enthusiastic about what I do. I’ve never lost the enthusiasm for what I do,” he answered when asked about the key to his longevity.
Now every network that covers the NFL has its mock draft expert who helps with draft coverage months in advance leading up to the big three-night event.
