When Mel Kiper Jr. gets rolling, it’s best to step aside.
The longtime NFL Draft analyst, who undoubtedly deserves a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday, can still fire off his trademark fastball when needed. And even though he doesn’t use cell phones and sticks to his four landlines, you can bet Kiper will answer the call when it comes to knocking down an NFL team a couple of pegs.
So when Bryce Young was benched following just two games in his sophomore season with the Carolina Panthers, Kiper was ready to deliver a people’s elbow to the franchise, especially owner David Tepper. Mike Greenberg tapped him in from the bullpen on Tuesday’s Get Up, and Kiper was immediately pumping gas in the triple digits.
Mel Kiper with an All-Time Mel Kiper rant for the ages on Bryce Young. pic.twitter.com/Hhb54yjl0i
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 17, 2024
“I think it’s mishandled is the word, because when you drafted Bryce Young, you knew he was an outlier,” Kiper said Tuesday morning. “Like, Russell Wilson was bigger, taller, but only 5-10 and three quarters; that opened it up for the 5-10 quarterback. But Russell Wilson was 205, 208 coming out, not 180. Kyler Murray, because of Russell Wilson, became the No. 1 pick overall. Different body type than Bryce Young. So you knew that Bryce Young was not only short but small, diminutive quarterback, who needed help, right?”
That fits in line with Kiper’s pre-draft assessment of the Alabama Crimson Tide product. Like everyone else, he projected Young to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and here’s what he had to say about the quarterback who has since been benched in favor of Andy Dalton in his final 2023 NFL Mock Draft:
“He’s going to be their face of the franchise for years to come, though they need to focus on putting talent around him.”
“Also, continuity. You draft a quarterback; everyone said he had this great infrastructure in Carolina around him with the head coach (Frank Reich), the coordinator (Thomas Brown), the quarterback coach (Josh McCown), everything there, the senior assistant (Jim Caldwell) — everything’s in place,” Kiper continued. “And then you see him beat C.J. Stroud on the field as a rookie. You think after three games he threw multiple interceptions, he was five touchdowns, six touchdowns, three picks. He had some decent games last year.
“But then you go into this year, you change everything because C.J. Stroud’s doing so well in Houston. ‘We gotta destroy this thing. We gotta blow it up and start over because C.J. Stroud’s doing so great in Houston. These coaches aren’t getting it done, so we bring in an offensive coach (Dave Canales), who was with Baker (Mayfield) and others (Geno Smith).’ You bring in a new pass game coordinator (Nate Carroll, son of Pete), new quarterback coach (Will Harriger) for Bryce Young. Then, we don’t play him in the preseason. We play him one series in the final preseason game against the AOGs — none of those guys are playing for Buffalo, by the way.
“They went one series down the field. They were ‘Rah, rah, great, we accomplished everything we wanted to.’ I’ll give you a little note: C.J. Stroud played two preseason games this year. Derek Carr played in two preseason games. Why? Because (New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator) Klint Kubiak was coming in with a new offense, and Derek Carr is a veteran playing two preseason games. Bryce Young played one series in the final preseason game against the nobodies on defense for the Buffalo Bills.
“Does that make sense to you that two games in, we’re saying he can’t play? Yes, his confidence was shattered. Yes, he does need to sit behind Andy Dalton for a little bit. But to blame this on Bryce Young is ridiculous. The blame here goes on the organization, the owner (David Tepper), for mishandling this young quarterback.”
Tell us how you really feel, Mel.
On a more serious note, Kiper has never been one to mince words, and when it comes to a franchise mishandling a young talent, he’s not afraid to let them know it. His scathing critique of the Panthers and David Tepper wasn’t just a defense of Bryce Young but a call to action.
And if history is any guide, NFL teams would do well to listen when Mel Kiper Jr. speaks.
