Longtime ESPN NFL draft expert Mel Kiper takes a timeout for some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby
Q: You were waiting for the Peach Bowl to reach your final verdict on Dante Moore versus Fernando Mendoza.
Q: Mendoza’s going No. 1 to the Las Vegas Raiders. I think we should etch that in stone, we can write it in pen, we can already put it down. It did tell us all we need to know. But in 3-4 years, who knows how it’s gonna be? We don’t know.
Q: If you’re the Jets, do you pick Moore at No. 2?
A: You have to, but you gotta handle him properly. You’re drafting him based on traits and talent. You can’t have him thrown to the wolves. You gotta get that personnel to where it needs to be, and you gotta get some weapons around him, and you gotta allow him some time to grow into that position. I think another year at Oregon would benefit him tremendously. If I’m Dante coming off that field, I’m saying, “OK, I’m gonna go into the NFL?” … If you feel as a Jet organization, and you’re the GM Darren Mougey, right, and you’re Aaron Glenn, and we need this kid to be our guy this year, he’s gonna have to be ready, we’re not going though another horrible season, and he’s gonna have to be our guy from the get-go. If that’s your expectation, it might be a little too much. … It’s up to the Jets to coach him up and have a plan in place to develop him and groom him to be the franchise quarterback he has the talent to be, and stick to that plan. Somebody’s gotta be there as a bridge to Dante. In Vegas, Mendoza will be the Day 1 starter. That can’t be the case with Dante in my opinion. It’s not about 2026, it’s about ’27 moving forward, then you take him. … These quarterbacks don’t grow on trees. You just can’t find them every year. Next year, who knows where the Jets’ll be picking? If you’re not picking ’em 1 or 2 or 3, you’re not getting these guys. … It’s a risk-reward thing.
Q: You think the risk is worth the reward?
A: I would say Dante Moore is a risk worth taking with the second pick based on obviously what they need. You’re in a division with Josh Allen and Drake Maye. Dante Moore is a heckuva quarterback prospect, there’s no question about it. You gotta beat the odds a little bit with Dante, because that number of starts isn’t the number you prefer, and history tells us when you have those low number of starts has not bode well for those quarterbacks.
Q: How close will your final grades be on these two?
A: I can’t make the decision right now. First of all, you gotta get all the measurables on these kids and figure it all out. … Just say Mendoza’s a 9.7. I’d say Dante would be a 9.5, 9.4.
Q: Why does Moore have so much upside?
A: He’s only 20. When he came out of high school, he was considered the No. 1 player, ahead of Arch Manning, ahead of everybody. … At the end of the day, after all was said and done in the regular season, he had a slightly higher completion percentage than Mendoza did. He can move, and he’s athletic, and he can throw a beautiful ball. He defines what a pure passer is. I mean, he can spin it with the best of them, he can take a little off, put a little on, take a little off in terms of touch. He knows trajectory — if he has to get it into tight windows he can throw that 90 mile an hour fastball when he has to, if he has to take a little off he can. He only has 20 starts. He needs another year.
Q: Would you advise him to come out?
A: I think the more you play in college, the better off you are. … They don’t grade on a curve, you’re getting graded as a rookie like you’re an eight-year veteran, so you’ve gotta be ready for that scrutiny, that criticism, all that hate that comes your way. In my opinion, you gotta figure it out at a very high level in college.
Q: It’s been speculated it is possible that Moore might not want to play for the Jets.
A: I’ve heard all that. Remember when [Joe] Burrow was gonna go to Cincinnati, “Oh, he’s not gonna want to play there” and he did? … I don’t buy into that. I get people say, “Well, are you set up for failure?” I’m gonna bet on the NFL and the Jets getting it together. I don’t factor that in. For him, it’s gonna be, “Am I ready to play at a high level? Did I figure it out enough at Oregon?”
Q: What impressed you about Mendoza this year?
A: He did this on a consistent basis late in plays, he made great decisions. He was accurate with throws late in the play … whether it was a run for the first down, whether it was to throw the ball away, whether it was to throw an accurate pass, whether it was a checkdown late, he just saw the field so well this year. He trusted what he saw and he let it rip. He benefited from this experience, from this development at Indiana. He’s got the size, he doesn’t have a rocket arm, but it’s certainly strong enough. He’s not gonna win any races, but he’s certainly fast enough, like Burrow, to pick up first downs and beat you with his legs and move the chains with his legs on third down. He’s smart — remember he was gonna go to Yale. Very energetic. The one thing he says: “I’m always trying to crack the code.” He’s focused, he’s disciplined in his approach, he’s dedicated, he studies as much as anybody, he prepares as hard as anybody, he plays with energy, he loves his teammates, he’ll do anything he can to win a football game.
Q: Thoughts on Alabama’s Ty Simpson?
A: He could be more of a mid-to-later first-round pick. Very, very confident. He doesn’t have any hesitancy throwing the football, he does let it rip. He’s not just a statue back there, he can move, he can avoid, he can create, he can extend plays with his legs. His arm strength is good, not great. He’s gotta fill out and add some weight to that frame. Fifteen starts is a risky number to come out.
Q: Trinidad Chambliss of Ole Miss?
A: He is fearless. He hangs in there to the last possible moment throwing the football. He is a creative, tough, hard-nosed quarterback. He’s got an NFL arm, and he can move as well as you need a quarterback to move. He’s not 6-3, he’s only in that 6-1 range.
Q: So there could possibly be four first-round quarterbacks?
A: I’d say three, and maybe four.
Q: Why should Giants fans be excited about Jaxson Dart?
A: ’Cause he plays with passion. He’s got a little bit of that Josh Allen in him, but he’s not 6-5, 245, and he’s gotta realize that, and I think he will. But what could be better than a quarterback that just lays it all on the line and brings energy. And you see him when he’s on the sidelines, he can’t wait to get back out there. He just loves to compete. That’s what you want.
Q: Where did you have Cam Skattebo rated last year?
A: Right where he went [fourth round]. He’s got that little John Riggins in him. I don’t know how long he can go running with that style he runs with. I love passionate players, and he’s a passionate football player.
Q: Is Abdul Carter a can’t-miss, double-digit sacker?
A: He should be on talent. He has the talent to do what Will Anderson’s doing. He could be a 12-15 sack a year guy. That’s what he should be based on his talent.
Q: How far away from Bijan Robinson, Saquon Barkley and Ashton Jeanty is Jeremiyah Love?
A: He’s right there with them. He’s got vision, he’s got burst, he can catch the ball, you can flank him out wide. Jeremiyah Love is very, very much worthy and deserving of being a top-five pick.
Q: Arvell Reese compared to Abdul Carter?
A: He’s not the pass rusher. They didn’t allow him that opportunity on a regular basis, he was playing off ball, he was playing some outside, but he’s not the proven sack artist that Abdul Carter was.
Q: David Bailey, Rueben Bain Jr. and Keldrick Faulk in relation to Reese.
A: Bailey’s a proven pass rusher. He was a fear-factor player coming off the edge. Bain is an intriguing guy because he’s a great college player. He runs roughshod over these offensive tackles in college. How good an NFL player is he gonna be is somewhat up for debate because he doesn’t have long arms and he doesn’t run the great 40 time. Faulk was not the dominant player I thought he would be. He’s the LTPer, he’s the “look the part” guy. He’s got a lot of scheme versatility. A defensive line coach is gonna look at him and say, “I want that guy, I can make him a 10-plus sack a year guy. I can get him in that 8-10 sack a year type of number.”
Q: The difference between Carnell Tate and Jordyn Tyson?
A: Tyson had three different years of injuries. Durability is the concern, but when he was with [Sam] Leavitt two years ago and healthy, he was a dynamic player. Tate is a great route runner, tremendous hands, didn’t have a drop this year. [Makai] Lemon is a slot receiver, he’s a fierce football player. Denzel Boston’s a big body, sure-handed kid, Zachariah Branch at Georgia’s kind of like a Zay Flowers type. Tate would probably be the guy that emerges as the top wide receiver.
Q: Is Peter Woods the class of the defensive tackle group?
A: The arm length is a little lacking with him. Probably Kayden McDonald has moved up to the point where he could be the first defensive tackle drafted. Those run-stuffing guys, they’re dinosaurs, so you gotta get penetration, you gotta be disruptive.
Q: Describe the 2027 quarterback class.
A: I think LaNorris Sellers, Arch Manning could be vying for that top spot. Julian Sayin’s gonna be a guy everybody’s gonna be watching to see how he progresses, he’s gonna have a lot of talent around him there [at Ohio State]. Then you got Sam Leavitt, who’s gonna be transferring and going somewhere. … John Mateer, if he goes back to Oklahoma, does he become more consistent as a passer? We know he can move around and extend plays and beat you with his legs, so he’d be in that mix. We have to see what some of these decisions are these kids make, but I think Sellers and Manning would be the two that jump out, and Sayin.
Q: Where did Manning make the biggest strides this year?
A: The experience. He didn’t have any. He got off to that start against Ohio State at the Shoe, and then he had to deal with all that hate and everybody saying he was not very good, he’s overrated, overhyped. He was overhyped, wasn’t his fault people were talking about No. 1 pick in the draft, Heisman Trophy and national title.
Q: Duke’s Darian Mensah in the 2027 class?
A: This kid’s a pure passer of the football. He’s got really good touch, very accurate. Doesn’t have elite arm strength, but he feathers the ball when he has to, he’s a timing-touch guy, sees the field very well, can throw well rolling out on the move or from the pocket. He’s got very good awareness, anticipatory thrower of the football.
Q: First-rounder?
A: He certainly, to me, could be. The arm strength improves by the mechanics of it and all that, so another year his arm’ll probably appear a little livelier and stronger next year. To me, Darian Mensah’s gonna be an interesting guy next year. Certainly right there in the mix to be a guy who could maybe start out in that second tier and end up in the first tier.
Q: The 2027 draft class will be a lot better than this one, right?
A: It could be. We thought this group of quarterbacks was gonna be great back in August. Remember, a lot of people were projecting Cade Klubnik from Clemson going No. 1 and Garrett Nussmeier from LSU going No. 2. And look what happened — they’re not even going til Day 3. That’s why the projecting so far ahead is dangerous. It’s too much volatility with players and injuries and teams and guys changing teams and not getting continuity within a system.
Q: What did you think of John Harbaugh’s firing by the Ravens?
A: Not surprising at all. Here in Baltimore, I think everybody expected it. It’s good for both parties — 18 years is long enough in the same spot, your message falls on deaf ears after a while. I remember Tom Landry always said, “Ten years is plenty,” but that was before free agency. It’s good for him to get a fresh start. They didn’t play with an edge. I didn’t see a lot of fire, a lot of passion. I think new energy was needed. I think he’ll be reinvigorated now. I think he’ll want to prove that he can get back to where he was.
Q: Kevin Stefanski.
A: I was hoping [the Browns] were gonna keep him because I wanted to see continuity with Shedeur Sanders there.
Q: Short answers please: What makes these people or things first-round picks: Field Yates?
A:. Class act.
Q: Jordan Reid?
A: Nicest, humble, soft-spoken but brings a lot of pop.
Q: Matt Miller?
A: Energizer bunny. He’s the Comp King, you want a comp, Matt will give you a comp on any player. Whether it’s a sixth-rounder, he’ll give you a comp.
Q: What makes a first-round hair stylist?
A: That’s one I can’t answer, my hair’s always been so bad I can’t even answer that.
Q: What makes a first-round steak?
A: A first-round steak? Gotta be tender, gotta melt in your mouth.
Q: A first-round spouse?
A: I got it with Kim.
Q: A first-round lawyer?
A: Smartest man or woman in the room.
Q: A first-round doctor?
A: Smartest man or woman in the room … cool, collected and the smartest man or woman in the room (chuckle).
Q: First-round dentist?
A: Same thing. Anybody that’s working on you, they gotta be the smartest man or woman in the room, and they gotta be calm and cool and collected, yeah.
Q: First-round Uber driver?
A: Trustworthy.
Q: First-round broadcaster or announcer?
A: Passionate.
Q: First-round restaurant?
A: Comfort food. Has to have comfort foods and gravy. If it doesn’t have gravy, I’m not excited. Comfort food is like hot roast beef and French fries … hot turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy … meat loaf. All the comfort foods. Has to have that.
Q: What drives you now?
A: Every year’s different. Every year’s like snowflakes, they’re all different. Every year there’s different players, teams are gonna be evaluated different, every year there’s different needs with each teams in the NFL, all the college players every year are different. That keeps the passion, the enthusiasm going after almost 50 years of doing this.
Q: What are you most proud of?
A: I still feel I have as much energy now as I did when I was 22. … Let the chips fall where they may. One thing that never has bothered me is criticism ’cause I don’t listen to it, I don’t hear it. I think I’ve become more of a defense attorney for players because I hear all this unfair criticism of quarterbacks and players. I had to go off for five minutes of defending Myles Garrett being the No. 1 pick. Like with Shedeur last year when he dropped to the fifth round. It’s almost like you’re more of a defense attorney now than a draft analyst.
Q: What do you hope your legacy is or will be?
A: Could [not] care less. As long as my family’s happy, I could [not] care less about what everybody around the world thinks about me.
