Mel Kiper, Jr. has had a legendary career. He has helped make the draft into the ultimate reality show it now is. He started from absolutely nothing and invented a career that didn’t previously exist.
Of course, this has resulted in Kiper becoming Guy Who Only Knows About The Draft. And while such “stay in your lane” admonitions often are used to dismiss those who have more to offer than the thing for which they’re primarily known, guys like Kiper do themselves no favors by venturing from their lane with a take that is objectively nutty.
Kiper recently suggested outlawing the two-high safety defense. And while it gave ESPN a few news cycles of content (much like the suggestion from Ron Jaworski in 2013 that Colin Kaepernick could be one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time), it makes Kiper look goofy.
The NFL has systematically tried to goose offensive football over the last 50 years, with a variety of rule changes. The thought of putting restrictions on the deployment of defensive players has never been considered, much less suggested.
This is’t the NBA, where zone defenses can be abolished — and where the rule can be effectively enforced. There’s no practical way to tell NFL defenses what they can or can’t do.
But Kiper’s comments have moved the needle. They’ve already shown up in press conferences. Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill, for example, gave a thoughtful and pragmatic response when asked about it on Thursday.
“It’s up to us to try to figure it out,” Hill said. “That’s why people love football because of how it’s played and all kind of things can be stopped and stuff like this, that’s the beauty in it. It’s our job to come inside this building and figure out how do we get this not ran against us.”
He’s right. Defenses have 11 players. They can use them however they see fit. Two deep, three deep, zero deep. 4-3, 3-4, 5-3, 3-3-5, 46 defense, whatever.
Still, the Kiper take has become a bona fide thing, even if there’s no way the league would ever do what he suggested. After last night’s win over the Patriots, Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers made a reference to it.
You wouldn’t know it from the transcript, which says this: “The entire focus of all three defenses we’ve played had been taking Garrett [Wilson] away. It’s been Malachi [Corley] for his worst nightmare, lot of cover two.”
That’s not what Rodgers said. He said — clearly and obviously — that it’s been “Mel Kiper’s worst nightmare.”
Maybe it’s as simple as the person who transcribed the remarks not being aware of the Kiper thing. Regardless, Rodgers was. Even though it first emerged on a game day, Rodgers knew about it.
Remember that the next time Rodgers feigns ignorance of anything and everything the media says, perpetuating the idea that he’s above it all. He’s not. He has rabbit ears bigger than Dumbo’s.
The bottom line is that Kiper’s comments will ultimately fall on deaf ears. And it gave ESPN plenty of views and clicks, even if they don’t do much to help Kiper shed his typecast as a guy who shouldn’t be talking about anything but draft prospects.
