Patriots Fans Aren’t Happy With Mel Kiper After Receiving Their Draft Grade

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. isn’t afraid to slam even the best organizations if he doesn’t agree with a draft plan. And this year, he was most critical of the work Bill Belichick and the Patriots did during the NFL Draft.

At the end of their draft, Kiper went as far as giving Belichick the worst grade in the draft grade for his work throughout the weekend.

“I just don’t think they got value with their first two picks this year,” Kiper wrote. “Cole Strange (29) is a nice guard, but I didn’t see a first-round pick on tape. He likely would have been on the board when the Pats picked in the middle of Round 2.

“I know a hole opened up at guard when Shaq Mason was traded to the Bucs, but value matters in the draft, and Strange needs to play at a Pro Bowl level for years to come to justify this selection.”

See more

The Patriots' NFL draft performance wasn't THAT bad, was it? Mel Kiper apparently believes so. https://t.co/CjvJjR7F7O

— NESN (@NESN) May 1, 2022

Mel Kiper was quickly trashed by Patriots fans who were defensive of the way their team has operated over the past 20 years.

See more

20+ years into this ride and people are still upset the patriots didn’t follow Mel Kiper’s draft board 🙄

— MD (@MJDMV) May 1, 2022

See more

“The teams overconfidence in their scouting by reaching for players projected to go in later rounds”. Wow. Do you think the Patriots are supposed to rely on Mel Kiper and other “experts” projections? Take the day off bud https://t.co/pCdODqHQsQ

— William Costigan Jr (@BillyCostigan_) May 1, 2022

See more

Wow I'm so shocked the Patriots traded down and then "reached" for a guy who wasn't supposed to go this early. Bill does this every single year and the Chicken Littles will start screaming all the same. I'll trust the guy with 6 Super Bowl rings over Mel Kiper, thanks.

— Colby Cotter (@ColbyCotter) April 29, 2022

See more

Getting a kick out of the stock everyone puts in what Mel Kiper thinks is best for the Patriots all of a sudden

— Marima (@Marima07) May 1, 2022

See more

My favorite part of the draft is how the Patriots won for so many years and NEVER card about Mel Kiper's (or anyone's) draft board. Gotta respect that.

— NNK SkinsFan (@NNKSkinsFan) April 30, 2022

See more

At first I was worried that the Patriots reached for a guard in the first round, but since Mel Kiper says they reached, and he is the Prof Galloway of football, I feel much better about it.

— Rob Kornblum (@rkorny) April 29, 2022

Clearly, Patriots fans are going to trust Bill Belichick and their team’s brass over what Mel Kiper thinks. After all, they have enjoyed a whole lot of winning under Belichick’s reign.

At the end of the day, you gotta give credit to Kiper for speaking his mind regardless of the reputation of the people he’s criticizing.

---

Welcome to the game outside the game! Follow us on our Sideaction Twitter handle, Instagram, and Facebook for the latest on sports and pop culture news across the web!