Kiper's Mel Bag

I couldn't get to the -- literally -- thousands of questions that filled the mailbag, but I tried to hit a pretty wide range here, from questions about possible inconsistencies in where I have guys rated to direct personnel needs to why the Giants could somehow land a running back in Round 1. And yes, I even explain why Tim Tebow could land in the second round. (Not that he belongs there, but hear me out.)

Anyway, on to the 'bag.

Q: For much of the season, you had Jimmy Clausen as your No. 4 prospect on the Big Board, ahead of Sam Bradford. But then you have the Skins taking Bradford with the No. 4 pick. I realize the Skins have mismanaged the draft for years, but they have done fairly well in the first round. Are you projecting the Skins to make a mistake by taking Bradford, or do you just think he's the guy who will fit well with Mike Shanahan?

-- James (Washington, D.C.)

A: The reason I projected Bradford to land with the Redskins at No. 4 has nothing to do with where he had been rated. I should be clear on this: It's my assumption that his shoulder will check out well, and based on what I've heard, I've actually moved him just ahead of Clausen on my board. All things equal, I think Bradford is the better player, and I even had him as the top player on the board last year. So I put him there with the belief that he'll be fine.

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Mel Kiper Jr.

Football analyst

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• ESPN NFL Draft analyst since 1984
• Contributes to SportsCenter and ESPN Radio
• Writes weekly for ESPN Insider