When is 247 going to drop ESPN from the composite?

I guess I don't understand that hatred here for ESPN's rankings

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They didn't do that bad of a job.

I know Rivals and 247 do a 'self evaluation' of how they did vs the draft. Maybe someone with some time can see how ESPN did. I mean the top of that list doesn't look too bad.

Top 10:

Wilson was a first rounder
Okudah was a first rounder
Leatherwood/Moses/Wade could all be first rounders next year
Akers was one of the first RBs taken

That's not that bad a bad rate of success when Young/Ruiz/Higgins were also in the top 30

it's really all a guessing game anyways. Usually the reason one site ranks a prospect higher than another is because the prospect attended their site's camp.

Which is very fair btw despite how it sounds. Obviously it's easier to evaluate when you have a kid at a camp in front of one of your 'scouts'

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The hatred is that outside of the Top 50 or so ESPN doesn't even try.

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This. ESPN is great with the elite kids but that is where all of their focus is.

Between the admittedely more cursory opinions of legitimate sports writers at ESPN vs the opinions of glorified bloggers at 24/7 and Rivals I'll take the sports writers.

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Between the admittedely more cursory opinions of legitimate sports writers at ESPN vs the opinions of glorified bloggers at 24/7 and Rivals I'll take the sports writers.

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Like saying you like NBC's sitcoms over CBS's when discussing the difference in Sunday Night Football and CBS Sunday NFL.

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know Rivals and 247 do a 'self evaluation' of how they did vs the draft.


That's a pretty shitty way to self evaluate, IMO. These kids are going to college teams, not to the pros. Aaron Murray shattered records and was maybe tbe best QB we've ever had, what does him going in the 5th round and flaming out of the NFL have to do with his evaluation for college and his accomplishments here?

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Maybe but 247 has been pretty blunt in saying they do 32 5* to mimic what they believe would be the 32 first round picks in 3-5 years. 247 is projecting past college in a lot of what they do.

Here is a quote from Farrell about WRs in the most recent class:

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“He’s a great route runner, great adjusting to the football and he has great hands, but physically he’s not the same as Demas. He could be the better high school football player and he could be going into a better system, but Demas is a guy that scouts will be higher on three or four years from now when we’re talking about the NFL Draft.”

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So Farrell basically admits Njigba was better in HS and will be better in college, but Demas will be a higher draft pick so he is ranked higher

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I recalled this take a couple months ago so I thought I would share

Haha, no it's like saying I like the opinion of real sports writers versus guys who weren't good enough become real sports writers so they started tweeting highschool kids and selling fake rumours to rednecks and calling it journalism

True one service would make things a lot simpler to be honest.

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That's a pretty shitty way to self evaluate, IMO. These kids are going to college teams, not to the pros. Aaron Murray shattered records and was maybe tbe best QB we've ever had, what does him going in the 5th round and flaming out of the NFL have to do with his evaluation for college and his accomplishments here?

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I don't disagree.

But the rankings are looking for highest potential. And that is measured by the draft.

You could rank by best high school players. You could rank by best incoming freshmen. Or you can rank by highest potential. I don't think the recruiting sites are wrong for going with the highest potential.

Trying to rank by college production would be akin to ranking kids by the scheme that they are recruited to. And that isnt ranking the kids. You would have to rerank with every new team on their top 5 or every new OC with those teams.