While some viewers might be getting tired of Mel Kiper Jr., he’s not tired of football.
Not even close.
The 64-year-old ESPN draft analyst remains one of the most recognizable and polarizing figures in NFL Draft coverage. And after four decades of big boards, prospect grades, and heated debates about arm strength and scheme fit, he’s still going strong.
The 2025 NFL Draft was another reminder of Kiper’s outsized presence. The first round became a full-blown Shedeur Sanders love affair, with Kiper leading the charge. But even as the Worldwide Leader drew criticism — especially for how it handled Cam Ward going No. 1 overall and Sanders slipping out of the first round — Kiper isn’t going anywhere.
He’s been at this since the early ’80s, when he basically invented the draft analyst role. Now he’s seen as both a pioneer and, depending on who you ask, a lightning rod for criticism.
But Kiper’s not losing sleep over internet comments, nor is he losing any steam.
When asked if he ever grows tired of covering football during a recent appearance on The Skip Bayless Show, Kiper said, “No, and I’ll tell you why, Skip. It’s not because I have any great stamina or endurance, because I don’t. It’s because of the time you have to regenerate. As soon as the draft’s over, we do the draft grades. I start in May, getting ready for next year. ESPN leaves us alone — or leaves me alone — and says, ‘OK, take your time to get away, be with the family, just get away. Watch some baseball games. Go on a boat. Enjoy what you got to do. Enjoy life beyond football.'”
“So, I have May, after the grades get done,” he continues. “All that’s done. Next year, look ahead to that. June; those months I’m looking at — at my leisure — players for the big board for next year. So, I use May, June, and July, and then gear up players to do exactly… I’m still looking at players, but on my time, and get that board ready for next year to the best of my ability.”
For Kiper, it’s about the rhythm. Three months (technically) off, nine months on. That’s how he keeps going. But even with that structure, the workload is no joke.
“You have those months, Skip, and then from August until May 1, it’s boom boom. You know how it is,” Kiper says. “You’ve done it. Hey, Skip, you do it 12 months a year and cover all these sports. You talk about me. I cover one sport. I cover college football players, and I’m doing it for nine months, where it’s really the focal point. Three months to really regenerate. You have no chance, No. 1, to regenerate. You don’t have a night that you don’t have to be watching something, because you’ve got to talk about it the next day. What you’ve done in your career, as far as talking sports on a 365-day-a-year basis, is amazing, Skip.”
Kiper could never imagine doing Bayless’s job. But he also doesn’t plan on giving up his own anytime soon.
That might not thrill everyone at home, especially those who tuned out after ESPN spent hours hyping Shedeur Sanders only to watch him slide out of round one. It was a night when the coverage flirted with overkill, and Nick Wright argued that Kiper’s evaluation of Sanders, while fair game for discussion, shouldn’t dominate the narrative every time someone else’s name was called.
But like it or not, he’s still the face of the draft for ESPN. Still the guy with the binder. Still the voice talking about quick feet and quarterback mechanics. And until the day he stops regenerating, Mel Kiper Jr. isn’t going anywhere.