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Q&A: Mike Mayock Talks NFL Draft, Mock Drafts vs. Big Boards & His Relationship with Mel Kiper

May 7, 2010, 7:00 PM UTC

Mike Mayock is the NFL Draft guru for the NFL Network. He was the star of the show for NFLN the first two days, but then his voice started to disappear and he was relegated to NFL.com for day three…the draft guru’s Christmas.â†µ

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â†µâ†µOn today’s episode of On the DL, I talked to Mayock about the draft process, from starting in July to working all the way up to actual NFL Draft, which, yes, included not being able to talk on day three. We also discussed the difference between mock drafts and big boards, the disconnect when talking about value with regard to NFL players and draft picks, feeling like a salesman for NFLN, and what kind of relationship he has with Mel Kiper.â†µ

â†µâ†µHere are a few excerpts from that conversation. Please click here to listen to the interview.â†µ

â†µâ†µDL: How crazy is this process. How crazy is the draft process, both for you and for the teams?â†µ

â†µâ†µMayock: It’s a process that people don’t understand how it starts and how in depth it gets. Even with all that, the percentage of mistakes are incredible.â†µ

â†µâ†µBasically I model myself after an NFL franchise as far as the way I prepare for a draft. Most of the teams start on next year’s draft in July. In the July timeframe, grades will come out from the two national scouting combines that service a large number of teams, so all the grades will come out for next year’s senior class. At that point, teams are going to start evaluating players and watching tape – junior tape of the rising seniors – so basically, I do the same thing.â†µ

â†µâ†µDL: And then you’d fill in with the underclassmen once they declare, or you have an idea of who is going to come out so you try to keep an eye on them during the season?â†µ

â†µâ†µMayock: I completely ignore the underclassmen, because, to me it’s a waste of time because you’re just guessing. And I don’t have enough time. I get a list of the rising seniors and in July I get a feel for who the top guys at each position are. And in July, I start watching tape on next year’s guys. Once the season starts, during the week, I’m watching as much tape as I can of all these different seniors around the country, talking with teams…so the process is really a long process.â†µ

â†µâ†µOnce the regular season is over, you start the off-season with all-star games and combines and pro days and it’s funny because I tell all these kids, I meet this kids at lots of different places and I’m like, “guys, it’s a lot longer and more draining than you have any idea, and the amazing thing is that once you get drafted, it’s not the end. It’s the beginning.”â†µ

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â†µDL: When you're setting up your "big board" of talent, are you assessing the players on your own merit or are you talking to the teams and getting a feel for them. The Jimmy Clausen thing is sort of what sticks in everybody's mind because a lot of people had him very high on their boards and he obviously didn't go until later in the draft than people expected. Are you setting up your board saying this is what the NFL thinks or this is what Mike Mayock thinks?â†µ

â†µâ†µMayock: I do it both ways. The way I look at my job, is that I try to look at all 32 teams like I’m the general manager for that team. On one side, I’ve got to look at what their scheme is and what kind of kids fit for a 3-4 team as well as a 4-3 team, for a west coast offense as well as a Don Coryell-type offense. I’m trying to set my teams needs up and what each kid fits what teams, based on that type of knowledge.â†µOn the other hand, when I’m putting together, say, a top 100, that’s more the guy I think are really good football players – in order. So like most NFL teams I’ve got a board set up, I’ve got a grid called a stack, by position, in order. Quarterbacks: boom, boom, boom, boom, boom…first round through seventh round. Running backs, same thing. But then you’ve got to compare a quarterback to a guard, when you’re doing your top 100. Who has more value, where is the value and why. I kind of set it up in different ways, because what I’m trying to is explain to the guy at home so he’ll understand that the defensive end that the Buffalo Bills need is a little different looking than the defensive end that the Philadelphia Eagles need, because of scheme…and you try to help the guy at home to understand that.â†µ

â†µâ†µDL: There are a lot of people out there, especially the NFL reporters who are just news gatherers, who put together their mock drafts based on information they glean from the teams and who they think the teams are going to pick. So a lot of mock drafts out there are, “I think this is going to happen.” But it sounds like when you put together yours, you’re more saying, ‘if I were in charge of each of these teams, this is who I would pick.”â†µ

â†µâ†µMayock: See I do one mock draft and it’s the day of the draft, and the reason I do it that way is because free agency changes everything on a daily basis. A month before the draft, the pick that any teams needs is different once they sign a free agent, and their priorities are different. I think it’s a great exercise…it’s a great exchange of information. But when it comes to a mock draft itself, I try to set it up the way I think a team is going to do it. And the problem is when you have the amount of trades you did this year, all the mock drafts go right out the window.â†µ

â†µâ†µDL: I had the NFLN coverage streaming on my computer and ESPN on my TV and my brain was split. But you only needed to worry about the NFLN coverage. NFLN has been doing the draft for a few years, but many people still don’t think to go there. People still associate the draft with ESPN. So in doing all the interviews that you did – and I would venture to guess it was hundreds leading up to the draft – did you feel like a salesman at a little bit, saying “hey, come over to our coverage, we know what we’re talking about too”?â†µ

â†µâ†µMayock: You know, I look at my job in an incredibly simple way. My father was a football coach for 40 years. I’m one of seven kids, five boys played college football. There’s kind of a purity about the game in our family. That’s the way I look at it. I don’t worry about selling out coverage or selling football because I love it so much I hope people see that I love it. I hope people see that I have a passion for the game of football, and because of that, I hope people are going to come watch our network.â†µ

â†µâ†µThe thing for me, with the draft, is that I grew up watching game film with my father since I was about eight or nine years old. I drove around in cars going to scout high school and college teams with my dad. So I come from a purely football side. I don’t come from it from a television side. I don’t come from it from a sales side. And what I’m hoping is that I provide something a little bit different.â†µ

â†µâ†µI don’t worry about what the ESPN guys are doing or they’re not doing. I go through the way I do it.â†µ

â†µâ†µDL: By the way, that answer, while I believe it’s 100% true, is no fun. We want you to hate Mel Kiper. We want you guys to be these crazy rivals that we can pick sides. For the rest of us, that’s more fun.â†µ

â†µâ†µMayock: The problem is, the reality and the perception are two different things. When Mel and I saw each other the day before the draft at Radio City Music Hall we gave each other a big hug.â†µ

â†µâ†µDL: Rich Eisen put a photo out of the two of you and we went “dammit, we want these guys to hate each other.”â†µ

â†µâ†µMayock: I know, and it was funny because Mel came off the elevator, we saw each other and we gave each other a big hug. We’re comparing notes, because he has a passion for it too. We come at it a little bit differently, but Mel and I go back to the Senior Bowl in the early 90s where he was the draft guy and I was the sideline reporter. So Mel and I have known each other for a lot of years and you guys want us to hate each other, and I get that, but you know, he and McShay can provide that side of it for you.â†µ

â†µâ†µDL: With everything that you do to prepare, the whole year you spend, how upset were this year in the draft when your voice sort of cut out on you. I would think that day three is your bread and butter, where you prove where you stand out from everyone else..how much research, how much tape you’ve watched. I know you did the NFL.com stuff, but how difficult was that for you to not be on TV for that?â†µ

â†µâ†µMayock: It was a tough day. It really was. That was one of the most frustrating days I’ve ever had, professionally. In the new format, the last day – the third day – is more than half the picks. You’ve got rounds four through seven and if you work at it for nine months, they’re the guys that the people at home don’t know. They’re the guys that you want to help them with the most.â†µ

â†µâ†µCorey Chavous, who is one of my favorite people in the world – Corey works so hard at it – and Charles Davis, we had Mack Brown this year…we had a bunch of guys who I love working with, and I’m sitting the green room typing away for NFL.com and…it was a tough day. It really was.â†µ

â†µâ†µFor more with Mayock, please check out the show. Picture of Mayock with Tim Tebow (above) from the 2010 NFL Scouting Combine.â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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