Behind The Scenes

Kiper on 29 NFL Drafts: Part I;
Pow! Kiper, McShay are ‘Avengers’

NEW YORK — Tomorrow at Radio City Music Hall in New York, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. will be celebrating his 29th.

His 29th NFL Draft, that is.

Since 1984, Kiper has offered his analysis during ESPN’s NFL Draft coverage and become a mainstay at the event. His passion and enthusiasm for football only seems to grow.

In an interview with Front Row, Kiper reflects on how the draft industry has grown and how encouragement from both his father and mentor Ernie Accorsi — former General Manager of the New York Giants, Baltimore Colts and Cleveland Browns, and the executive who traded for Eli Manning on Draft Day in 2004 — helped him make it to where he is today.

Here is Part I of an interview with Kiper. Come back to Front Row on Thursday for Part II.

 

 

This week on SportsCenter, Kiper and fellow analyst Todd McShay will showcase their “superheroic” NFL Draft coverage powers by being “Avengerized” into Marvel Avengers characters.

The illustrations are part of a promotion for the release of the widely anticipated Avengers motion picture slated to hit theatres on May 4.

ESPN’s Creative Works and the SportsCenter production team worked closely with Marvel to produce the artwork. The sketches included here illustrate the evolution of the drawings.

Fans can catch the promotion during the 11 p.m. SportsCenter throughout the week.

ESPN Communications publicist Kristen Hudak contributed to this report.

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