CLEMSON -- Most of us are not fans of Mel Kiper.

Maybe it's the fact that he's always so serious and seldom prone to letting his hair down in a figurative sense.

Or maybe it's his literal hair.

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Whatever the reason, safe to say the grief he gets is not remotely commensurate with his stature as an absolute giant of an industry.

He is a major reason so many fans of both professional and college football are so consumed with the draft. And if you're not reading him, you're probably reading one of the legions of so-called draft gurus who earn a living because of what he created.

Yet it's possible to both admire a pioneering legacy while also poking some fun at one of the byproducts of that legacy.

The ever-mockable, way-too-early mock draft.

If April is known for the fevered, overheated culmination of the NFL's annual round of talent procurement, then May is the domain of projecting a crap shoot that's a year away.

Yes, in many ways a futile and foolish pastime on its face.

Except for the fact that many of our faces are glued to our screens scanning these forecasts upon release.

There's no chicken-or-egg question here. These articles are published, and this cottage industry exists, because we are highly interested in the forecasts. Similar to why we see so many way-too-early Top 25 rankings in mid-January before the confetti has stopped falling in the national championship game.

Dabo Swinney has said in the past that the time to rank recruiting classes is after the players in those classes have concluded their college careers.