Michael Vick vs Mel Kiper, Jr.

At some point Saturday, Tags will step to the podium and lend his monotone to the sweetest April words this side of "unexpected refund": "The Falcons are on the clock."

Months of anticipation explode into glory as the marathon grind of seven rounds over two days lurches into first gear. My advice? Don't get distracted by the adrenaline, the hype, or the curious yet musky tang of the draftniks.

Stay focused on what draft day is all about -- the acquisition of franchise talent, go-to guys you can build your program around. Two names dominate my draft board in 2001:

• Michael Vick -- the predestined first-overall-pick, now headed to Atlanta, thanks to a pre-draft day deal with San Diego.
• Mel Kiper, Jr.-- draft guru, scourge of GMs past, present and future, the man who built an empire out of his passion for knowing every Juco's time in the 40.

In a year with "trade down" written all over it, when the post-Vick talent level is generally described as one big push from No. 2 through the 20th pick, who else can compare than the man I call "Melificent"? Mel Kiper, Jr., is a proven commodity who brings his A game year after year. The man has seen more Mr. Irrelevants come and go than Heidi Fleiss.

Now the time has come to give a final tweak to the big board, and designate who tops my list at No. 1-A and No. 1-B. Vick versus Kiper, the kid with big arm versus the institution with the big hair. Let's see how they stack up at the Tale of the Tape...

So there you have it. It's all so simple when you break things down scientifically. In a roll of the draft-day dice, the advantage goes to...Mel Kiper, Jr. Major reach? Not until Vick cracks the starting lineup. Until next time, I'm Nick Bakay reminding you the numbers never lie.