Draper, to me, isn't one of my all time favorites. And, yes, he did have some flaws bodypart wise. I never thought his triceps were all that, or his hamstrings or quad sweep. But, for the 60s and 70s had a pretty decent build. In those days you could win the universe at 6' tall and 220. So, it was a whole different game. In fact, I actually like his overall build- kind of the classic "heroic" lines. So, I definately see the value in what he offered. And, apparently so did many, many fans over the last 44 years. A lot changes in 44 years. You could say that the bench press record holder from 1962 wasn't all that great, and by todays numbers you'd be right.
Is Dave Draper overrated? Yes and no. Bodybuilding is a subjective sport. A lot of people think Dorian or even Ronnie, Lee Haney, Lee Labrada etc. are overrated. And, yes, he talked about his serious drug addiction on his "E True Hollywood Story" they did on him several years back. So, he has laid that out there and has moved on from that.
On kind of another note: I belonged to his yahoo group for awhile and had some problems with the way his wife and he handled certain situations- poor judgement calls. Quite a bit of sensorship for intelligent, well meaning people, while the pricks just about had free run to say what they liked as long as it didn't go against the Drapers' opinions or overall beliefs. That's not a personal attack, just narrow sighted leadership in my opinion. I think the staunch anti-steroid stance is a little bit ironic- especially when Dave used them to be at his best. But, that's his personal opinion now and I can respect that. Also, a lot of people like his writing style. I bought one of his books years ago and I can't make heads or tails of it. Kind of a lyrical melodic style that doesn't seem to really focus in one direction. Just not for me.
So that's my take on Dave. He seems like an ok guy and a good old time bodybuilder, but far from perfect- as he'd tell you himself. And, basically, he's just one of those dudes that you either agree with and like or you don't- not real well rounded physique wise or politically.
Jacob