# Thomas Martinez: Martinez identifies several college prospects scouted by the Chargers as future high draft picks, headlined by Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith as a potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 draft and Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore as a projected top-five selection, along with first-round projections for CJ Carr, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, Trevor Lauck and Kade Pieper.

**Claimed:** Oct 4, 2026
**Pundit:** Thomas Martinez — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/thomas-martinez
**Outlet:** Sports Illustrated — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/sports-illustrated
**How it reached us:** published in writing
**Original:** https://www.si.com/nfl/chargers/onsi/chargers-scouts-first-round-prospects-jeremiah-smith-notre-dame

6 checkable claims — 6 mock draft picks — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.

It names 6 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in.

Of the 1 unsettled call enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands below the rest of the room.

> Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is the number one college player in the country and could easily go number one over in the 2027 draft, even ahead of any quarterback.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Leonard Moore to be picked “projected top five pick” (picks 1–5)**
  - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Leonard Moore
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Trevor Lauck to be picked “potential first-round lineman” (picks 1–32)**
  - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Trevor Lauck
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Jeremiah Smith to be picked at number 1**
  - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Jeremiah Smith
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Kade Pieper to be picked “potential first-round lineman” (picks 1–32)**
  - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Kade Pieper
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa to be picked “potential first-round prospect” (picks 1–32)**
  - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **C.J. Carr to be picked “potential first-round prospect” (picks 1–32)**
  - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: C.J. Carr
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Leonard Moore — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/leonard-moore
- Trevor Lauck — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/trevor-lauck
- Jeremiah Smith — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jeremiah-smith
- Kade Pieper — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/kade-pieper
- Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/kyngstonn-viliamu-asa
- C.J. Carr — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/c-j-carr

## What others said about the same people

- Rob Rang on Jeremiah Smith: Rang ranks the four headline prospects from the Texas-Ohio State game in the order he'd draft them (Jeremiah Smith, Arch Manning, Cam Coleman, Julian Sayin) and assigns each a draft grade: Smith and Manning as top-5 picks, Coleman top 10, and Sayin a third-rounder. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/cd619cef-1878-4067-9021-a5ec734d35ed (scored 0)
- Rob Bushka on Jeremiah Smith: Buschka predicted Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith could be the No. 1 overall pick in next year's draft, that Ty Simpson will sit as a clipboard-holding backup, that the receiver the Rams passed on (Lemon) will break out with a huge target share once AJ Brown is moved to New England, and he called Sean McVay the best coach in the NFL. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/d22056d2-7d39-488d-bec5-580108e3aca4 (scored 0)
- Daniel Wade on Jeremiah Smith: In a trade-back mock draft, Wade has the Chargers deal pick 22 to Miami and select edge rusher Cassius Howell at 30, guard Keelan Rutledge at 55, cornerback Malik Muhammad at 86, wide receiver Brennan Thompson at 87, linebacker Keyshawn Elliott at 123, and offensive tackle Travis Burke at 151. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/19828eac-29a1-4ecc-9d93-9e95f149a1f2 (scored 0)
- Ryan Wilson on C.J. Carr: Wilson ranks Darian Mensah as his top quarterback in the 2027 class, with Drew Mestemaker as QB1a and CJ Carr as QB3, and says both Mensah and Carr look like future first-round picks. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e64537e9-7d77-451b-9c40-4a91ddcc05f0 (not settled)
- Charlie Campbell on Trevor Lauck: In his 2027 NFL Mock Draft, Campbell projects the second round (picks 33-64), naming a specific prospect for each selection, including Duce Robinson to Miami at 35 and LaNorris Sellers to Minnesota at 64. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/adf32308-8f1b-4902-84a4-02494687f80f (not settled)
- Nick Faria on C.J. Carr: Faria projects the Jets to hold multiple top-10 picks in the 2027 draft (including No. 4 via Indianapolis), and names Oklahoma State's Drew Mestemaker as the first quarterback off the board with Notre Dame's C.J. Carr second; he also calls Texas edge Colin Simmons a lock for the top five. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/703f92af-2cdd-4c7a-b532-2361ff9fb2b3 (not settled)

## More mock draft picks

The same kind of call, about other players and teams.

- Chris Simms on Malachi Corley: Simms named the Bears the NFL's best overall offense and best rushing offense, the Bengals the best passing offense, Seattle the best total defense, Minnesota the best pass defense and Tampa Bay the best run defense; he also called Tristan Wirfs the league's best offensive lineman, projected Miami's Malachi Toney as a top-15 pick, and predicted a 30-14 Jaguars win in Baltimore. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c0fd4647-2de8-4a5f-bac2-950fed303ee9 (scored 11.46)
- Todd McShay on Keelon Russell: While breaking down LSU's offense, McShay called receiver Jackson Harris a top-50 NFL draft prospect, and later said LSU's Sam Levitt and Alabama's Keelan Russell are potential top-10 picks in a future draft. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/15d40546-2ab9-4ab8-b5bd-ed0ef7f26ae5 (scored 0)
- Philip Hughes on Kyle Kennard: Evaluating edge rusher Kyle Kennard ahead of the draft, the account projected him as a Day 2 selection. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/605a686a-b5f1-4611-82b4-961abf8de93e (scored 33.86)
- Blaine Grisak on Brian Thomas Jr.: Grisak argues the Rams should not trade a second-round pick for Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr., calling it too great a risk and too high a cost. In an embedded tweet of his own from the 2024 pre-draft period, he suggested the Rams could select Thomas at pick No. 19. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/627bcf5d-9f1d-4a34-a1b7-53b8f0aebc40 (scored 84.09)
- Charlie Campbell on Xavier Williams: Campbell's draft stock report projects Indiana WR Charlie Becker as a top-10 pick in 2027, Mississippi State CB Kelley Jones as a first-rounder, Tennessee DT Xavier Gilliam as a top-15 pick, and Texas OT Trevor Goosby as a top-10 pick, while suggesting Arch Manning could still be a first-rounder if he declares. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2dd4bf46-e5eb-4dff-8500-95d9fdbd2986 (scored 0)
- Walt on Fernando Mendoza: In a running series of coach/GM hiring and firing grades, Walt projects Fernando Mendoza as the No. 1 overall pick of the Raiders in the 2026 draft and has LSU's Garrett Nussmeier going No. 2 overall in his 2026 mock draft. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/29bb2d31-fbe3-40db-b378-be5ba5d990b0 (scored 100)

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Accuracy is 0-100 against what actually happened. The naive guess is what a strategy requiring no knowledge would have scored on the same call — the difference is the skill, and it is what the MissedTakes Score averages.

Full method: https://missedtakes.co/methodology

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