Dan Patrick#80 of 87 NFL pundits · Feb 27, 2026
Patrick says Ohio State's Sonny Styles will be a top-ten pick and may have moved even higher after their combine testing. They also argue Fernando Mendoza is the only legitimate first-round quarterback in the class while Ty Simpson will get a surge of pre-draft hype.
Said on air or in an interview · The Dan Patrick Show (podcast)Hear the original
What Dan Patrick said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromthat player is Sonny Styles, who is going to be a top ten pick, but he may have moved up even a little bit higher than that
- Where it was said
- The Dan Patrick Show (podcast)
- The episode
- Hour 1 – The NFL Combine Is a Guilty Pleasure, Chet vs. Wemby?
- The original
- Hear the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
The page this came from has changed since we captured it on Aug 5, 2026. The quote and evidence here are from our capture, not from what the page says today.
- SaidFeb 27
- GradedAug 7–14
- 1Sonny Styles to be picked “top ten pick” (picks 1–10)“that player is Sonny Styles, who is going to be a top ten pick, but he may have moved up even a little bit higher than that”
- 2Fernando Mendoza to be 1st quarterback off the board“get ready for this because there's only one legitimate quarterback, first round quarterback. That's Fernando Mendoza.”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sonny Styles to be picked “top ten pick” (picks 1–10)1 | Mock Draft Picks | Went 7 | 100 | 50 | — | |
| Fernando Mendoza to be 1st quarterback off the board2 | Position Order Calls | — | 100 | 33.08 | +66.92 | |
| 2 calls · 2 hits · all settled | 100 | 41.5 | ||||
How each call scored
a naive guessbetter than naive2 checkable claims — 1 mock draft pick and 1 position order call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 2 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
All 2 have settled, averaging 100 out of 100, against 41.5 for a naive guess at the same calls.
Each call is scored 0 to 100 against what happened, on its own, by the published methodology. The naive guess is what knowing nothing would have scored on the same calls; the gap, weighted by how hard the call was, is the skill.
Where this call stands in the room
Fernando Mendoza · 2025 season · positional finish5 calls from 4 pundits between 1 positional finish and 1 positional finish. Dan Patrick said 1 positional finish. the room's median is 1 positional finish. what happened: 1 positional finish
Every dot is a call somebody published on the same question, before the answer existed. The bar is what actually happened. Hover a dot for the name and number; click it to read that take.
Their call against what happened
overall pickTheir call against what actually happened.
Sonny Styles to be picked “top ten pick” (picks 1–10)
What happenedWent 7100Hit · naive 50Think this is wrong?How this was scored
- draft:
- 2026
- naive:
- a shuffled mock scores 50
- player:
- Sonny Styles
- season:
- 2025
- zero credit this far off:
- 32
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 50
- actual pick:
- 7
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- pick accuracy:
- 100
- predicted pick:
- top ten pick (picks 1–10)
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- mock ordering score:
- only one pick — no order to score
2Position Order CallsFernando Mendoza
Fernando Mendoza to be 1st quarterback off the board
VerdictHit100Hit · naive 33.08100this call−33.08a naive guess=66.92better than naive×1difficulty=+66.92skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- draft:
- 2026
- naive:
- naming one of the 10 at random averages 33.08
- skill:
- 66.92
- player:
- Fernando Mendoza
- season:
- 2025
- zero credit this far off:
- credit halves every two places
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 33.08
- position:
- quarterback
- class size:
- 10
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- actual order:
- 1
- predicted order:
- 1
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- All
The take as a whole
the average of 2 settled calls, each counted once
100naive 41.5
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
Lance Zierlein · Mock Draft Picks · Sonny Styles · Hit 81
Zuerlein describes their mock draft 3.0: Carnell Tate to the Giants at No. 5, Sonny Styles falling to the Cowboys at No. 12, and Colton Hood to Dallas at No. 20. They also expect runs on linebackers from the late twenties to about pick 45, defensive tackles from the early-mid twenties into the 40s, and says Ahvion Terrell's 4.65 forty knocks them out of first-round contention. They call Kenyon Saddiq and Mansoor Delaine the safest picks for Dallas, and thinks Delaine's tape is top-four caliber, while Jeremiah Smith could be a generational, Megatron-type receiver.Nick Wright · Mock Draft Picks · Sonny Styles · Hit 92
Nick Wright unveiled their full 32-pick 2026 NFL mock draft 4.0, starting with Fernando Mendoza to the Raiders at No. 1 and ending with Avion Terrell to the Seahawks at 32. They also called Carnell Tate the best/safest receiver in the class, projected Ty Simpson inside the top 45, said Mendoza profiles as a low-end top-15 NFL quarterback, and expected the Dolphins to lose 15 games.Danny Parkins · Mock Draft Picks · Fernando Mendoza · Hit 100
Danny Parkins presented their one-and-only 2026 mock draft, including trades: Mendoza at 1 to the Raiders, David Bailey second to the Jets, the Cowboys trading up to No. 3 for Arvell Reese, the Bears trading up to 16 for Kadyn Proctor, and Ty Simpson going to Arizona at 32 at the end of round one.David Harrison · Mock Draft Picks · Sonny Styles · Hit 92
Harrison delivers their only first-round mock draft for the 2026 NFL Draft, projecting all 32 first-round picks (including several trades) plus the rest of Washington's projected class, while noting it is an exercise in what could happen rather than a firm forecast.
More position order calls
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Joe Marino · Position Order Calls · Arvell Reese · Hit 100
Marino stacks 14 inside linebackers in the 2026 NFL draft class and assigns each a round-value grade, with Sonny Styles first (top-10 grade) and Anthony Hill third; they say Hill would be their preferred pick if Buffalo takes a linebacker at No. 26.Ian Rapoport · Position Order Calls · Tetairoa McMillan · Close 71
Rapoport said Travis Hunter is likely the pick at No. 2 for the Browns, that Shedeur Sanders is in play at No. 3, and predicted Tetairoa McMillan would be the first receiver drafted. They also expected Brock Purdy's next deal to land around $50 million per year with Dak Prescott remaining the only quarterback above $60 million.Peter Schrager · Position Order Calls · Tetairoa McMillan · Close 71
Schrager laid out their top 10 prospects entering the 2025 combine, with Travis Hunter first, Abdul Carter second and Tyler Warren third, and attached draft-range calls to several of them — Will Johnson in the first round, Mason Graham a top-five pick, Ashton Jeanty a first-rounder, Tyler Warren not escaping the top ten, and Cam Ward a top-five to top-ten pick who will start as a rookie.Matty Lane · Position Order Calls · Spencer Fano · Hit 100
Maddie Lane said Spencer Fano is clearly the first tackle off the board, that the top four players in their mock will be four of the first five picks, that Malik Mohammed goes ahead of Igbunosin, and that Blake Miller would beat out Jalen Moore for the Chiefs' starting job.Daniel Jeremiah · Position Order Calls · Spencer Fano · Close 71
Jeremiah's Mock Draft 3.0, discussed pick by pick: Mendoza first overall, Arvell Reese to the Jets at 2, Francis Mauigoa to the Cardinals at 3, Jeremiyah Love to the Titans at 4, Sonny Styles to the Giants at 5, and on through the first round.