John Middlekauff#48 of 87 NFL pundits · Apr 3, 2025
The former NFL scout says Cam Ward goes No. 1 overall to Tennessee, expects Miami to collapse to four or five wins and a top-four pick with Tyreek Hill possibly traded, sees the 49ers beating expectations at nine or ten wins, and likes the Patriots at eight or nine wins and the Chargers to clear their number.
Said on air or in an interview · The Colin Cowherd Podcast (podcast)Hear the original
What John Middlekauff said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromThis guy's going the number one pick all because he transferred.
- Where it was said
- The Colin Cowherd Podcast (podcast)
- The episode
- Colin Cowherd Podcast - Who Should Draft Shedeur? Best NFL Over/Under Win Totals, College Football Is Better Than Ever
- The original
- Hear the original
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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.
- SaidApr 2, 2025
- GradedAug 5, 2026
- 1San Francisco 49ers to finish with 10 wins“So I think the Niners probably more likely to win nine or ten games.”
- 2New England Patriots to finish with 9 wins“Why couldn't they go nine to eight this year?... I could see the Patriots winning eight or nine games.”
- 3Miami Dolphins to finish with 5 wins“It would not shock me to see them struggle to win four or five games. I think they're going to be terrible.”
- 4Cam Ward to be picked at number 1“I mean the Titans from what I've heard, I was in Nashville month ago, pretty good source. They've been dead set on him for like a month. This guy's going the number one pick”
- 5Los Angeles Chargers to finish with 10 wins“Well this year it's nine and a half... Why couldn't they win twelve games? I mean, they're over under right now is nine and a half. I think they are a lock.”
- 6Tyreek Hill to move“It would not surprise me at all if this Tyreek situation doesn't go away and he ends up playing for another team this year.”
- 7San Francisco 49ers to beat expectations“I think a lot of people are gonna think they're gonna win like six or seven games. I think they're gonna be better than people think.”
- 8Miami Dolphins to pick “three or four”“Maybe they don't have the number one overall pick, but I could see him being like the giants of the Patriots draft in three or four.”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco 49ers to finish with 10 wins1 | Season Win Totals | 12 | 60 | 5 | +110 | |
| New England Patriots to finish with 9 wins2 | Season Win Totals | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Miami Dolphins to finish with 5 wins3 | Season Win Totals | 7 | 60 | 75 | −30 | |
| Cam Ward to be picked at number 14 | Mock Draft Picks | Went 1 | 100 | 50 | — | |
| Los Angeles Chargers to finish with 10 wins5 | Season Win Totals | 11 | 80 | 75 | +10 | |
| Tyreek Hill to move6 | Trade and Signing Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| San Francisco 49ers to beat expectations7 | Surprise Team Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| Miami Dolphins to pick “three or four”8 | Team Draft Slot Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| 8 calls · 2 hits · 2 close calls · 1 miss · 3 waiting | 60 | 41 | ||||
How each call scored
a naive guessbetter than naiveworse than naive8 checkable claims — 4 season win totals, 1 mock draft pick, 1 surprise team call, 1 team draft slot call and 1 trade and signing call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 7 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
5 of 8 have settled so far, averaging 60 out of 100, against 41 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.
Their call against what happened
winsTheir call against what actually happened.
1Season Win TotalsSan Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers to finish with 10 wins
What happened12called 1060Close · naive 560this call−5a naive guess=55better than naive×2difficulty=+110skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- team:
- SF
- naive:
- 7.25
- skill:
- 110
- what happened:
- 12
- season:
- 2025
- zero credit this far off:
- 5
- accuracy:
- 60
- baseline:
- 5
- they said:
- 10
- difficulty:
- 2
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 18
2Season Win TotalsNew England Patriots
New England Patriots to finish with 9 wins
What happened14called 90Miss · naive 00this call−0a naive guess=0better than naive×2difficulty=0skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- team:
- NE
- naive:
- 6.25
- skill:
- 0
- what happened:
- 14
- season:
- 2025
- zero credit this far off:
- 5
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- they said:
- 9
- difficulty:
- 2
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 18
3Season Win TotalsMiami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins to finish with 5 wins
What happened7called 560Close · naive 7560this call−75a naive guess=−15worse than naive×2difficulty=−30skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- team:
- MIA
- naive:
- 8.25
- skill:
- −30
- what happened:
- 7
- season:
- 2025
- zero credit this far off:
- 5
- accuracy:
- 60
- baseline:
- 75
- they said:
- 5
- difficulty:
- 2
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 18
4Mock Draft PicksCam WardTennessee Titans
Cam Ward to be picked at number 1
What happenedWent 1mocked at 1100Hit · naive 50Think this is wrong?How this was scored
- draft:
- 2025
- naive:
- a shuffled mock scores 50
- player:
- Cam Ward
- season:
- 2025
- zero credit this far off:
- 32
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 50
- actual pick:
- 1
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- pick accuracy:
- 100
- predicted pick:
- 1
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- mock ordering score:
- only one pick — no order to score
5Season Win TotalsLos Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles Chargers to finish with 10 wins
What happened11called 1080Hit · naive 7580this call−75a naive guess=5better than naive×2difficulty=+10skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- team:
- LAC
- naive:
- 9.75
- skill:
- 10
- what happened:
- 11
- season:
- 2025
- zero credit this far off:
- 5
- accuracy:
- 80
- baseline:
- 75
- they said:
- 10
- difficulty:
- 2
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 18
6Trade and Signing CallsTyreek Hill
Tyreek Hill to move
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
7Surprise Team CallsSan Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers to beat expectations
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
8Team Draft Slot CallsMiami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins to pick “three or four”
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- All
The take as a whole
the average of 5 settled calls, each counted once
60naive 41
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
Nate Gosney · Trade and Signing Calls · Daiyan Henley · Miss 0
After the Broncos rescinded the trade, Gosney expects Daiyan Henley to remain with the Chargers for the rest of the 2026 season, but believes the awkward fallout has effectively killed any chance of them signing a new contract with Los Angeles after the season.Pat Fitzmaurice · Score Predictions · New England Patriots · Miss 14
Fitzmaurice predicted a 24-21 Patriots win over the Packers, said they would not be surprised if Jonathan Taylor were inactive amid trade talk, pegged Jonah Coleman as an RB22 rest-of-season value, expected Evan Hull to be Arizona's backup back, and saw Kerby Joseph returning in Week 10 or 11.Kevin Wildes · Game Outcome Picks · New England Patriots · Miss 0
Wildes took Minnesota over Buffalo, predicted a comfortable roughly 10-point New England win over Green Bay, and switched their Super Bowl matchup to Jaguars–Bears.
More season win totals
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Nick Wright · Season Win Totals · Chicago Bears · Hit 100
Nick Wright lays out their season win-total picks (overs on Jaguars, Bears, Chiefs, Buccaneers, Raiders, Falcons; unders on Bengals, Colts, Broncos, Cowboys, Vikings, 49ers), playoff berth and miss calls, three division winners, a Chiefs-over-Buccaneers Super Bowl exacta, and five Week 1 picks.Damonza Byrd · Season Win Totals · Jacksonville Jaguars · Hit 100
Nick Wright's co-host picks the Jaguars over as their favorite of the six over bets and calls the Baltimore/Buffalo division-winner parlay a safe one.Gregg Rosenthal · Season Win Totals · Jacksonville Jaguars · Hit 100
Rosenthal's Week 1 picks: the Giants win at Washington, the Lions beat the Packers, and the Jaguars beat the Panthers; they also like the Jets over the Steelers and the Dolphins over the Colts, and expects Jacksonville to clear 7.5 wins.Gregg Rosenthal · Season Win Totals · Dallas Cowboys · Miss 0
Rosenthal expects a high-scoring Eagles-Cowboys kickoff game, guesses a scoreline around 41-27, still believes Dallas can clear its win total and reach the playoffs, likes the Giants to beat expectations with Jackson Dart taking over as starter early.Nick Wright · Season Win Totals · Baltimore Ravens · Miss 0
Nick Wright predicts Shedeur Sanders stays behind Dylan Gabriel on the Browns depth chart, forecasts a season where Flacco is benched a third of the way in, Gabriel then fails, Shedeur then fails, and Cleveland drafts a quarterback next year. They also make a long list of win-total, playoff and division calls across the AFC North and beyond.Nick Wright · Season Win Totals · Jacksonville Jaguars · Hit 100
In part two of their gambling show, Nick Wright ran through NFC (and recapped AFC) win-total picks, division winners and make/miss-the-playoffs bets, backing the Chiefs, Jaguars, Raiders, Bears, Buccaneers and Falcons to clear their totals while predicting Commanders, Bucs and Rams division titles.