# John Middlekauff: 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. **Claimed:** Apr 3, 2025 **Pundit:** John Middlekauff — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/john-middlekauff **Outlet:** The Colin Cowherd Podcast (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/the-colin-cowherd-podcast-podcast **How it reached us:** said on air or in an interview **Original:** https://omny.fm/shows/the-colin-cowherd-podcast/colin-cowherd-podcast-who-should-draft-shedeur-best-nfl-over-under-win-totals-college-football-is-better-than-ever 8 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. > This guy's going the number one pick all because he transferred. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **San Francisco 49ers to finish with 10 wins** - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: San Francisco 49ers - Verdict: scored 60 out of 100, against 5 for a naive guess - **New England Patriots to finish with 9 wins** - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: New England Patriots - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - **Miami Dolphins to finish with 5 wins** - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Miami Dolphins - Verdict: scored 60 out of 100, against 75 for a naive guess - **Cam Ward to be picked at number 1** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Los Angeles Chargers to finish with 10 wins** - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Los Angeles Chargers - Verdict: scored 80 out of 100, against 75 for a naive guess - **Tyreek Hill to move** - Kind: Trade and Signing Calls · About: Tyreek Hill - Verdict: not settled yet - **San Francisco 49ers to beat expectations** - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: San Francisco 49ers - Verdict: not settled yet - **Miami Dolphins to pick “three or four”** - Kind: Team Draft Slot Calls · About: Miami Dolphins - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - San Francisco 49ers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/49ers - New England Patriots — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/patriots - Miami Dolphins — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/dolphins - Cam Ward — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/cam-ward - Tennessee Titans — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/titans - Los Angeles Chargers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/chargers - Tyreek Hill — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/tyreek-hill ## What others said about the same people - Nate Gosney on Daiyan Henley: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/60272861-4ad0-4749-b36a-dcdf09b9213f (scored 0) - Parker Hurley on Khalid Kareem: Hurley predicts the 49ers will release Khalil Kareem when Nate Hobbs is activated and cut Brandin Cooks when C.J. West returns, while arguing Sebastian Valdez won't be the one let go and no cornerback will be cut. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/5a729417-69ee-493a-9bec-d905fd1a7082 (scored 0) - Shaun Calderon on Jeffery Simmons: Calderon argues the 0-5 Titans won't turn their season around, that Cam Ward won't be benched soon, and that Jeffery Simmons stays in Tennessee while Tony Pollard and Calvin Ridley are likely trade candidates with modest returns. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/fcfebcd7-04de-406f-aa74-4c404a9f8b0e (scored 0) - Pete Prisco on San Francisco 49ers: Prisco gives score predictions for every Week 9 NFL game, picking the Bengals to rout the Falcons in Madrid, the Cowboys to rebound at Indianapolis, and the Jaguars to win in Baltimore without Lamar Jackson. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/dc43909b-bc7f-47aa-b208-5cf7c95844bc (scored 83.33) - Pat Fitzmaurice on New England Patriots: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/41cd806b-d6f3-401d-ac46-33a027d3a0fd (scored 14.29) - Kevin Wildes on New England Patriots: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/f31ce48f-df1b-41cf-9d17-ec463ba972d4 (scored 0) ## More season win totals The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Nick Wright on Chicago Bears: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/5049c576-4d69-4d73-a0ba-6296e5e50ff2 (scored 100) - Damonza Byrd on Jacksonville Jaguars: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/5eaf9823-e809-4008-855a-c72518f10f08 (scored 100) - Gregg Rosenthal on Jacksonville Jaguars: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/9443503e-89b7-461f-8b67-e99f60c8b5d2 (scored 100) - Gregg Rosenthal on Dallas Cowboys: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a11f697d-1616-4bbe-9b7f-5bde7c6653ea (scored 0) - Nick Wright on Baltimore Ravens: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/4e17eca2-e154-41f3-b116-389f8335f9c8 (scored 0) - Nick Wright on Jacksonville Jaguars: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/252a575e-6524-48d2-86c4-356e2509e8f5 (scored 100) --- 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 We summarize what a pundit said and quote a short span for attribution; we never republish their article. If this is wrong, tell us: https://missedtakes.co/corrections?pundit=john-middlekauff