# 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 bet. 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 - **Miami Dolphins to pick “three or four”** - Kind: Team Draft Slot Calls · About: Miami Dolphins - Verdict: not settled yet - **San Francisco 49ers to beat expectations** - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: San Francisco 49ers - 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 - Chris Simms on San Francisco 49ers: Simms went through the entire Week 3 slate with straight-up winners and predicted final scores, taking Jacksonville, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle, the Giants, Baltimore, New Orleans, Minnesota, San Francisco, Denver and Philadelphia. He also expected Zay Flowers and Puka Nacua to sit, Kyler Murray to play, and said Marvin Harrison Jr. projects as no better than a good No. 2 or high-end No. 3 receiver. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/662b7ba3-1bf6-4ad0-9f93-9f2ab83143fd (scored 88.1) - Sam Monson on Los Angeles Chargers: Monson picked the Chargers to beat the Bills outright (jokingly crediting Buffalo's gray 'Nickel City' jerseys), took the Vikings to win outright in Tampa, and said Seattle would destroy Washington. He also reiterated his Super Bowl pick of Denver over the Rams, called the Dolphins destined for the No. 1 overall pick, and said the Saints are a worst-to-first candidate in the NFC South. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/0b810ffd-fd93-4ea2-a208-b1353dea5fb0 (scored 0) - Nate Tice on New England Patriots: Tice picked the Bengals over the Texans in a low-scoring game, the Jaguars at Denver, the Bears over the Vikings, the Patriots over the Steelers and the Rams to edge the Giants, and his Hail Mary was the Cowboys scoring 40 on Washington. He also floated Abdul Carter as a possible All-Pro. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b6211c80-3d1c-46b8-8a0c-151fc0ba92de (scored 100) - David Droegemeier on Mekhi Becton: Drogemeier says the Chargers cutting Mekhi Becton is a foregone conclusion, freeing nearly $9 million in cap space, and only a matter of when. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c5f92029-fa26-4c4f-9c27-ab127b7301a8 (scored 100) - Mina Kimes on Mekhi Becton: Kimes projects Washington receiver Denzel Boston as a second-half-of-the-first-round pick and expects the Chargers to move on from Mekhi Becton. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/313774ec-4795-434d-9f21-6ec534873000 (scored 100) - Richie Bradshaw on San Francisco 49ers: Bradshaw picks the 49ers to beat the Cardinals in their Week 3 matchup, predicting a final score of 27-14 in San Francisco's favor. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/56e0c2a3-ddff-46f8-8359-2a546546a29c (scored 83.33) ## More season win totals The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Colin Cowherd on Dallas Cowboys: Cowherd projects the NFC East with the Giants winning the division ahead of Philadelphia, Washington and Dallas, pegging the Cowboys as a six- or seven-win team. He also expects Malik Willis to land a big free-agent deal, Kayvon Thibodeaux to be moved, and Baltimore to lose Isaiah Likely, and he floats the Rams reaching on Ty Simpson late in round one. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/cd243624-9451-4824-a8a4-7b468d681c8f (scored 100) - Richard Sherman on Green Bay Packers: Sherman previewed every division: he picked Seattle to win the NFC West on a tiebreaker over San Francisco (both 11-11 wins), the Lions over the Packers in the North, the Eagles to run away with the East, Tampa Bay in the South, and Kansas City, Buffalo and the Ravens' division rivals in the AFC. He picked an Eagles–Chiefs Super Bowl with Philadelphia repeating, Joe Burrow for MVP, and gave a top-five power ranking. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/ec43b02b-8e3a-4b2e-8c36-1839c9c52e3c (scored 40) - Nick Wright on Denver Broncos: Nick Wright gave his early AFC win-total leans: overs on the Jets, Ravens, Jaguars, Chiefs and Raiders, plus projected win ranges for the Dolphins, Texans, Chargers and Broncos, and predicted the Raiders take Ashton Jeanty at No. 6. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/cc9d1905-c3e9-4d7f-8dbb-0f840dbb7535 (scored 20) - Richard Sherman on Detroit Lions: Sherman picks the Chiefs to beat the Bills in the AFC Championship Game despite Buffalo's turnover dominance, and picks the Commanders to upset the Eagles in Philadelphia in the NFC Championship Game. He also expects Saquon Barkley to win Offensive Player of the Year, though he hedges that voters may give it to Lamar or Josh Allen. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/fd0cf59d-3729-4865-8641-02792d0b6b24 (scored 100) - Chris Brockman on Carolina Panthers: Brockman pitched that the Eagles are the NFL's best team and that Saquon Barkley will win MVP as the first non-quarterback since 2011. He also declared the AFC playoff field already set with six weeks to go, said the Cowboys will make the playoffs, predicted Buffalo would blast the 49ers, and reiterated his earlier call that Carolina would win five or six games. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/bf1a843e-6b29-497e-b58c-b8394d790374 (scored 100) - JP Acosta on New York Giants: Acosta expects John Harbaugh's Giants to jump to roughly seven wins in year one, and forecast several offseason moves: Aaron Rodgers returning to Pittsburgh, Daniel Jones returning to the Colts, Kirk Cousins being released by Atlanta, and Brandon Aiyuk leaving San Francisco. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/17ab1ec5-a2f1-41c6-a6df-a0e6d949351b (scored 40) --- 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