JP Acosta#40 of 87 NFL pundits · Feb 18, 2026

Acosta names five favorite 2026 draft prospects, projecting draft ranges for each: R Mason Thomas late first/early second, Trayden Stukes as a day-two pick, Oscar Delp around round four, plus praise for Jonah Coleman and Josiah Trotter (whom they'd see in the top 50 mix per co-host).

Said on air, transcribed by us · Pushing the Pile (podcast)Hear the original

1 of 5calls landed1 hit · 3 close calls · 1 miss · 4 waiting

66.9Average accuracyout of 100, across 5 calls

46.8A naive guessthe same calls, no knowledge

5 of 9Settled4 still waiting

#40JP Acosta’s rankof 87 ranked NFL pundits

What JP Acosta said

I think the in a perfect world, I draft him towards the back end of round one and the early round two.

JP Acosta, the lead quote

Where it was said: Pushing the Pile (podcast)
The episode: FAVORITE 2026 Draft Prospects Ahead Of NFL Combine
The original: Hear the original
Read it wrong?: Tell us and we will look

SaidFeb 18
GradedAug 13–18

Box score, by kind

HitCloseMissWaiting

Group	Hits	Close	Misses	Waiting
Combine Measurements	0	3	0	0
Mock Draft Picks	1	0	1	4
All	1	3	1	4

How each call scored

9 checkable claims — 6 mock draft picks and 3 combine measurements — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.

It names 8 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

5 of 9 have settled so far, averaging 66.9 out of 100, against 46.8 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.

Combine Measurements3 close callsShow ▸

R Mason Thomas to post six one half at the combine
“I think he's six one half, two fifty. Gonna have sub thirty three inch arms. He's probably gonna measure at.”
R Mason Thomas
74called 73.5
76.31Close
76.31 − 38.08 naive = 38.23 × 1 difficulty = +38.23 skill
How this was scored
off:
0.5
drill:
height in
naive:
the average EDGE (75.79, from 149 results)
scale:
credit halves every 1.28 — one standard deviation for a EDGE
skill:
38.23
player:
R Mason Thomas
result:
74
season:
2025
combine year:
2026
accuracy:
76.31
baseline:
38.08
they said:
73.5
sigmas out:
0.39
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
weeks left when called:
0
Combine results via Pro-Football-Reference.com.
Think this is wrong?
“five nine, 228 pound Jonah Coleman”
Jonah Coleman
220called 228
63.27Close
63.27 − 54.1 naive = 9.17 × 1 difficulty = +9.17 skill
How this was scored
off:
8
drill:
weight lbs
naive:
the average RB (209.27, from 211 results)
scale:
credit halves every 12.11 — one standard deviation for a RB
skill:
9.17
player:
Jonah Coleman
result:
220
season:
2025
combine year:
2026
accuracy:
63.27
baseline:
54.1
they said:
228
sigmas out:
0.66
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
weeks left when called:
0
Combine results via Pro-Football-Reference.com.
Think this is wrong?
“I think he's six one half, two fifty.”
R Mason Thomas
241called 250
56.39Close
56.39 − 41.65 naive = 14.74 × 1 difficulty = +14.74 skill
How this was scored
off:
9
drill:
weight lbs
naive:
the average EDGE (254.76, from 149 results)
scale:
credit halves every 10.89 — one standard deviation for a EDGE
skill:
14.74
player:
R Mason Thomas
result:
241
season:
2025
combine year:
2026
accuracy:
56.39
baseline:
41.65
they said:
250
sigmas out:
0.83
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
weeks left when called:
0
Combine results via Pro-Football-Reference.com.
Think this is wrong?

Mock Draft Picks1 hit · 1 miss · 4 waitingShow ▸

Mike Washington to be picked “top 100 pick” (picks 1–100)
“there's probably one more outside of Love, Coleman, Price, and I think it's Mike Washington from Arkansas”
Mike Washington
Went 122
38.56Miss
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
player:
Mike Washington
season:
2025
zero credit this far off:
32
accuracy:
38.56
baseline:
50
actual pick:
122
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
38.56
predicted pick:
top 100 pick (picks 1–100)
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
only one pick — no order to score
Think this is wrong?
Jeremiyah Love to be picked “top 10 pick” (picks 1–10)
“the guy ahead of him is probably going to be a top 10 pick because that guy is rightfully great in Jeremiah Love”
Jeremiyah Love
Went 3
100Hit
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
player:
Jeremiyah Love
season:
2025
zero credit this far off:
32
accuracy:
100
baseline:
50
actual pick:
3
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
100
predicted pick:
top 10 pick (picks 1–10)
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
only one pick — no order to score
Think this is wrong?
R Mason Thomas to be picked “towards the back end of round one and the early round two”
“I think the in a perfect world, I draft him towards the back end of round one and the early round two.”
R Mason Thomas
—Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Think this is wrong?
Treydan Stukes to be picked “more of a day two guy”
“I honestly think his best role and I sort of think he's gonna be more of a day two guy, but, again, a very strong combine. We could be looking at a guy that could sneak into the back of round one.”
Treydan Stukes Arizona Cardinals
—Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Think this is wrong?
Oscar Delp to be picked “around round four”
“So I do think he'll probably get drafted around round four, but I'm curious what happens after the combine.”
Oscar Delp
—Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Think this is wrong?
Jonah Coleman to be picked “round two or round three”
“Honestly, I think Kansas City in round two or or round two or round three would make a lot of sense”
Jonah Coleman Washington Commanders
—Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Think this is wrong?