# Bruce Feldman: Feldman discussed Fernando Mendoza as the likely No. 1 overall pick to the Raiders, praised Kenyon Sadik and Sunny Styles as combine standouts, projected Ty Simpson as a late-first-round pick, and pegged Cole Peyton for the fourth-to-fifth round range.

**Claimed:** Feb 26, 2026
**Pundit:** Bruce Feldman — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/bruce-feldman
**Outlet:** The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/the-herd-with-colin-cowherd-podcast
**How it reached us:** said on air or in an interview
**Original:** https://omny.fm/shows/the-herd-with-colin-cowherd/the-herd-hour-3-live-from-the-nfl-combine

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

It names 5 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

4 of 6 have settled so far, averaging 100 out of 100, against 43.4 for a naive guess at the same calls.

Of the 1 unsettled call enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands below the rest of the room.

> I think that kind of resiliency and that mental focus that does bode well if he's going to be the first pick of the draft with the Raiders.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Cole Payton to post vertical jump around forty inches at the combine**
  - Kind: Combine Measurements · About: Cole Payton
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 23.78 for a naive guess
- **Cole Payton to be picked “maybe he'll be in the fifth or a fourth fifth round range” (picks 101–181)**
  - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Cole Payton
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess
- **Ty Simpson to be picked “somewhere later in the first round” (picks 1–32)**
  - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Ty Simpson
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess
- **Fernando Mendoza to be picked at number 1**
  - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Fernando Mendoza, Las Vegas Raiders
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess
- **Sonny Styles to post gonna broad jump eleven feet at the combine**
  - Kind: Combine Measurements · About: Sonny Styles
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Sonny Styles to post vertical jump over forty at the combine**
  - Kind: Combine Measurements · About: Sonny Styles
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Cole Payton — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/cole-payton
- Ty Simpson — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/ty-simpson
- Fernando Mendoza — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/fernando-mendoza
- Las Vegas Raiders — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/raiders
- Sonny Styles — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/sonny-styles

## What others said about the same people

- Chris Broussard on Las Vegas Raiders: Broussard picked the Ravens to beat the Bills in a shootout, 38-34, took the Raiders to upset the Jets, and said Detroit would beat the Vikings. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/69de6faa-8bec-4a79-9d86-5dbc5bae0573 (scored 100)
- Connor Rogers on Las Vegas Raiders: Rogers picked straight-up winners across the Week 8 slate, siding with the Bills over the Ravens, the Lions, Steelers, Jaguars, Bengals, Falcons, Raiders, Broncos, Rams, Patriots, Commanders and the Bears in Seattle. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/14b3a81b-ba4d-4270-b122-8cfe7fc959b0 (scored 100)
- John Breech on Las Vegas Raiders: Breech's Week 8 score predictions include Bengals over Titans, Raiders over Jets, Rams over Chargers and Patriots over Dolphins. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a57cb0eb-708d-41aa-9bb8-dbc16f7d3ded (scored 95.24)
- Tyler Sullivan on Las Vegas Raiders: Sullivan's Week 8 upset alert column flags five favorites they expect to lose: they pick the Falcons over the Buccaneers, the Raiders over the Jets, the undefeated Vikings over the Lions, the Ravens (with Lamar Jackson returning) over the Bills, and the Browns over the Steelers. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1ca06895-a1db-4f4e-b814-270f5ecea69c (scored 100)
- Ezekiel Trezevant on Las Vegas Raiders: Trezevant argues that if the Raiders are as improved as they appeared at 3-0, they should beat the Jets in Week 8 on the road and end their four-game losing streak. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/132fd631-95ef-4af2-8836-d5281f3f9fc8 (scored 100)
- Richard Sherman on Las Vegas Raiders: Sherman kept their top five unchanged in concept but shuffled it to 49ers, Bills, Vikings, Chiefs, Bears, and made Week 8 picks across the slate, including Seattle over Chicago 27-17 and a begrudging Lions pick over Minnesota. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/ab6b4f5f-1083-43b1-a29c-b30795ddf69f (scored 100)

## More combine measurements

The same kind of call, about other players and teams.

- Field Yates on Brenen Thompson: Yates pegged David Bailey as a top-four pick, called Jeremiah Love clearly the best running back in the class with a draft range from No. 3 overall to the Chiefs at No. 9, put Karnell Tate atop their receiver board, projected Jordan Tyson as a top-15 pick, and expected Brennan Thompson to run in the 4.2s. They also see both Miami's Mauigoa and Utah's Spencer Fano taken inside the top 15, with Mauigoa having a chance to be the first offensive lineman off the board. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/3ac28f94-72fb-46e5-81e3-b524c7c7b841 (scored 67.27)
- Joe Haden on Zachariah Branch: Joe (the Browns-affiliated co-host) argues Shedeur Sanders is still the best quarterback of this class but concedes Fernando Mendoza will be the No. 1 overall pick, and they play the combine 40-yard dash props on Caleb Downs, Zachariah Branch and Haynes King. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/f7934260-519f-41c4-9a92-e1799642d57c (scored 0)
- James Harrison on Zachariah Branch: The co-host known as Debo, who identifies themselves as James Harrison, predicts Caleb Downs runs in the 4.42-4.43 range at the combine and rides the under on Zachariah Branch's 40 time, citing Branch's high school speed. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/862be8d2-12cf-4292-95b0-c2886395e6c2 (scored 0)
- Daniel Jeremiah on Justin Jefferson: On Move the Sticks, Daniel Jeremiah gave their views on the 2026 draft class: they set their board (Jeremiah Love as the second-best player, Malinoi 12th, Fano 14th), ranked the top edge rushers Bailey-Reese-Bain, projected draft ranges for several prospects, and forecast measurables for a few players. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/bc772155-d332-4aba-a4c3-a99caa325a2f (scored 27.41)
- Ayrton Ostly on Gabe Jacas: Ostley predicts Mississippi State receiver Brandon/Brennan Thompson runs the fastest 40-yard dash at the combine, expects Mac Jones to be traded to the Vikings, and offers combine performance expectations for several prospects. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/149c742e-7b2f-4669-9803-c1936efe4f66 (scored 100)
- nthony Darelle "Booger" McFarland on Arvell Reese: McFarland projected Ohio State's Arbel Reese to measure in at roughly 6-4 and 240-245 pounds at the combine, and argued Cincinnati and Trey Hendrickson will go their separate ways this offseason. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c01c6b3d-b24f-4074-b082-e5b10055c15f (scored 100)

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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:
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