Tom Pelissero#5 of 87 NFL pundits · Feb 26, 2026

Pelissero predicts Fernando Mendoza goes No. 1 overall to the Raiders and that Ty Simpson is the only other QB in the class seen as a possible early starter.

Said on air, transcribed by us · The Rich Eisen Show (podcast)Hear the original

2 of 2calls landed2 hits · all settled

100Average accuracyout of 100, across 2 calls

44.9A naive guessthe same calls, no knowledge

2 of 2Settlednone still waiting

#5Tom Pelissero’s rankof 87 ranked NFL pundits

What Tom Pelissero said

our reading, beside the words we read it from

You have a draft where Fernando Mendoza, we all assume and believe he's going number one to the Raiders.

Tom Pelissero, the lead quote · each call’s own words are below

Where it was said: The Rich Eisen Show (podcast)
The episode: Hour 2: Live from the NFL Combine with Cowboys HC Brian Schottenheimer & NFL Insider Tom Pelissero
The original: Hear the original
Read it wrong?: Tell us and we will look

SaidFeb 26
GradedAug 13

1Fernando Mendoza to be picked at number 1“You have a draft where Fernando Mendoza, we all assume and believe he's going number one to the Raiders.”
2Ty Simpson to be 2nd quarterback off the board“After that, the only other quarterback that somebody might think can be a starter sooner than later is probably Tye Simpson from Alabama.”

Box score

HitCloseMissWaiting

Call	Kind	What happened	Score	Naive	Skill
Fernando Mendoza to be picked at number 1¹	Mock Draft Picks	Went 1	100	50	—
Ty Simpson to be 2nd quarterback off the board²	Position Order Calls	—	100	39.7	+60.3
2 calls · 2 hits · all settled			100	44.9

How each call scored

a naive guessbetter than naive

2 checkable claims — 1 mock draft pick and 1 position order call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.

It names 3 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

All 2 have settled, averaging 100 out of 100, against 44.9 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

overall pick

1They said

1What happened

Their call against what actually happened.

1Mock Draft Picks Fernando Mendoza Las Vegas Raiders
Fernando Mendoza to be picked at number 1
What happenedWent 1mocked at 1
100Hit · naive 50
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
player:
Fernando Mendoza
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
Think this is wrong?
2Position Order Calls Ty Simpson
Ty Simpson to be 2nd quarterback off the board
VerdictHit
100Hit · naive 39.7
100this call39.7a naive guess60.3better than naive1difficulty+60.3skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
naming one of the 10 at random averages 39.7
skill:
60.3
player:
Ty Simpson
season:
2025
zero credit this far off:
credit halves every two places
accuracy:
100
baseline:
39.7
position:
quarterback
class size:
10
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
actual order:
2
predicted order:
2
weeks left when called:
0
Think this is wrong?
All
The take as a whole
the average of 2 settled calls, each counted once
100naive 44.9

Who this take is about

Make your own calls.Pick every open claim on Picks →

Others on the same people

Chris Broussard · Game Outcome Picks · Las Vegas Raiders · Hit 100
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.
Connor Rogers · Game Outcome Picks · Las Vegas Raiders · Hit 100
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.
John Breech · Score Predictions · Las Vegas Raiders · Hit 95
Breech's Week 8 score predictions include Bengals over Titans, Raiders over Jets, Rams over Chargers and Patriots over Dolphins.
Tyler Sullivan · Game Outcome Picks · Las Vegas Raiders · Hit 100
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.
Ezekiel Trezevant · Game Outcome Picks · Las Vegas Raiders · Hit 100
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.
Richard Sherman · Game Outcome Picks · Las Vegas Raiders · Hit 100
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.

More position order calls

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

Joe Marino · Position Order Calls · Arvell Reese · Hit 100
Marino stacks 14 inside linebackers in the 2026 NFL draft class and assigns each a round-value grade, with Sonny Styles first (top-10 grade) and Anthony Hill third; they say Hill would be their preferred pick if Buffalo takes a linebacker at No. 26.
Ian Rapoport · Position Order Calls · Tetairoa McMillan · Close 71
Rapoport said Travis Hunter is likely the pick at No. 2 for the Browns, that Shedeur Sanders is in play at No. 3, and predicted Tetairoa McMillan would be the first receiver drafted. They also expected Brock Purdy's next deal to land around $50 million per year with Dak Prescott remaining the only quarterback above $60 million.
Peter Schrager · Position Order Calls · Tetairoa McMillan · Close 71
Schrager laid out their top 10 prospects entering the 2025 combine, with Travis Hunter first, Abdul Carter second and Tyler Warren third, and attached draft-range calls to several of them — Will Johnson in the first round, Mason Graham a top-five pick, Ashton Jeanty a first-rounder, Tyler Warren not escaping the top ten, and Cam Ward a top-five to top-ten pick who will start as a rookie.
Matty Lane · Position Order Calls · Spencer Fano · Hit 100
Maddie Lane said Spencer Fano is clearly the first tackle off the board, that the top four players in their mock will be four of the first five picks, that Malik Mohammed goes ahead of Igbunosin, and that Blake Miller would beat out Jalen Moore for the Chiefs' starting job.
Nick Shook · Position Order Calls · Francis Mauigoa · Close 71
Shook walks through their full first-round mock draft, assigning a prospect to every pick from No. 1 to No. 32, headlined by Fernando Mendoza to the Raiders, David Bailey to the Jets and Jeremiah Love to the Cardinals in the top three.
Daniel Jeremiah · Position Order Calls · Spencer Fano · Close 71
Jeremiah's Mock Draft 3.0, discussed pick by pick: Mendoza first overall, Arvell Reese to the Jets at 2, Francis Mauigoa to the Cardinals at 3, Jeremiyah Love to the Titans at 4, Sonny Styles to the Giants at 5, and on through the first round.