Daniel Jeremiah#25 of 87 NFL pundits · Feb 19, 2026

In a pre-combine media Q&A, Jeremiah lays out their draft board: they expect an edge rusher to go early (Jets at 2, Arizona at 3), ranks Ruben Bain third among the top edge trio, sees Ty Simpson as the second quarterback with a 30s-40s grade, places Fernando Mendoza above the 2023 class's top three, and predicts specific players' landing spots and rounds.

Said on air or in an interview · Move the Sticks (podcast)Hear the original

4 of 11calls landed4 hits · 4 close calls · 3 misses · 7 waiting

64.8Average accuracyout of 100, across 11 calls

44.3A naive guessthe same calls, no knowledge

11 of 18Settled7 still waiting

#25Daniel Jeremiah’s rankof 87 ranked NFL pundits

What Daniel Jeremiah said

I will be a little surprised if if we don't see one of them go.

Daniel Jeremiah, the lead quote

Where it was said: Move the Sticks (podcast)
The episode: Daniel Jeremiah's 2026 Pre-Combine Media Call
The original: Hear the original
Read it wrong?: Tell us and we will look

The page this came from has changed since we captured it on Aug 5, 2026. The quote and evidence here are from our capture, not from what the page says today.

SaidFeb 19
GradedAug 7–18

Box score, by kind

HitCloseMissWaiting

Group	Hits	Close	Misses	Waiting
Mock Draft Picks	2	2	2	2
Combine Measurements	0	1	1	3
Team Draft Slot Calls	1	0	0	0
Position Order Calls	1	1	0	0
Trade and Signing Calls	0	0	0	1
Depth Chart Calls	0	0	0	1
All	4	4	3	7

How each call scored

18 checkable claims — 8 mock draft picks, 5 combine measurements, 2 position order calls, 1 depth chart 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 17 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

11 of 18 have settled so far, averaging 64.8 out of 100, against 44.3 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.

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

third round pick (picks 65–100)They said

63What happened

Their call against what actually happened.

Mock Draft Picks2 hits · 2 close calls · 2 misses · 2 waitingShow ▸

Jake Slaughter to be picked “third round pick” (picks 65–100)
“Jake Slaughter from Florida I think would have a chance as a third round pick to come in and get on the field right away.”
Jake Slaughter
Went 63
91.7Hit
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
player:
Jake Slaughter
season:
2025
zero credit this far off:
32
accuracy:
91.7
baseline:
50
actual pick:
63
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
91.7
predicted pick:
third round pick (picks 65–100)
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
only one pick — no order to score
Think this is wrong?
Sam Hecht to be picked “late second, early third round range” (picks 33–100)
“Sam Heckt from from Kansas State, I think can start day one. He probably goes in the late second, early third, round range.”
Sam Hecht
Went 144
14.87Miss
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
player:
Sam Hecht
season:
2025
zero credit this far off:
32
accuracy:
14.87
baseline:
50
actual pick:
144
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
14.87
predicted pick:
late second, early third round range (picks 33–100)
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
only one pick — no order to score
Think this is wrong?
Treydan Stukes to be picked “third round” (picks 65–100)
“they've got a really good player there in Trading stukes who's a little bit. OLDER i think's probably goes in the third. Round”
Treydan Stukes
Went 38
31.05Miss
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
player:
Treydan Stukes
season:
2025
zero credit this far off:
32
accuracy:
31.05
baseline:
50
actual pick:
38
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
31.05
predicted pick:
third round (picks 65–100)
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
only one pick — no order to score
Think this is wrong?
Malachi Fields to be picked “second round” (picks 33–64)
“Malachi Fields probably goes in the second round”
Malachi Fields
Went 74
64.84Close
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
player:
Malachi Fields
season:
2025
zero credit this far off:
32
accuracy:
64.84
baseline:
50
actual pick:
74
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
64.84
predicted pick:
second round (picks 33–64)
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
only one pick — no order to score
Think this is wrong?
Max Klare to be picked at number 62
“Max clair is my favorite of the, bunch but that would that would be at pick sixty. TWO i think that's a great value for, him would be at pick sixty two”
Max Klare
Went 61mocked at 62
95.76Hit
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
player:
Max Klare
season:
2025
zero credit this far off:
32
accuracy:
95.76
baseline:
50
actual pick:
61
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
95.76
predicted pick:
62
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
only one pick — no order to score
Think this is wrong?
Denzel Boston to be picked “first round” (picks 1–32)
“Denzel Boston is going to go in the first round”
Denzel Boston
Went 39
73.84Close
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
player:
Denzel Boston
season:
2025
zero credit this far off:
32
accuracy:
73.84
baseline:
50
actual pick:
39
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
73.84
predicted pick:
first round (picks 1–32)
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
only one pick — no order to score
Think this is wrong?
Ty Simpson to be picked “thirties forties range”
“For me, I have him as you know, he's in the you know, thirties forties range. For me, it's just a pure grade.”
Ty Simpson
—Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Think this is wrong?
Sonny Styles to be picked “won't make it to pick 19”
“WELL i would say if somehow the league was dumb enough for Sunny styles to fall, There Dan morgan would lose his linebacker card if he didn't run that pick up. There BUT i. DON'T i don't think he's gonna make it. There”
Sonny Styles
—Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Think this is wrong?

Combine Measurements1 close call · 1 miss · 3 waitingShow ▸

“He's just not gonna be as big. He's gonna be around six foot three, two hundred and forty five pounds.”
Kenyon Sadiq
241called 245
69.71Close
69.71 − 50.76 naive = 18.95 × 1 difficulty = +18.95 skill
How this was scored
off:
4
drill:
weight lbs
naive:
the average TE (248.52, from 151 results)
scale:
credit halves every 7.68 — one standard deviation for a TE
skill:
18.95
player:
Kenyon Sadiq
result:
241
season:
2025
combine year:
2026
accuracy:
69.71
baseline:
50.76
they said:
245
sigmas out:
0.52
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
weeks left when called:
0
Combine results via Pro-Football-Reference.com.
Think this is wrong?
Cashius Howell to post low four to fives, potentially even faster at the combine
“and then I think he might run in the low four to fives, potentially even faster than that.”
Cashius Howell
4.59
0Miss
0 − 0 naive = 0 × 1 difficulty = 0 skill
How this was scored
claim:
low four to fives, potentially even faster
drill:
forty time
naive:
the EDGE median (4.68) misses it
skill:
0
player:
Cashius Howell
result:
4.59
season:
2025
combine year:
2026
accuracy:
0
baseline:
0
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
weeks left when called:
0
Combine results via Pro-Football-Reference.com.
Think this is wrong?
Denzel Boston to post mid four fours at the combine
“RUN i bet he runs in the four, fours you, know mid four fours at that, Size”
Denzel Boston
—Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Think this is wrong?
Brandon Cisse to post might run in the four two at the combine
“csa From South, carolina super super. Explosive he might run in the four, two”
Brandon Cisse
—Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Think this is wrong?
C.J. Allen to post like the four fives at the combine
“I think he'll run like the four fives once we get a chance to see him in Indy.”
C.J. Allen
—Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Think this is wrong?

Team Draft Slot Calls1 hitShow ▸

New York Jets to pick at number 2
“I think the Jets are a kind of a prime candidate to take one there at two”
New York Jets
Picked at 2called 2
100Hit
100 − 80.52 naive = 19.48 × 1 difficulty = +19.48 skill
How this was scored
team:
NYJ
draft:
2026
naive:
they picked 7 the year before
skill:
19.48
season:
2025
zero credit this far off:
32
accuracy:
100
baseline:
80.52
actual pick:
2
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
predicted pick:
2
weeks left when called:
0
Think this is wrong?

Position Order Calls1 hit · 1 close callShow ▸

Ty Simpson to be 2nd quarterback off the board
“But I think he's clearly the second quarterback in this draft class.”
Ty Simpson
100Hit
100 − 39.7 naive = 60.3 × 1 difficulty = +60.3 skill
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?
Rueben Bain to be 3rd edge rusher off the board
“I would say most people would have him as the third.”
Rueben Bain
70.71Close
70.71 − 15.85 naive = 54.86 × 1 difficulty = +54.86 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
naming one of the 26 at random averages 15.85
skill:
54.86
player:
Rueben Bain
season:
2025
zero credit this far off:
credit halves every two places
accuracy:
70.71
baseline:
15.85
position:
edge rusher
class size:
26
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
actual order:
2
predicted order:
3
weeks left when called:
0
Think this is wrong?

Trade and Signing Calls1 waitingShow ▸

Tyler Linderbaum to move
“Because everybody that I talked to seems to sneaks to be in on Tyler Linderbaum. So it sounds like he's gonna have a robust market.”
Tyler Linderbaum
—Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Think this is wrong?

Depth Chart Calls1 waitingShow ▸

Fernando Mendoza to be 1st on the depth chart
“if you, assume as we all, do That Fernando mendoz is off the, board”
Fernando Mendoza Las Vegas Raiders
—Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Think this is wrong?