# Andrew Erickson: Erickson made the even-numbered selections in the 2026 mock draft, taking David Bailey second to the Jets, Caleb Downs fifth to the Giants and Carnell Tate eighth to the Saints, and also called Sonny Styles a top-five pick and Tate the first receiver drafted. **Claimed:** Mar 8, 2026 **Pundit:** Andrew Erickson — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/andrew-erickson **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/fantasypros-fantasy-football-podcast/2026-nfl-first-round-mock-draft-3-0-every-first-round-pick-after-the-combine-ep-1973 14 checkable claims — 12 mock draft picks and 2 position order calls — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 23 players and teams, each linked to their own record. 13 of 14 have settled so far, averaging 73.2 out of 100, against 46.9 for a naive guess at the same calls. > I'm gonna go with David Bailey edge rusher from Texas Tech. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Blake Miller to be picked at number 23** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Blake Miller, Philadelphia Eagles - Verdict: scored 77.11 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Sonny Styles to be picked “top five pick, if not the second overall pick” (picks 1–5)** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Sonny Styles - Verdict: scored 91.7 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **David Bailey to be picked at number 2** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: David Bailey, New York Jets - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Kayden McDonald to be picked at number 26** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Kayden McDonald, Buffalo Bills - Verdict: scored 64.84 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Monroe Freeling to be picked at number 17** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Monroe Freeling, Detroit Lions - Verdict: scored 91.7 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Spencer Fano to be picked at number 11** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Spencer Fano, Miami Dolphins - Verdict: scored 91.7 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Carnell Tate to be 1st wide receiver off the board** - Kind: Position Order Calls · About: Carnell Tate - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 9.48 for a naive guess - **Carnell Tate to be picked at number 8** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Carnell Tate, New Orleans Saints - Verdict: scored 84.09 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Caleb Downs to be picked at number 5** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Caleb Downs, New York Giants - Verdict: scored 77.11 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Avieon Terrell to be picked at number 32** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Avieon Terrell, Seattle Seahawks - Verdict: scored 50 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Jermod McCoy to be picked at number 29** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Jermod McCoy, Los Angeles Rams - Verdict: scored 4.42 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Olaivavega Ioane to be picked at number 14** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Olaivavega Ioane, Baltimore Ravens - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Emmanuel McNeil-Warren to be picked at number 20** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Dallas Cowboys - Verdict: scored 19.28 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Olaivavega Ioane to be 1st guard off the board** - Kind: Position Order Calls · About: Olaivavega Ioane - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Blake Miller — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/blake-miller - Philadelphia Eagles — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/eagles - Sonny Styles — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/sonny-styles - David Bailey — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/david-bailey - New York Jets — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/jets - Kayden McDonald — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/kayden-mcdonald - Buffalo Bills — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bills - Monroe Freeling — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/monroe-freeling - Detroit Lions — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/lions - Spencer Fano — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/spencer-fano - Miami Dolphins — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/dolphins - Carnell Tate — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/carnell-tate - New Orleans Saints — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/saints - Caleb Downs — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/caleb-downs - New York Giants — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/giants - Avieon Terrell — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/avieon-terrell - Seattle Seahawks — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/seahawks - Jermod McCoy — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jermod-mccoy - Los Angeles Rams — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/rams - Olaivavega Ioane — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/olaivavega-ioane - Baltimore Ravens — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/ravens - Emmanuel McNeil-Warren — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/emmanuel-mcneil-warren - Dallas Cowboys — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/cowboys ## What others said about the same people - Chris Simms on Baltimore Ravens: 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 97.62) - Connor Rogers on New York Giants: Rogers picked Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle and the Giants to win their Week 3 games, saying the Chiefs win by two touchdowns and the Giants by a field goal. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/83d1e88b-95a0-45ba-83d3-f86297170c6c (scored 100) - Chris Long on Los Angeles Rams: Long liked the Rams over the Broncos on Sunday night even without Puka Nacua, and expected the Bills to beat the winless Chargers in Buffalo. He also backed the Bengals over the Steelers, expected an angry Detroit team to handle the Jets, and still thought both the Lions and Vikings could win the NFC North. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/3df9ea25-e57f-4fd7-b20c-c910a1c3633a (scored 0) - Nate Tice on Baltimore Ravens: Tice matched his guest on every Week 3 game, picking the Ravens over the Cowboys, the Jaguars over the Patriots in a close game, the Broncos to upset the Rams, the Raiders over the Saints, the Eagles over the Bears and the Lions over the Jets. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b8378e16-ea5c-4107-a883-28aaf0e71134 (scored 100) - Steven Ruiz on Detroit Lions: Previewing Week 3, Ruiz picked the Ravens to beat the Cowboys in Brazil, Jacksonville over New England in a low-scoring game, an upset by the Broncos over the Rams, the Raiders over the Saints, the Eagles over the Bears, the Lions over the Jets, and his Hail Mary that Houston beats Indianapolis by two touchdowns. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a30ff469-4972-4c48-855b-ba984e4de9d0 (scored 100) - Sam Monson on Seattle Seahawks: 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) ## More mock draft picks The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Ryan Wilson on J.J. McCarthy: Recalling his pre-draft evaluation, Wilson notes he had ranked J.J. McCarthy as the fifth quarterback in the 2024 class and given him a second-round grade rather than a first-round one, citing the gap between Michigan's system and NFL demands. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/44cc5859-8b2b-4fbf-b5c0-62c635f2e357 (scored 36.92) - Lance Zierlein on Jeremiyah Love: Zierlein laid out his final mock draft: Jeremiah Love at No. 3 to Arizona, Sonny Styles at No. 4 to Robert Saleh's team, and Caleb Downs to the Giants at No. 5. He also called Styles the only first-round linebacker in the class and said Ty Simpson is a lock to be a first-round pick, most likely to Arizona. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/cf600df8-87eb-492b-9d91-f7a2b39104ac (scored 100) - Nick Shook on Max Iheanachor: Shook walks through his 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/7d4209aa-2e2d-47a2-b6e5-791d16d209cb (scored 87.81) - Gregg Rosenthal on K.C. Concepcion: Rosenthal disagrees most with Casey Concepcion being left out of the first round, arguing he could go as high as the top 15 and certainly won't last past receiver-needy teams in the late twenties. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/8fae9a3a-7fd8-454c-99cc-0a8400c35d7d (scored 67.71) - Daniel Jeremiah on Keyron Crawford: In discussing teams without first-round picks, Jeremiah projected specific Day 2 picks: Clemson WR Antonio Williams to the Falcons at 48, Texas Tech LB Jacob Rodriguez to the Colts in the second round, Oklahoma edge R Mason Thomas to the Packers at 52, and Auburn edge Keiroon Crawford to the Broncos at 62. He also expects Riley Leonard to open as the Colts' starting QB and Travis Hunter to play cornerback full time in Jacksonville. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/f60c916c-1b5f-4252-8733-1770c7809577 (scored 80.52) - Jeff Cavanaugh on Lorenzo Styles: Streaming from the NFL Combine, Jeff pegged safety Dylan Thienemann's draft range at roughly picks 20-35, said LSU safety AJ Halsey would cost a second- or third-round pick, and insisted Sonny Styles' brother would not be a top-50 selection despite a fast 40. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/f1f48cc1-f9d5-44ca-b130-2c6447b49bc6 (scored 0.51) --- 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=andrew-erickson