# Rich Eisen: Eisen predicted Cam Ward would go first overall and Travis Hunter second, that three Heisman finalists (Ward, Hunter, Jeanty) would land in the top five, and that Travis Hunter could sweep both Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year. He also expected the Cowboys to draft a big-time offensive player and the Patriots to take a defender.

**Claimed:** Apr 24, 2025
**Pundit:** Rich Eisen — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/rich-eisen
**Outlet:** The Rich Eisen Show (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/the-rich-eisen-show-podcast
**How it reached us:** said on air, transcribed by us
**Original:** https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.megaphone.fm/WWO4024501422.mp3?updated=1745515955

5 checkable claims — 3 mock draft picks and 2 award picks — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.

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

All 5 have settled, averaging 59.2 out of 100, against 30 for a naive guess at the same calls.

> If Ward Hunter and Gente go in the top five tonight, it would be the first time since the twenty twelve draft when three of the top five picks were three finalists from the previous Heisman trophy

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Travis Hunter to win Defensive Rookie of the Year**
  - Kind: Award Picks · About: Travis Hunter
  - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Travis Hunter to win Offensive Rookie of the Year**
  - Kind: Award Picks · About: Travis Hunter
  - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Cam Ward to be picked at number 1**
  - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Cam Ward
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess
- **Travis Hunter to be picked at number 2**
  - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Travis Hunter
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess
- **Ashton Jeanty to be picked “top five” (picks 1–5)**
  - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Ashton Jeanty
  - Verdict: scored 95.76 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess

## Who this take is about

- Travis Hunter — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/travis-hunter
- Cam Ward — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/cam-ward
- Ashton Jeanty — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/ashton-jeanty

## What others said about the same people

- Josh Edwards on Cam Ward: A CBS Sports piece on roster-cut season names likely starters and roster/cut candidates across several teams, including Chiefs and Cowboys cornerback depth charts, the Chargers' projected offensive line, Jalin Hyatt as a Giants cut candidate, Cole Payton headed for Philadelphia's practice squad, and Cam Ward and Mitchell Trubisky as safe on Tennessee's roster. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/6d8a3644-15ed-4b81-b21a-e85ab3e8f2c1 (scored 100)
- Tom Pelissero on Ashton Jeanty: Pelissero says Cam Ward is the Titans' pick at the top of the 2025 draft and that Travis Hunter is most likely the Browns' selection at No. 2; he also endorses Tyler Warren as a top-10 pick, expects Ashton Jeanty inside the top 10, and names five under-the-radar players who could sneak into round one, including Emeka Egbuka between picks 20-25 and Tyler Shough (whom he pegs more likely as a Day 2 pick). — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b7089cf4-c63d-4d43-84a4-072b1d2ee328 (scored 100)
- Kyle Brandt on Cam Ward: Brandt insists Cam Ward will be the No. 1 overall pick as the best player in the draft, and predicts Ashton Jeanty won't fall past pick six or seven. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/cf3ad678-a0a0-49c1-a265-69812a3e5048 (scored 100)
- Colin Cowherd on Cam Ward: Cowherd delivered his own top-15 draft board — what he would do as GM of each team — pairing prospects with picks 1 through 15, and separately argued Shedeur Sanders is a far better prospect than Daniel Jones and that Aaron Rodgers should retire. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1d3f1be7-f506-422a-af38-e6e32088f3e5 (scored 100)
- Cody Kessler on Cam Ward: Kessler disagreed that the Titans can skip a quarterback, predicting Tennessee takes Cam Ward with the first overall pick, and said Ward will be the first quarterback drafted in this class. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/cd11c7ce-432f-4be2-9c09-cdce4d8ee3a1 (scored 100)
- Peter Schrager on Ashton Jeanty: Schrager laid out his 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/6346ea38-e7e1-45a3-a146-5231338dd001 (scored 100)

## 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)
- Daniel Jeremiah on Carnell Tate: Jeremiah says Denver, not Kansas City, will be the clear favorite in the AFC West this season; he also puts Carnell Tate sixth and Monroe Freeling twentieth on his prospect board, mocks Tate to Cleveland at No. 6, and expects Georgia receiver Branch to be a Day 2 pick after a strong pro day. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/48a1d189-dc0f-4250-aa3b-0e27119c733a (scored 91.7)

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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

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