Lance Zierlein#11 of 87 NFL pundits · Mar 1, 2025
Zierlein said Kansas State's Jacob Parrish helped themselves with their testing and will be a second-round cornerback, put South Carolina safety Nick Emnori inside the top 16 after their workout, pegged Mason Taylor as the third tight end off the board and possibly a first-rounder, and called Alabama's Robbie Oots a future NFL fullback who will be on a roster.
Said on air or in an interview · Move the Sticks (podcast)Hear the original
What Lance Zierlein said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromHe'll be a second round cornerback in this draft.
- Where it was said
- Move the Sticks (podcast)
- The episode
- 2025 NFL Combine Recap: DBs & TEs
- 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.
- SaidMar 1, 2025
- GradedAug 5, 2026
- 1Jacob Parrish to be picked “second round” (picks 33–64)“He is a guy who is going to move up. He'll be a second round cornerback in this draft.”
- 2Mason Taylor to be 3rd tight end off the board“I know that I think Mason Taylor will probably be the third guy off... I think Mason Taylor's a third”
- 3Mason Taylor to be picked “first round” (picks 1–32)“it wouldn't shock me if maybe a sneaky third tight end got into the first round. Yeah, with Mason Taylor”
- 4Nick Emmanwori to be picked “inside the top sixteen”“he can't get past the middle of the draft, Like it's just he's not getting to the second held... But now this is one of these things where he's inside the top sixteen to me.”
- 5Robbie Ouzts: a roster call with no direction stated“Now he is an NFL fallback. He'll be he'll be on a team, and he'll probably get pretty good reps as an NFL fullback.”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacob Parrish to be picked “second round” (picks 33–64)1 | Mock Draft Picks | Went 84 | 42.04 | 50 | — | |
| Mason Taylor to be 3rd tight end off the board2 | Position Order Calls | — | 100 | 28.72 | +71.28 | |
| Mason Taylor to be picked “first round” (picks 1–32)3 | Mock Draft Picks | Went 42 | 64.84 | 50 | — | |
| Nick Emmanwori to be picked “inside the top sixteen”4 | Mock Draft Picks | — | — | — | — | |
| Robbie Ouzts: a roster call with no direction stated5 | Roster Spot Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| 5 calls · 1 hit · 2 close calls · 2 waiting | 69 | 42.9 | ||||
How each call scored
a naive guessbetter than naiveworse than naive5 checkable claims — 3 mock draft picks, 1 position order call and 1 roster spot call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 4 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
3 of 5 have settled so far, averaging 69 out of 100, against 42.9 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 pickTheir call against what actually happened.
1Mock Draft PicksJacob Parrish
Jacob Parrish to be picked “second round” (picks 33–64)
What happenedWent 8442.04Close · naive 50Think this is wrong?How this was scored
- draft:
- 2025
- naive:
- a shuffled mock scores 50
- player:
- Jacob Parrish
- season:
- 2025
- zero credit this far off:
- 32
- accuracy:
- 42.04
- baseline:
- 50
- actual pick:
- 84
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- pick accuracy:
- 42.04
- predicted pick:
- second round (picks 33–64)
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- mock ordering score:
- only one pick — no order to score
2Position Order CallsMason Taylor
Mason Taylor to be 3rd tight end off the board
VerdictHit100Hit · naive 28.72100this call−28.72a naive guess=71.28better than naive×1difficulty=+71.28skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- draft:
- 2025
- naive:
- naming one of the 16 at random averages 28.72
- skill:
- 71.28
- player:
- Mason Taylor
- season:
- 2025
- zero credit this far off:
- credit halves every two places
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 28.72
- position:
- tight end
- class size:
- 16
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- actual order:
- 3
- predicted order:
- 3
- weeks left when called:
- 0
Mason Taylor to be picked “first round” (picks 1–32)
What happenedWent 4264.84Close · naive 50Think this is wrong?How this was scored
- draft:
- 2025
- naive:
- a shuffled mock scores 50
- player:
- Mason Taylor
- season:
- 2025
- zero credit this far off:
- 32
- accuracy:
- 64.84
- baseline:
- 50
- actual pick:
- 42
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- pick accuracy:
- 64.84
- predicted pick:
- first round (picks 1–32)
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- mock ordering score:
- only one pick — no order to score
4Mock Draft PicksNick Emmanwori
Nick Emmanwori to be picked “inside the top sixteen”
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
5Roster Spot CallsRobbie Ouzts
Robbie Ouzts: a roster call with no direction stated
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- All
The take as a whole
the average of 3 settled calls, each counted once
69naive 42.9
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
Daniel Jeremiah · Player Season Numbers · Nick Emmanwori · Miss 0
Jeremiah walked through their mock draft 3.0, slotting Cam Ward first overall to Tennessee, Abdul Carter to Cleveland at two, Shedeur Sanders to the Giants at three and Travis Hunter to New England at four, plus roughly twenty other first-round pairings. They also called Matthew Golden the first receiver off the board, said Tyler Booker would climb back into the latter third of the first round, expected Kirk Cousins to be traded, thought Jaire Alexander's Packers days were numbered, and predicted Cam Robinson would start at left tackle in Houston.Jourdan Rodrigue · Mock Draft Picks · Mason Taylor · Close 65
Co-authoring the same consensus first-round mock, Rodrigue endorsed every pick, personally pushing Ashton Jeanty to Jacksonville at five, Tyler Warren to the Bears at ten, Emeka Egbuka to Washington at 29 and Nick Emanwori to Buffalo at 30.Gregg Rosenthal · Mock Draft Picks · Mason Taylor · Close 65
Co-hosting a consensus mock draft with Jordan Rodrigue, Rosenthal signed off on all 32 first-round picks of the 2025 NFL Draft, including Cam Ward first to Tennessee, Travis Hunter second to Cleveland, Armand Membou to New England at four and Shedeur Sanders sliding to the Saints at nine.Daniel Jeremiah · Mock Draft Picks · Mason Taylor · Close 65
Jeremiah shared their updated top-50 board rankings for the draft class, placing Nick Emmanwori 15th, Donovan Ezeiruaku 25th, Walter Nolen 28th, Mason Taylor 32nd and Jackson Dart 36th. They believe Nolen will be off the board well before pick 28, projects Mason Taylor to the Eagles at No. 32, and thinks Tyler Booker can be an early-career Pro Bowler in the right scheme.
More mock draft picks
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Chris Simms · Mock Draft Picks · Malachi Corley · Miss 11
Simms named the Bears the NFL's best overall offense and best rushing offense, the Bengals the best passing offense, Seattle the best total defense, Minnesota the best pass defense and Tampa Bay the best run defense; they also called Tristan Wirfs the league's best offensive lineman, projected Miami's Malachi Toney as a top-15 pick, and predicted a 30-14 Jaguars win in Baltimore.Philip Hughes · Mock Draft Picks · Kyle Kennard · Miss 34
Evaluating edge rusher Kyle Kennard ahead of the draft, the account projected them as a Day 2 selection.Blaine Grisak · Mock Draft Picks · Brian Thomas Jr. · Hit 84
Grisak argues the Rams should not trade a second-round pick for Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr., calling it too great a risk and too high a cost. In an embedded tweet of their own from the 2024 pre-draft period, they suggested the Rams could select Thomas at pick No. 19.Charlie Campbell · Mock Draft Picks · Xavier Williams · Miss 0
Campbell's draft stock report projects Indiana WR Charlie Becker as a top-10 pick in 2027, Mississippi State CB Kelley Jones as a first-rounder, Tennessee DT Xavier Gilliam as a top-15 pick, and Texas OT Trevor Goosby as a top-10 pick, while suggesting Arch Manning could still be a first-rounder if they declare.