Ross Jackson#21 of 87 NFL pundits · Mar 9, 2026

In a pre-free agency seven-round Saints mock draft, Ross Jackson has New Orleans taking Ohio State safety Caleb Downs at No. 8, Missouri edge Zion Young at 42, Georgia WR Zachariah Branch at 73, Nebraska RB Emmett Johnson at 132, Alabama DT Tim Keenan III at 137, Iowa guard Beau Stevens at 148, Texas LB Trey Moore at 170 and Houston TE Tanner Cazio at 189. They also expect slot/star defenders like Bud Clark, Keonta Scott and Traytan Stukes to be second- or third-round picks, Malachi Lawrence to go around top 100, and Alontae Taylor to leave in free agency.

Said on air, transcribed by us · Locked On Saints (podcast)Hear the original

6 of 12calls landed6 hits · 2 close calls · 4 misses · 1 waiting

65.4Average accuracyout of 100, across 12 calls

50A naive guessthe same calls, no knowledge

12 of 13Settled1 still waiting

#21Ross Jackson’s rankof 87 ranked NFL pundits

What Ross Jackson said

Caleb Downs makes perfect sense for this team at eight, assuming that those medicals do check out.

Ross Jackson, the lead quote

Where it was said: Locked On Saints (podcast)
The episode: MOCK DRAFT: New Orleans Saints, Caleb Downs Pick Could TRANSFORM Staley's Defense In 2026 NFL Draft
The original: Hear the original
Read it wrong?: Tell us and we will look

SaidMar 9
GradedOct 1

Box score, by kind

HitCloseMissWaiting

Group	Hits	Close	Misses	Waiting
Mock Draft Picks	6	2	4	0
Trade and Signing Calls	0	0	0	1
All	6	2	4	1

How each call scored

13 checkable claims — 12 mock draft picks and 1 trade and signing call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.

It names 14 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

12 of 13 have settled so far, averaging 65.4 out of 100, against 50 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

148They said

148What happened

Their call against what actually happened.

Mock Draft Picks6 hits · 2 close calls · 4 missesShow ▸

Beau Stephens to be picked at number 148
“round four pick one forty eight, I'm gonna go with Iowa guard Beau Stevens”
Beau Stephens New Orleans Saints
Went 148mocked at 148
100Hit
mock order 85.71 − 50 for a shuffle = 35.71 × 1 difficulty = +35.71 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
35.71
player:
Beau Stephens
season:
2026
zero credit this far off:
32
accuracy:
100
baseline:
50
actual pick:
148
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
100
predicted pick:
148
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
85.71
Think this is wrong?
Keionte Scott to be picked “probably second, third round players” (picks 33–100)
“Keontay Scott out of Miami. ... Those guys could be had a little bit later in the draft, probably second, third round players.”
Keionte Scott
Went 116
50Close
mock order 85.71 − 50 for a shuffle = 35.71 × 1 difficulty = +35.71 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
35.71
player:
Keionte Scott
season:
2026
zero credit this far off:
32
accuracy:
50
baseline:
50
actual pick:
116
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
50
predicted pick:
probably second, third round players (picks 33–100)
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
85.71
Think this is wrong?
Trey Moore to be picked at number 170
“And then round five pick one seventy, I'm gonna go with, Texas linebacker Trey Moore.”
Trey Moore New Orleans Saints
Went 130mocked at 170
17.68Miss
mock order 85.71 − 50 for a shuffle = 35.71 × 1 difficulty = +35.71 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
35.71
player:
Trey Moore
season:
2026
zero credit this far off:
32
accuracy:
17.68
baseline:
50
actual pick:
130
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
17.68
predicted pick:
170
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
85.71
Think this is wrong?
Malachi Lawrence to be picked “top 100” (picks 1–100)
“And I think Malachi Lawrence now is going, like, top 100.”
Malachi Lawrence
Went 23
100Hit
mock order 85.71 − 50 for a shuffle = 35.71 × 1 difficulty = +35.71 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
35.71
player:
Malachi Lawrence
season:
2026
zero credit this far off:
32
accuracy:
100
baseline:
50
actual pick:
23
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
100
predicted pick:
top 100 (picks 1–100)
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
85.71
Think this is wrong?
Bud Clark to be picked “probably second, third round players” (picks 33–100)
“And then I'd highlight, of course, TCU safety, Bud Clark. Those guys could be had a little bit later in the draft, probably second, third round players.”
Bud Clark
Went 64
100Hit
mock order 85.71 − 50 for a shuffle = 35.71 × 1 difficulty = +35.71 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
35.71
player:
Bud Clark
season:
2026
zero credit this far off:
32
accuracy:
100
baseline:
50
actual pick:
64
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
100
predicted pick:
probably second, third round players (picks 33–100)
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
85.71
Think this is wrong?
Tim Keenan to be picked at number 137
“Going back to defense here as well, with Alabama defensive tackle Tim Keenan the third. This is at round four, pick one thirty seven.”
Tim Keenan New Orleans Saints
Went 232mocked at 137
1.63Miss
mock order 85.71 − 50 for a shuffle = 35.71 × 1 difficulty = +35.71 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
35.71
player:
Tim Keenan
season:
2026
zero credit this far off:
32
accuracy:
1.63
baseline:
50
actual pick:
232
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
1.63
predicted pick:
137
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
85.71
Think this is wrong?
Emmett Johnson to be picked at number 132
“with the first selection of round four, pick one thirty two, I went with Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson”
Emmett Johnson New Orleans Saints
Went 161mocked at 132
28.47Miss
mock order 85.71 − 50 for a shuffle = 35.71 × 1 difficulty = +35.71 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
35.71
player:
Emmett Johnson
season:
2026
zero credit this far off:
32
accuracy:
28.47
baseline:
50
actual pick:
161
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
28.47
predicted pick:
132
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
85.71
Think this is wrong?
Zachariah Branch to be picked at number 73
“there's a perfect opportunity for me to do so in round three, pick 73 with Georgia wide receiver, Zachariah Branch”
Zachariah Branch New Orleans Saints
Went 79mocked at 73
77.11Close
mock order 85.71 − 50 for a shuffle = 35.71 × 1 difficulty = +35.71 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
35.71
player:
Zachariah Branch
season:
2026
zero credit this far off:
32
accuracy:
77.11
baseline:
50
actual pick:
79
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
77.11
predicted pick:
73
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
85.71
Think this is wrong?
Zion Young to be picked at number 42
“Alright. Let's move on now to round two, pick 42. ... I went with Missouri edge rusher Zion Young.”
Zion Young New Orleans Saints
Went 45mocked at 42
87.81Hit
mock order 85.71 − 50 for a shuffle = 35.71 × 1 difficulty = +35.71 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
35.71
player:
Zion Young
season:
2026
zero credit this far off:
32
accuracy:
87.81
baseline:
50
actual pick:
45
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
87.81
predicted pick:
42
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
85.71
Think this is wrong?
Caleb Downs to be picked at number 8
“Caleb Downs makes perfect sense for this team at eight, assuming that those medicals do check out.”
Caleb Downs New Orleans Saints
Went 11mocked at 8
87.81Hit
mock order 85.71 − 50 for a shuffle = 35.71 × 1 difficulty = +35.71 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
35.71
player:
Caleb Downs
season:
2026
zero credit this far off:
32
accuracy:
87.81
baseline:
50
actual pick:
11
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
87.81
predicted pick:
8
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
85.71
Think this is wrong?
Tanner Koziol to be picked at number 189
“jumping ahead now to round six, our final selection pick one eighty nine. Houston tight end Tanner Cazio.”
Tanner Koziol New Orleans Saints
Went 164mocked at 189
33.86Miss
mock order 85.71 − 50 for a shuffle = 35.71 × 1 difficulty = +35.71 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
35.71
player:
Tanner Koziol
season:
2026
zero credit this far off:
32
accuracy:
33.86
baseline:
50
actual pick:
164
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
33.86
predicted pick:
189
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
85.71
Think this is wrong?
Treydan Stukes to be picked “probably second, third round players” (picks 33–100)
“trading stoops as well out of Arizona ... Those guys could be had a little bit later in the draft, probably second, third round players.”
Treydan Stukes
Went 38
100Hit
mock order 85.71 − 50 for a shuffle = 35.71 × 1 difficulty = +35.71 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
35.71
player:
Treydan Stukes
season:
2026
zero credit this far off:
32
accuracy:
100
baseline:
50
actual pick:
38
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
100
predicted pick:
probably second, third round players (picks 33–100)
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
85.71
Think this is wrong?

Trade and Signing Calls1 waitingShow ▸

Alontae Taylor to move
“Could also immediately step into the role of one, Allante Taylor, should he depart in free agency as we expect he will.”
Alontae Taylor
—Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Think this is wrong?