# Thomas Martinez: Martinez projects the winless Chargers to hold the No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 draft and mocks five rounds for them, starting with Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith first overall and continuing with Zabien Brown, John Henry Daley, Cade Uluave, A.J Holmes Jr. and Evan Tengesdahl. He also expects Los Angeles to move on from Khalil Mack. **Claimed:** Oct 26, 2026 **Pundit:** Thomas Martinez — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/thomas-martinez **Outlet:** Sports Illustrated — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/sports-illustrated **How it reached us:** published in writing **Original:** https://www.si.com/nfl/chargers/onsi/chargers-post-bye-week-nfl-mock-draft-5-round-jeremiah-smith 11 checkable claims — 6 mock draft picks, 2 depth chart calls, 1 position order 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 10 players and teams, each linked to their own record. None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in. Of the 4 unsettled calls enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands below the rest of the room on every one. > This is the easiest pick that the entire NFL world would make without hesitation. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Zabien Brown to be picked “Round 2”** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Zabien Brown, Los Angeles Chargers - Verdict: not settled yet - **John Henry Daley to be picked “Round 3”** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: John Henry Daley, Los Angeles Chargers - Verdict: not settled yet - **Khalil Mack to move — “Chargers moving forward without him”** - Kind: Trade and Signing Calls · About: Khalil Mack - Verdict: not settled yet - **Los Angeles Chargers to pick at number 1** - Kind: Team Draft Slot Calls · About: Los Angeles Chargers - Verdict: not settled yet - **Tuli Tuipulotu to be 1st on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Tuli Tuipulotu, Los Angeles Chargers - Verdict: not settled yet - **A.J. Holmes Jr. to be picked “Round 4”** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: A.J. Holmes Jr., Los Angeles Chargers - Verdict: not settled yet - **Akheem Mesidor to be 1st on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Akheem Mesidor, Los Angeles Chargers - Verdict: not settled yet - **Jeremiah Smith to be picked at number 1** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Jeremiah Smith, Los Angeles Chargers - Verdict: not settled yet - **Jeremiah Smith to be 1st wide receiver off the board** - Kind: Position Order Calls · About: Jeremiah Smith - Verdict: not settled yet - **Cade Uluave to be picked “Round 3 Projected compensatory pick”** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Cade Uluave, Los Angeles Chargers - Verdict: not settled yet - **Evan Tengesdahl to be picked “Round 5”** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Evan Tengesdahl, Los Angeles Chargers - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Zabien Brown — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/zabien-brown - Los Angeles Chargers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/chargers - John Henry Daley — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/john-henry-daley - Khalil Mack — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/khalil-mack - Tuli Tuipulotu — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/tuli-tuipulotu - A.J. Holmes Jr. — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/a-j-holmes-jr - Akheem Mesidor — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/akheem-mesidor - Jeremiah Smith — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jeremiah-smith - Cade Uluave — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/cade-uluave - Evan Tengesdahl — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/evan-tengesdahl ## What others said about the same people - Tyler Sullivan on Los Angeles Chargers: Sullivan flags five Week 9 underdogs he expects to pull upsets: the Packers at New England, the Vikings over Buffalo, the winless Chargers over Houston, the Panthers over Denver, and the Falcons over Cincinnati in Madrid. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b01bc807-6ff9-460f-8ab3-c7506b54effb (scored 0) - Kevin Wildes on Los Angeles Chargers: Wildes used his upset alert on the winless Chargers to beat the Rams. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/4a6e4641-36d3-4a34-9929-9d1fdab93cbb (scored 0) - Greg Auman on Los Angeles Chargers: Auman predicts an all-Los Angeles Super Bowl with the Chargers beating the Rams 24-21. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b529264d-fbdd-4b2c-88aa-4c15848659a6 (scored 21.43) - Nick Wright on Los Angeles Chargers: Nick Wright ran through his projected 2025 records for all 16 AFC teams, calling Baltimore a 13-win regular-season juggernaut, Houston a 12-win team with the league's best defense, and going under on the Jets, Bengals, Steelers and Chargers; he also picked the Chiefs' game-by-game schedule to 12-5 and said Buffalo wins the AFC East. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/d726dad7-b84e-421c-8274-380142c4ff2e (scored 0) - Eric Mangini on Los Angeles Chargers: Mangini took the Titans to upset the Texans, and in the chips segment backed the Chargers to upset Denver, the Patriots over the Raiders, and the Rams over the Bills. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/af6364dd-ba73-40cb-95fa-a9fa3ddf962b (scored 0) - Nick Wright on Los Angeles Chargers: Amid a Week 5 betting-picks show, Wright made a few straight outcome calls: a Houston blowout of Tennessee by a 27-7 score, a Seattle home win over San Francisco by a touchdown, an outright Raiders win at New England, and the winless Chargers finally beating Denver. He also said he does not believe Lamar Jackson will play against Atlanta. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/d6364709-7117-4210-a1db-951d1d566d8c (scored 0) ## More mock draft picks The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Chris Simms on Malachi Corley: 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; he 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c0fd4647-2de8-4a5f-bac2-950fed303ee9 (scored 11.46) - Todd McShay on Keelon Russell: While breaking down LSU's offense, McShay called receiver Jackson Harris a top-50 NFL draft prospect, and later said LSU's Sam Levitt and Alabama's Keelan Russell are potential top-10 picks in a future draft. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/15d40546-2ab9-4ab8-b5bd-ed0ef7f26ae5 (scored 0) - Philip Hughes on Kyle Kennard: Evaluating edge rusher Kyle Kennard ahead of the draft, the account projected him as a Day 2 selection. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/605a686a-b5f1-4611-82b4-961abf8de93e (scored 33.86) - Blaine Grisak on Brian Thomas Jr.: 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 his own from the 2024 pre-draft period, he suggested the Rams could select Thomas at pick No. 19. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/627bcf5d-9f1d-4a34-a1b7-53b8f0aebc40 (scored 84.09) - Charlie Campbell on Xavier Williams: 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 he declares. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2dd4bf46-e5eb-4dff-8500-95d9fdbd2986 (scored 0) - Walt on Fernando Mendoza: In a running series of coach/GM hiring and firing grades, Walt projects Fernando Mendoza as the No. 1 overall pick of the Raiders in the 2026 draft and has LSU's Garrett Nussmeier going No. 2 overall in his 2026 mock draft. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/29bb2d31-fbe3-40db-b378-be5ba5d990b0 (scored 100) --- 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=thomas-martinez