Ralph Ventre· Aug 23, 2026
Ventre expects five Bills wide receivers — DJ Moore, Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer and rookie Skyler Bell — to be locks for the 53-man roster, with one remaining spot up for grabs, and believes undrafted rookie Ja'mori Maclin has at least secured a practice squad opportunity.
“At this point, Maclin appears to have locked up a practice squad opportunity, and he's seriously challenging two veterans for a spot on the 53-man roster.”
published in writing · Sports Illustrated · read the original →
6 checkable claims — 6 roster spot calls — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.
It names 7 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
5 of 6 have settled so far, averaging 100 out of 100, against 80 for a naive guess at the same calls.
Where do you stand? Pick this and every open claim on Picks →
Who this take is about
6 checkable claims in this take
Each one is scored on its own against the published methodology. A pundit naming several outcomes is graded on each, not on all-or-nothing.
- Roster Spot CallsKeon ColemanBuffalo BillsAug 23, 2026
Keon Coleman to make the roster
“With DJ Moore, Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer and fourth-round rookie Skyler Bell seemingly destined for roster spots”
Hit · 100Scored 100a naive guess scored 100+0 skillHow this was scored
- club:
- BUF
- skill:
- 0
- player:
- Keon Coleman
- season:
- 2026
- claimed:
- he makes the 53
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 100
- difficulty:
- 2
- the naive guess:
- he was on somebody's 53 last season, so he makes one again
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks on the53:
- 3
- weeks left when called:
- 18
- first week on the53:
- 1
- weeks on the practice squad:
- 0
- Roster Spot CallsSkyler BellBuffalo BillsAug 23, 2026
Skyler Bell to make the roster
“fourth-round rookie Skyler Bell seemingly destined for roster spots”
Hit · 100Scored 100a naive guess scored 0+200 skillHow this was scored
- club:
- BUF
- skill:
- 200
- player:
- Skyler Bell
- season:
- 2026
- claimed:
- he makes the 53
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 0
- difficulty:
- 2
- the naive guess:
- he was on somebody's 53 last season, so he makes one again
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks on the53:
- 3
- weeks left when called:
- 18
- first week on the53:
- 1
- weeks on the practice squad:
- 0
- Roster Spot CallsKhalil ShakirBuffalo BillsAug 23, 2026
Khalil Shakir to make the roster
“With DJ Moore, Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer and fourth-round rookie Skyler Bell seemingly destined for roster spots”
Hit · 100Scored 100a naive guess scored 100+0 skillHow this was scored
- club:
- BUF
- skill:
- 0
- player:
- Khalil Shakir
- season:
- 2026
- claimed:
- he makes the 53
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 100
- difficulty:
- 2
- the naive guess:
- he was on somebody's 53 last season, so he makes one again
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks on the53:
- 3
- weeks left when called:
- 18
- first week on the53:
- 1
- weeks on the practice squad:
- 0
- Roster Spot CallsDJ MooreBuffalo BillsAug 23, 2026
DJ Moore to make the roster
“With DJ Moore, Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer and fourth-round rookie Skyler Bell seemingly destined for roster spots”
Hit · 100Scored 100a naive guess scored 100+0 skillHow this was scored
- club:
- BUF
- skill:
- 0
- player:
- DJ Moore
- season:
- 2026
- claimed:
- he makes the 53
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 100
- difficulty:
- 2
- the naive guess:
- he was on somebody's 53 last season, so he makes one again
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks on the53:
- 3
- weeks left when called:
- 18
- first week on the53:
- 1
- weeks on the practice squad:
- 0
- Roster Spot CallsJosh PalmerBuffalo BillsAug 23, 2026
Josh Palmer to make the roster
“With DJ Moore, Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer and fourth-round rookie Skyler Bell seemingly destined for roster spots”
Hit · 100Scored 100a naive guess scored 100+0 skillHow this was scored
- club:
- BUF
- skill:
- 0
- player:
- Josh Palmer
- season:
- 2026
- claimed:
- he makes the 53
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 100
- difficulty:
- 2
- the naive guess:
- he was on somebody's 53 last season, so he makes one again
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks on the53:
- 3
- weeks left when called:
- 18
- first week on the53:
- 1
- weeks on the practice squad:
- 0
- Roster Spot CallsJa'Mori MaclinBuffalo BillsAug 23, 2026
Ja'Mori Maclin to make the roster
“At this point, Maclin appears to have locked up a practice squad opportunity”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
What others said about the same people
- Chris SimmsScore Predictions · Buffalo BillsHit · 100Simms 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.
- Chris LongGame Outcome Picks · Buffalo BillsHit · 100Long 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.
- Carmen VitaliGame Outcome Picks · Buffalo BillsHit · 100In the show's weekly picks segment Vitali took the Broncos over the Rams, the Ravens over the Cowboys in Rio, Tampa at home over Minnesota, the Bills over the Chargers and the Eagles on the road in Chicago. She also agreed that Caleb Williams would be out roughly two to three weeks.
- Tracy SandlerGame Outcome Picks · Buffalo BillsHit · 100Sandler predicted Caleb Williams would miss two to three weeks with his hamstring injury, and in the picks segment took the Broncos, Ravens, Vikings, Bills and Bears (switching off an earlier Tampa pick).
- Chris BroussardGame Outcome Picks · Buffalo BillsHit · 100Broussard picked the Bills to beat the Chargers in a competitive, higher-scoring game, said the Chiefs will rout the Dolphins, and for upset alert parlayed the Patriots over the Jaguars and the Raiders over the Saints. He also restated his Cowboys-versus-Ravens Super Bowl matchup pick.
- Dwight FreeneyGame Outcome Picks · Buffalo BillsHit · 100Freeney said the Chargers' volume of mistakes is too great to fix in a week and that fans shouldn't expect Los Angeles to beat Buffalo.
More roster spot calls
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
- Jeff KerrRoster Spot Calls · Zach ErtzMiss · 0Kerr expects Zach Ertz to be elevated from the practice squad and play in the Eagles' Week 3 Monday night game against the Bears, and to serve as Philadelphia's clear TE1 with Dallas Goedert out.
- Jeff KerrRoster Spot Calls · Chance CampbellHit · 100Kerr ranks the Eagles' eight undrafted free agents by their chances of making the initial 53-man roster, with Kapena Gushiken the most likely and predicts at least one UDFA makes the 53. He also forecasts practice squad spots for Zion Wilson, Deontae Lawson and Maximus Pulley, and a release for long snapper Rocco Underwood.
- Carter BahnsRoster Spot Calls · Jeshaun JonesMiss · 0A CBS Sports piece expects suspended Vikings receiver Jeshaun Jones to lose his roster battle and be cut by the Aug. 30 deadline, given Minnesota's established receiver group.
- Jeff KerrRoster Spot Calls · Chance CampbellHit · 100Kerr's third Eagles 53-man roster projection names the players he expects to make the team at each position, with Cole Payton, Elijah Moore, Johnny Wilson, Gabe Hall and Rocco Underwood left off; he also predicts Underwood is exposed to waivers and returns to the practice squad, Deontae Lawson lands on the practice squad, and Eli Stowers is the TE3.
- Jeff KerrRoster Spot Calls · Chance CampbellHit · 100Kerr's updated 53-man roster projection for the Eagles after eight training camp practices, naming which players make the team at each position plus depth-chart placements like Wicks as WR2, Mundt as TE2, Kendall as third guard, Bell as third tackle, and Epps/Carter battling to start at safety.
- Thomas MartinezRoster Spot Calls · Patrick HerbertMiss · 0Martinez projects the Chargers' starting lineups on offense and defense for their Week 3 game at Buffalo, with injuries forcing several changes — Oronde Gadsden II at tight end, Trevor Penning at left guard, Jamaree Caldwell at defensive tackle and RJ Mickens at safety — while expecting Ladd McConkey to play and Marquez Valdez-Scantling to debut.