# Patricia Traina: Previewing the Giants' preseason finale, Traina says John Michael Schmitz is locked in as the starting center and identifies Malik Nabers, Malachi Fields and Darius Slayton as receivers certain to make the 53-man roster. **Claimed:** Aug 28, 2026 **Pundit:** Patricia Traina — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/patricia-traina **Outlet:** Sports Illustrated — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/sports-illustrated **How it reached us:** published in writing **Original:** https://www.si.com/nfl/giants/onsi/giants-preseason-finale-jets-roster-questions-01m131f7bfbe 4 checkable claims — 3 roster spot calls and 1 depth chart call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 5 players and teams, each linked to their own record. 2 of 4 have settled so far, averaging 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess at the same calls. Of the 1 unsettled call enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands below the rest of the room. > John Michael Schmitz is firmly entrenched as the starter, but his backup still needs to be resolved. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Malik Nabers to make the roster** - Kind: Roster Spot Calls · About: Malik Nabers, New York Giants - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess - **Malachi Fields to make the roster** - Kind: Roster Spot Calls · About: Malachi Fields, New York Giants - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - **Darius Slayton to make the roster** - Kind: Roster Spot Calls · About: Darius Slayton, New York Giants - Verdict: not settled yet - **John Michael Schmitz to be 1st on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: John Michael Schmitz, New York Giants - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Malik Nabers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/malik-nabers - New York Giants — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/giants - Malachi Fields — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/malachi-fields - Darius Slayton — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/darius-slayton - John Michael Schmitz — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/john-michael-schmitz ## What others said about the same people - Chris Simms on New York Giants: Simms 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/662b7ba3-1bf6-4ad0-9f93-9f2ab83143fd (scored 97.62) - Connor Rogers on New York Giants: Rogers picked Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle and the Giants to win their Week 3 games, saying the Chiefs win by two touchdowns and the Giants by a field goal. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/83d1e88b-95a0-45ba-83d3-f86297170c6c (scored 100) - Richard Sherman on New York Giants: Sherman picked winners and several exact scores across the Week 3 slate, favoring Seattle, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Detroit, Green Bay, Carolina, New Orleans, Baltimore, the Rams, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Kansas City, Minnesota, the Giants, Jacksonville and Houston, and named Kenneth Walker his MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c2102f61-711d-4041-af08-065e95ccaf03 (scored 100) - Tom Pelissero on New York Giants: Pelissero said the Giants' upcoming schedule (home vs. Tennessee, Washington, home vs. Arizona) offers three winnable games even with a backup quarterback, and that Washington's Jayden Daniels likely won't be back for that stretch. He also expects the winless Commanders to fall to 0-3 against Seattle. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e93f2f8d-ec24-4e3f-b158-dd1a518f9445 (scored 100) - Pete Prisco on New York Giants: Prisco picks every Week 3 game with exact scores, highlighting upsets by Tampa Bay over Minnesota and Cleveland over Carolina, and expects the Giants to rally behind Jameis Winston. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/3eb02dfa-79dd-43a1-87d8-db7e5140af6c (scored 90.48) - John Breech on New York Giants: Breech predicts the Dolphins will miss the playoffs and may go winless, and picks every Week 3 game with scores, including Texans over Colts, a Buccaneers upset of Minnesota, Ravens over Cowboys in Brazil, Saints over Raiders and Broncos over Rams. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c21157cd-927c-43dc-98a2-60f4224ba22e (scored 97.62) ## More roster spot calls The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Jeff Kerr on Zach Ertz: Kerr 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/7e4fa8de-f88c-4d45-b568-49992a356539 (scored 0) - Jeff Kerr on Chance Campbell: Kerr 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/6ec1d507-c7b6-4873-a0a2-76817706e297 (scored 100) - Carter Bahns on Jeshaun Jones: A 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/98c7155f-d05c-43cb-8c03-4f50d43211a8 (scored 0) - Jeff Kerr on Chance Campbell: Kerr'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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2120c4ea-7113-4ebf-9ebc-0d4a62d83c3a (scored 100) - Jeff Kerr on Chance Campbell: Kerr'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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/328a952b-d6b4-4065-aac9-0029421fb50f (scored 100) - Ralph Ventre on Christian Benford: Ventre expects Christian Benford's toe injury to sideline him for at least the Week 4 game against New England, and believes the Bills will have to add a cornerback to the 53-man roster this week — likely by moving Benford to injured reserve — with practice squad rookie Kani Walker the most likely player elevated. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/94b844fe-bb22-4517-81f5-6263eb0213f1 (scored 0) --- 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=patricia-traina