# Mike Renner: Renner predicts the Raiders will take Fernando Mendoza, expects the Cardinals to be Malik Willis's landing spot, doubts Ruben Bain will be the No. 2 overall pick, thinks Cassius Howell will slide because of their short arms, and believes the Titans still take an edge at No. 4.

**Claimed:** Feb 26, 2026
**Pundit:** Mike Renner — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/mike-renner
**Outlet:** Pushing the Pile (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/pushing-the-pile-podcast
**How it reached us:** said on air, transcribed by us
**Original:** https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/serve.castfire.com/audio/8174658/8174658_2026-04-12-052658.192.mp3?rssID=6037

2 checkable claims — 2 trade and signing calls — 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.

None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in.

> Obviously, the Raiders, I think we all know it's gonna be Fernando Mendoza.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Fernando Mendoza to move to Las Vegas Raiders**
  - Kind: Trade and Signing Calls · About: Fernando Mendoza, Las Vegas Raiders
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Malik Willis to move to Arizona Cardinals**
  - Kind: Trade and Signing Calls · About: Malik Willis, Arizona Cardinals
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Fernando Mendoza — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/fernando-mendoza
- Las Vegas Raiders — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/raiders
- Malik Willis — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/malik-willis
- Arizona Cardinals — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/cardinals

## What others said about the same people

- Garrett Podell on Carson Beck: Podell argues the Cardinals have maxed out with Jacoby Brissett and that rookie Carson Beck should be ramped up to replace them as starter, targeting Week 8 at Dallas for Beck's regular-season debut. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2f499498-ebbe-41f8-8ea3-41fe96f79432 (scored 0)
- Chris Broussard on Las Vegas Raiders: Broussard picked the Ravens to beat the Bills in a shootout, 38-34, took the Raiders to upset the Jets, and said Detroit would beat the Vikings. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/69de6faa-8bec-4a79-9d86-5dbc5bae0573 (scored 100)
- Connor Rogers on Las Vegas Raiders: Rogers picked straight-up winners across the Week 8 slate, siding with the Bills over the Ravens, the Lions, Steelers, Jaguars, Bengals, Falcons, Raiders, Broncos, Rams, Patriots, Commanders and the Bears in Seattle. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/14b3a81b-ba4d-4270-b122-8cfe7fc959b0 (scored 100)
- John Breech on Las Vegas Raiders: Breech's Week 8 score predictions include Bengals over Titans, Raiders over Jets, Rams over Chargers and Patriots over Dolphins. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a57cb0eb-708d-41aa-9bb8-dbc16f7d3ded (scored 95.24)
- Tyler Sullivan on Las Vegas Raiders: Sullivan's Week 8 upset alert column flags five favorites they expect to lose: they pick the Falcons over the Buccaneers, the Raiders over the Jets, the undefeated Vikings over the Lions, the Ravens (with Lamar Jackson returning) over the Bills, and the Browns over the Steelers. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1ca06895-a1db-4f4e-b814-270f5ecea69c (scored 100)
- Ezekiel Trezevant on Las Vegas Raiders: Trezevant argues that if the Raiders are as improved as they appeared at 3-0, they should beat the Jets in Week 8 on the road and end their four-game losing streak. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/132fd631-95ef-4af2-8836-d5281f3f9fc8 (scored 100)

## More trade and signing calls

The same kind of call, about other players and teams.

- Chris Clark on Nikko Remigio: Clark expects the Chiefs to bring back exclusive-rights receiver Nico (Remigio) and long snapper James Winchester, to re-sign JuJu Smith-Schuster as a cheap veteran fifth receiver, and not to bring back Hollywood Brown, Josh Dobbs-type depth, Gardner Minshew, Janarius Robinson or Mike Caliendo; they also say the Chiefs will not use a franchise tag and believes Bryan Cook won't return. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/99521265-d5c0-4db1-b2a0-fe77908ea0b3 (scored 0)
- Nate Gosney on Daiyan Henley: After the Broncos rescinded the trade, Gosney expects Daiyan Henley to remain with the Chargers for the rest of the 2026 season, but believes the awkward fallout has effectively killed any chance of them signing a new contract with Los Angeles after the season. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/60272861-4ad0-4749-b36a-dcdf09b9213f (scored 0)
- Logan Lazarczyk on Kirk Cousins: Ahead of the trade deadline, they float three Raiders moves: shipping Kirk Cousins to Minnesota if the Vikings offer a second-round pick, selling Maxx Crosby to Dallas for a first-rounder plus, and acquiring Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr. for a second- or third-round pick. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/d0fd408a-7dcd-4e50-ac62-6b4510a8a800 (scored 100)
- Logan Lazarczyk on Kirk Cousins: Lazarczyk expects the Raiders to be sellers before the trade deadline, suggesting Kirk Cousins could be dealt back to the Vikings and that benched interior lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson is a prime candidate to be traded somewhere. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/fda03952-2ea6-4919-8114-0ebb127478d1 (scored 100)
- Patricia Traina on J.J. McCarthy: Traina expects defensive tackle to be a top need for the Giants in next year's draft, and suggests the Giants could trade J.J. McCarthy next offseason — or keep both them and Jaxson Dart if the return isn't good enough. They also expect Dart to make a full recovery. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b638ed13-01ca-4ea6-9384-ec7130f912c1 (scored 100)
- Michael David Smith on Keenan Allen: Smith suggests the Colts are likely to grant Josh Downs' trade request given their contract situation and their recent sell-off, and that they could also try to trade Keenan Allen. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/52d7108f-f754-44e8-9bf3-cc3336b4e5f7 (scored 100)

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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.

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