Ross Jackson#21 of 87 NFL pundits · Mar 2, 2026

In a post-combine seven-round Saints mock draft, Ross Jackson has New Orleans taking Notre Dame RB Jeremiah Love at No. 8, Louisville WR Chris Bell at 42, UCF edge Malachi Lawrence at 73, then Jalen Kilgore and Jalen Farmer in the fourth, Bryce Boecher and Bryce Lance in the fifth, and Lorenzo Styles Jr. in the sixth. They also project Fernando Mendoza at No. 1 overall, Texas Tech edge David Bailey inside the top 10 and Morgan Freleng as a possible top-10 offensive lineman.

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

4 of 11picks landed4 hits · 3 close calls · 4 misses · all settled

95The orderagainst a shuffled mock’s 50

+45Skillthe mock as a whole

60.6Per pickaverage, out of 100

#21Ross Jackson’s rankof 87 ranked NFL pundits

What Ross Jackson said

If Jeremiah Love is there, he should be the absolute pick.

Ross Jackson, the lead quote

Where it was said: Locked On Saints (podcast)
The episode: MOCK DRAFT: New Orleans Saints Can’t Miss Out On Jeremiyah Love At No. 8 After NFL Combine Display
The original: Hear the original
Read it wrong?: Tell us and we will look

SaidMar 2
GradedAug 14–18

Box score, round by round

HitCloseMissWaiting

Group	Hits	Close	Misses
Round 1	2	0	0
Round 2	0	0	1
Round 3	0	0	1
Round 5	0	0	1
Picks 0–0	2	3	1
All	4	3	4

How the mock scored

11 checkable claims — 11 mock draft picks — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.

It names 12 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

All 11 have settled, averaging 60.6 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.

Where this call stands in the room

Fernando Mendoza · 2026 season · overall pick

Ross Jackson — 1 overall pickthe room — 3 calls from 3 punditsmedian 1 overall pickwhat happened — 1 overall pick

Every dot is a call somebody published on the same question, before the answer existed. The bar is what actually happened. Hover a dot for the name and number; click it to read that take.

Mock against the draft

Across: where the mock put each player. Down: where the player went. The shaded band is where a pick earns credit, within 32 picks. Squares landed, half-squares were close and slashes missed. Faint rules mark the rounds.

The mock as a whole

95this mock’s order50a shuffled mock45better than naive1difficulty+45skill

The skill comes from how well the whole mock ordered the draft, so it is not any one pick’s score minus 50.

Every pick’s score

0a pick’s naive guess: 50100

Think a pick here is graded wrong? Tell us which.

Draft board

HitCloseMissWaiting

Round 1 · picks 1–322 hitsShow ▸

Pick	Team	Player	Pos	Went	Verdict	Score
1	—	Fernando Mendoza		1		100
8	NO	Jeremiyah Love	running back	3		81

Round 2 · picks 33–641 missShow ▸

Pick	Team	Player	Pos	Went	Verdict	Score
42	NO	Chris Bell	wide receiver	94		11

Round 3 · picks 65–1001 missShow ▸

Pick	Team	Player	Pos	Went	Verdict	Score
73	NO	Malachi Lawrence	edge rusher	23		11

Round 5 · picks 141–1811 missShow ▸

Pick	Team	Player	Pos	Went	Verdict	Score
170	NO	Bryce Lance	wide receiver	136		23

Picks 0–02 hits · 3 close calls · 1 missShow ▸

Team	Player	Pos	Went	Score
NO	Jalen Farmer	offensive lineman	113	100
NO	Lorenzo Styles	defensive back	172	65
NO	Bryce Boettcher	linebacker	135	77
NO	Jalon Kilgore	cornerback	167	31
—	David Bailey	edge rusher	2	100
—	Monroe Freeling	offensive lineman	19	68