# Nick Baumgardner: The Athletic's draft analyst laid out a full slate of expectations for the upcoming NFL Draft: Abdul Carter to Tennessee at No. 1, Shedeur Sanders falling to the back half of the first or top of the second, Ashton Jeanty as a top-10 pick, Travis Hunter as the class's best player going in the top five, and only two quarterbacks plus fewer than three running backs but more than three receivers taken in Round 1. **Claimed:** Mar 31, 2025 **Pundit:** Nick Baumgardner — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/nick-baumgardner **Outlet:** The Rich Eisen Show (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/the-rich-eisen-show-podcast **How it reached us:** said on air, transcribed by us **Original:** https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.megaphone.fm/WWO2457329519.mp3?updated=1743446952 9 checkable claims — 8 mock draft picks and 1 position order call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 11 players and teams, each linked to their own record. 7 of 9 have settled so far, averaging 80.8 out of 100, against 47.9 for a naive guess at the same calls. > My gut there says Abdul Carter, at one for Tennessee. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Shedeur Sanders to be picked “back half of the first round, top of the second round” (picks 1–64)** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Shedeur Sanders - Verdict: scored 3.13 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Abdul Carter to be picked at number 1** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Abdul Carter, Tennessee Titans - Verdict: scored 91.7 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Travis Hunter to be picked “top five” (picks 1–5)** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Travis Hunter - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Ashton Jeanty to be picked “top 10 pick” (picks 1–10)** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Ashton Jeanty - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Omarion Hampton to be picked “first round” (picks 1–32)** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Omarion Hampton - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Jalen Milroe to be 3rd quarterback off the board** - Kind: Position Order Calls · About: Jalen Milroe - Verdict: scored 70.71 out of 100, against 35 for a naive guess - **Tetairoa McMillan to be picked “top 10 pick” (picks 1–10)** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona Cardinals - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **TreVeyon Henderson to be picked “day two”** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: TreVeyon Henderson - Verdict: not settled yet - **Quinshon Judkins to be picked “day two”** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Quinshon Judkins - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Shedeur Sanders — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/shedeur-sanders - Abdul Carter — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/abdul-carter - Tennessee Titans — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/titans - Travis Hunter — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/travis-hunter - Ashton Jeanty — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/ashton-jeanty - Omarion Hampton — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/omarion-hampton - Jalen Milroe — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jalen-milroe - Tetairoa McMillan — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/tetairoa-mcmillan - Arizona Cardinals — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/cardinals - TreVeyon Henderson — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/treveyon-henderson - Quinshon Judkins — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/quinshon-judkins ## What others said about the same people - John Middlekauff on Tennessee Titans: Middlekauff expects blowout wins for Seattle over Washington and Kansas City over Miami in Week 3, picks Cincinnati to beat Pittsburgh in the AFC North matchup, and takes Tennessee over the Giants if Jameis Winston is taking snaps. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/8115d255-82e3-442e-aeef-c3eaa3587603 (scored 0) - Colin Cowherd on Tennessee Titans: The co-host (identified only as "Mitchell") made his own Week 3 picks, including blowout wins for Seattle and San Francisco, Cincinnati 27-17, Detroit 37-13, Denver 24-21 over the Rams, and predicted Jonah Coleman takes over the Broncos' running back role. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/4ccbceaa-54ca-4a2e-ad90-006f1ded0ad2 (scored 0) - Tyler Sullivan on Tennessee Titans: Sullivan projects final scores for every Week 3 game, including a Bills blowout of the reeling Chargers, a Chiefs rout in Miami, a Seahawks win over a Mariota-led Washington, and the Saints beating the Raiders in their home opener. He also expects Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Jaxson Dart all to be sidelined in Week 3, with Marcus Mariota starting for Washington. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e4b11b44-d359-4027-a72c-87833f5ff6e3 (scored 45.24) - Lane Mills on Tennessee Titans: Mills predicts the Titans finish 2026 at 6-11 (2-4 in the AFC South), missing the playoffs, with specific wins over the Jets, Giants, Browns, Jaguars, Raiders and Colts, and names Wan'Dale Robinson team MVP with another 1,000-yard, seven-touchdown season as Cam Ward's top receiver. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/5a2c4e6d-57dd-4dc9-9f27-c1446726f490 (scored 0) - Nathan Jahnke on Devin Duvernay: PFF's preseason usage recap makes a number of depth-chart and roster projections, including nine rookie receivers slotting as top-three options on their teams, sleeper tight end usage, and specific depth-chart placements for Cardinals, Falcons and Ravens players. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/8f52d1f8-91ed-459c-99a7-30c2d3fb38e0 (scored 100) - Nathan Jahnke on Devin Duvernay: An unsigned PFF preseason recap makes numerous depth-chart, roster and usage projections across the league, based on Week 3 preseason playing time — including Roman Wilson winning Pittsburgh's third receiver job, Luke McCaffrey's roster spot being in danger, Charlie Kolar as the Chargers' top tight end, and Kendre Miller as the Saints' RB2. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/47566b48-8024-4960-b25c-11c03fe43543 (scored 100) ## More mock draft picks The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Ryan Wilson on J.J. McCarthy: Recalling his pre-draft evaluation, Wilson notes he had ranked J.J. McCarthy as the fifth quarterback in the 2024 class and given him a second-round grade rather than a first-round one, citing the gap between Michigan's system and NFL demands. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/44cc5859-8b2b-4fbf-b5c0-62c635f2e357 (scored 36.92) - Nick Shook on Max Iheanachor: Shook walks through his full first-round mock draft, assigning a prospect to every pick from No. 1 to No. 32, headlined by Fernando Mendoza to the Raiders, David Bailey to the Jets and Jeremiah Love to the Cardinals in the top three. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/7d4209aa-2e2d-47a2-b6e5-791d16d209cb (scored 87.81) - Gregg Rosenthal on K.C. Concepcion: Rosenthal disagrees most with Casey Concepcion being left out of the first round, arguing he could go as high as the top 15 and certainly won't last past receiver-needy teams in the late twenties. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/8fae9a3a-7fd8-454c-99cc-0a8400c35d7d (scored 67.71) - Daniel Jeremiah on Keyron Crawford: In discussing teams without first-round picks, Jeremiah projected specific Day 2 picks: Clemson WR Antonio Williams to the Falcons at 48, Texas Tech LB Jacob Rodriguez to the Colts in the second round, Oklahoma edge R Mason Thomas to the Packers at 52, and Auburn edge Keiroon Crawford to the Broncos at 62. He also expects Riley Leonard to open as the Colts' starting QB and Travis Hunter to play cornerback full time in Jacksonville. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/f60c916c-1b5f-4252-8733-1770c7809577 (scored 80.52) - Daniel Jeremiah on Carnell Tate: Jeremiah says Denver, not Kansas City, will be the clear favorite in the AFC West this season; he also puts Carnell Tate sixth and Monroe Freeling twentieth on his prospect board, mocks Tate to Cleveland at No. 6, and expects Georgia receiver Branch to be a Day 2 pick after a strong pro day. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/48a1d189-dc0f-4250-aa3b-0e27119c733a (scored 91.7) - Bucky Brooks on Carnell Tate: In a mock draft covering the first 14 picks, Brooks made the odd-numbered selections: Fernando Mendoza to the Raiders at No. 1, a Miami offensive lineman to Arizona at No. 3, Caleb Downs to the Giants at No. 5, Ohio State's Arvell Reese to Washington at No. 7, Carnell Tate to Kansas City at No. 9, tight end Kenyon Sadiq to Miami at No. 11, and Spencer Fano to the Rams at No. 13. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/677f566f-9e38-4dd7-b312-0baad54b440e (scored 80.52) --- 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=nick-baumgardner