# Anthony Gargano: Gargano expects Fernando Mendoza to be the No. 1 overall pick to the Raiders, sees Kenyon Sadiq as a top-15 tight end pick (their own guess around 14-15, and no later than Carolina at 19), and rolls through a mock draft placing several prospects. They also think Ty Simpson is the second QB off the board and only one QB goes in the first round. **Claimed:** Feb 28, 2026 **Pundit:** Anthony Gargano — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/anthony-gargano **Outlet:** Fox Sports Radio (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/fox-sports-radio-podcast **How it reached us:** said on air or in an interview **Original:** https://omny.fm/shows/fox-sports-radio-weekends/the-fellas-with-anthony-gargano-daniel-diberardinis-talk-nfl-combine-college-basketball-more 4 checkable claims — 3 mock draft picks and 1 position order call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call. It names 5 players and teams, each linked to their own record. 3 of 4 have settled so far, averaging 98.6 out of 100, against 46.6 for a naive guess at the same calls. > So you got Mendoza's slated to go one. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Fernando Mendoza to be picked at number 1** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Fernando Mendoza, Las Vegas Raiders - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Kenyon Sadiq to be picked “top fifteen” (picks 1–15)** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Kenyon Sadiq - Verdict: scored 95.76 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Ty Simpson to be 2nd quarterback off the board** - Kind: Position Order Calls · About: Ty Simpson - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 39.7 for a naive guess - **Kenyon Sadiq to be picked “there's no way he gets past nineteen”** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Kenyon Sadiq, Carolina Panthers - 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 - Kenyon Sadiq — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/kenyon-sadiq - Ty Simpson — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/ty-simpson - Carolina Panthers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/panthers ## What others said about the same people - Zach Roberts on Corey Thornton: Roberts projects the Carolina Panthers' 53-man roster following the Hall of Fame Game, naming every player they expect to make the team at each position, and pegs AJ Dillon as the fourth running back on the depth chart. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/eef72be3-9114-401b-a6e8-2ffc335cc7fb (scored 100) - Nick Wright on Carolina Panthers: Wright made several outright game calls for Week 9 alongside their spread picks: Kansas City beating the Jets 31-20, Detroit winning at Miami, New England edging Green Bay by a field goal or so, Carolina winning outright over Denver, and Houston blowing out the Chargers 27-12. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/14c1f8dd-d8ff-498f-b705-4b468ff964f8 (scored 0) - Mitchell Eisenstein on Carolina Panthers: Mitchell gave their Week 9 top-five power rankings, keeping Buffalo first and the 49ers second while elevating the Bears, Jaguars and Lions, and picked a slate of Week 9 games including a Packers win in New England, a Panthers upset of Denver, and blowouts for Detroit, Kansas City and Houston. They also tabbed Jonah Coleman as a late-season Offensive Rookie of the Year pick. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/6a1c5f64-cb1f-4e3d-846c-281720efb544 (scored 42.86) - Cody Rourke on Carolina Panthers: Rourke predicts the Broncos finish 13-4 in 2026, going 4-2 over a brutal opening six games, sweeping Kansas City again, and losing only at San Francisco, at home to Seattle, at Carolina and on Christmas Day to Buffalo. They also expect Carolina to return to the playoffs. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/129244f8-9c9e-4e2a-917c-bc2c74cfee05 (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) ## More mock draft picks The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Chris Simms on Malachi Corley: Simms named the Bears the NFL's best overall offense and best rushing offense, the Bengals the best passing offense, Seattle the best total defense, Minnesota the best pass defense and Tampa Bay the best run defense; they also called Tristan Wirfs the league's best offensive lineman, projected Miami's Malachi Toney as a top-15 pick, and predicted a 30-14 Jaguars win in Baltimore. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c0fd4647-2de8-4a5f-bac2-950fed303ee9 (scored 11.46) - Todd McShay on Keelon Russell: While breaking down LSU's offense, McShay called receiver Jackson Harris a top-50 NFL draft prospect, and later said LSU's Sam Levitt and Alabama's Keelan Russell are potential top-10 picks in a future draft. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/15d40546-2ab9-4ab8-b5bd-ed0ef7f26ae5 (scored 0) - Philip Hughes on Kyle Kennard: Evaluating edge rusher Kyle Kennard ahead of the draft, the account projected them as a Day 2 selection. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/605a686a-b5f1-4611-82b4-961abf8de93e (scored 33.86) - Blaine Grisak on Brian Thomas Jr.: Grisak argues the Rams should not trade a second-round pick for Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr., calling it too great a risk and too high a cost. In an embedded tweet of their own from the 2024 pre-draft period, they suggested the Rams could select Thomas at pick No. 19. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/627bcf5d-9f1d-4a34-a1b7-53b8f0aebc40 (scored 84.09) - Charlie Campbell on Xavier Williams: Campbell's draft stock report projects Indiana WR Charlie Becker as a top-10 pick in 2027, Mississippi State CB Kelley Jones as a first-rounder, Tennessee DT Xavier Gilliam as a top-15 pick, and Texas OT Trevor Goosby as a top-10 pick, while suggesting Arch Manning could still be a first-rounder if they declare. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2dd4bf46-e5eb-4dff-8500-95d9fdbd2986 (scored 0) - Walt on Garrett Nussmeier: In a running series of coach/GM hiring and firing grades, Walt projects Fernando Mendoza as the No. 1 overall pick of the Raiders in the 2026 draft and has LSU's Garrett Nussmeier going No. 2 overall in their 2026 mock draft. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/29bb2d31-fbe3-40db-b378-be5ba5d990b0 (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=anthony-gargano