Daniel Jeremiah#25 of 87 NFL pundits · Feb 27, 2026
At the combine, Jeremiah laid out their read of the top of the draft: Mendoza first overall to the Raiders, David Bailey to the Jets at No. 2, Ruben Bain to the Titans at 4, Cornell Tate to the Giants, Jeremiah Love in the 7-9 range, and Ty Simpson as the second quarterback taken. They also expect receiver Brandon Thompson to challenge the 40-yard dash record.
Said on air, transcribed by us · The Rich Eisen Show (podcast)Hear the original
What Daniel Jeremiah said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromI think David Bailey at this point in time is where I would peg them.
- Where it was said
- The Rich Eisen Show (podcast)
- The episode
- Hour 2: Live from the NFL Combine with Cowboys COO Stephen Jones, Daniel Jeremiah & Jeremiyah Love
- The original
- Hear the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- SaidFeb 27
- GradedAug 13–14
- 1David Bailey to be picked at number 2“I I tend to think if it's close, they probably go with an edge rusher... Like, I think David Bailey at this point in time is where I would peg them.”
- 2Fernando Mendoza to be picked at number 1“So Fernando Mendoza will check the box... Well, I just think with the Raiders, it's we've you know, it feels like Mendoza is the guy there.”
- 3Rueben Bain to be picked at number 4“Now, Ruben Bain, we had the discussion... the tape warrants being in that conversation right there... But that's where where I had them going.”
- 4Ty Simpson to be 2nd quarterback off the board“I mean, I think Tysons is gonna be the second one, and I'm excited to see him throw.”
- 5Brandon Thompson to lead his drill at the combine“these wide outs, Brandon Thompson's gonna, you know, challenge the 40 record”
- 6Carnell Tate to be picked “drafted by the Giants in his mock draft”“Why do you have the Giants snagging Cornell tape right now? Well, I go with the theory of you got a second year quarterback...”
- 7Jeremiyah Love to be picked “the neighborhood of 789”“I I think he he's gonna park his car in the neighborhood of 789”
- 8Top Player Lists“he's my second overall player... I think he's my fifth overall player.”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Bailey to be picked at number 21 | Mock Draft Picks | Went 2 | 100 | 50 | +50 | |
| Fernando Mendoza to be picked at number 12 | Mock Draft Picks | Went 1 | 100 | 50 | +50 | |
| Rueben Bain to be picked at number 43 | Mock Draft Picks | Went 15 | 62.09 | 50 | +50 | |
| Ty Simpson to be 2nd quarterback off the board4 | Position Order Calls | — | 100 | 39.7 | +60.3 | |
| Brandon Thompson to lead his drill at the combine5 | Combine Superlatives | — | — | — | — | |
| Carnell Tate to be picked “drafted by the Giants in his mock draft”6 | Mock Draft Picks | — | — | — | — | |
| Jeremiyah Love to be picked “the neighborhood of 789”7 | Mock Draft Picks | — | — | — | — | |
| “he's my second overall player... I think he's my fifth overall…”8 | Top Player Lists | — | — | — | — | |
| 8 calls · 3 hits · 1 close call · 4 waiting | 90.5 | 47.4 | ||||
How each call scored
a naive guessbetter than naive8 checkable claims — 5 mock draft picks, 1 combine superlative, 1 position order call and 1 top player list — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 11 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
4 of 8 have settled so far, averaging 90.5 out of 100, against 47.4 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.
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.
Their call against what happened
overall pickTheir call against what actually happened.
1Mock Draft PicksDavid BaileyNew York Jets
David Bailey to be picked at number 2
What happenedWent 2mocked at 2100Hit · naive 50100this mock’s order−50a shuffled mock=50better than naive×1difficulty=+50skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- draft:
- 2026
- naive:
- a shuffled mock scores 50
- skill:
- 50
- player:
- David Bailey
- season:
- 2025
- zero credit this far off:
- 32
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 50
- actual pick:
- 2
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- pick accuracy:
- 100
- predicted pick:
- 2
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- mock ordering score:
- 100
2Mock Draft PicksFernando MendozaLas Vegas Raiders
Fernando Mendoza to be picked at number 1
What happenedWent 1mocked at 1100Hit · naive 50100this mock’s order−50a shuffled mock=50better than naive×1difficulty=+50skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- draft:
- 2026
- naive:
- a shuffled mock scores 50
- skill:
- 50
- player:
- Fernando Mendoza
- season:
- 2025
- zero credit this far off:
- 32
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 50
- actual pick:
- 1
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- pick accuracy:
- 100
- predicted pick:
- 1
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- mock ordering score:
- 100
3Mock Draft PicksRueben BainTennessee Titans
Rueben Bain to be picked at number 4
What happenedWent 15mocked at 462.09Close · naive 50100this mock’s order−50a shuffled mock=50better than naive×1difficulty=+50skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- draft:
- 2026
- naive:
- a shuffled mock scores 50
- skill:
- 50
- player:
- Rueben Bain
- season:
- 2025
- zero credit this far off:
- 32
- accuracy:
- 62.09
- baseline:
- 50
- actual pick:
- 15
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- pick accuracy:
- 62.09
- predicted pick:
- 4
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- mock ordering score:
- 100
4Position Order CallsTy Simpson
Ty Simpson to be 2nd quarterback off the board
VerdictHit100Hit · naive 39.7100this call−39.7a naive guess=60.3better than naive×1difficulty=+60.3skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- draft:
- 2026
- naive:
- naming one of the 10 at random averages 39.7
- skill:
- 60.3
- player:
- Ty Simpson
- season:
- 2025
- zero credit this far off:
- credit halves every two places
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 39.7
- position:
- quarterback
- class size:
- 10
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- actual order:
- 2
- predicted order:
- 2
- weeks left when called:
- 0
5Combine SuperlativesBrandon Thompson
Brandon Thompson to lead his drill at the combine
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
6Mock Draft PicksCarnell TateNew York Giants
Carnell Tate to be picked “drafted by the Giants in his mock draft”
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
7Mock Draft PicksJeremiyah Love
Jeremiyah Love to be picked “the neighborhood of 789”
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
“he's my second overall player... I think he's my fifth overall player.”
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- All
The take as a whole
the average of 4 settled calls, each counted once
90.5naive 47.4
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
Sam Monson · Game Outcome Picks · New York Giants · Miss 0
Monson picked every Week 10 game, taking the Giants, Lions, Packers, Panthers, Colts, Texans, Bills, Chiefs, Jaguars, Seahawks, Rams, Cowboys, Bengals and Ravens, and also suggested the Chargers' only likely wins the rest of the way come against the Jets and Dolphins.Pete Prisco · Score Predictions · New York Giants · Miss 36
Prisco picks the Giants to beat the Commanders 23-14 on Thursday night and the Lions to beat the Patriots 30-24 in Munich.Jared Dubin · Score Predictions · New York Giants · Close 43
Dubin picks the Giants to beat the Commanders 20-14 on Thursday night and takes the Packers over the Vikings 17-14 in a low-scoring Week 10 game.Jared Dubin · Score Predictions · New York Giants · Close 43
Dubin picks the Giants to beat the Commanders at home on Thursday night, projecting a 20-14 final score.Pete Prisco · Score Predictions · New York Giants · Miss 36
Prisco picked the Giants to beat the Commanders at home in the Thursday night Week 10 game, 23-14, citing New York's dominant front seven containing Jayden Daniels.Jared Dubin · Score Predictions · New York Giants · Close 43
Dubin predicted final scores for seven Week 10 games, taking the Giants over the Commanders, the Lions, Chiefs, Packers, 49ers, Bengals and Ravens to win their respective matchups.
More mock draft picks
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Chris Simms · Mock Draft Picks · Malachi Corley · Miss 11
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.Philip Hughes · Mock Draft Picks · Kyle Kennard · Miss 34
Evaluating edge rusher Kyle Kennard ahead of the draft, the account projected them as a Day 2 selection.Blaine Grisak · Mock Draft Picks · Brian Thomas Jr. · Hit 84
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.Charlie Campbell · Mock Draft Picks · Xavier Williams · Miss 0
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.