John Middlekauff#48 of 87 NFL pundits · Apr 23, 2026

On their Three and Out podcast, Middlekauff gave ten bold predictions for the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft: Fernando Mendoza first overall as the only first-round quarterback, Ty Simpson falling out of round one, Jeremiah Love sliding out of the top five, Sonny Styles to the Titans at four, Omar Cooper as the second receiver drafted, the Lions trading up for a tackle, and Aaron Rodgers' return being announced around draft week.

Said on air or in an interview · 3 and Out with John Middlekauff (podcast)Hear the original

2 of 5calls landed2 hits · 3 misses · 2 waiting

44.6Average accuracyout of 100, across 5 calls

42.9A naive guessthe same calls, no knowledge

5 of 7Settled2 still waiting

#48John Middlekauff’s rankof 87 ranked NFL pundits

What John Middlekauff said

our reading, beside the words we read it from

So my bold prediction is Jeremiah Love does not go in the top five.

John Middlekauff, the lead quote · each call’s own words are below

Where it was said: 3 and Out with John Middlekauff (podcast)
The episode: 3 & Out - 10 Bold Predictions heading into the NFL Draft
The original: Hear the original
Read it wrong?: Tell us and we will look

The page this came from has changed since we captured it on Aug 5, 2026. The quote and evidence here are from our capture, not from what the page says today.

SaidApr 23
GradedAug 5–Oct 1

1Ty Simpson to be picked “does not go in the first round” (picks 1–32)“I do not think That Ty simpson goes in the first round... SO i do not think Ty simpson's off the board On thursday night”
2Fernando Mendoza to be picked at number 1“I think we see one quarterback get drafted and That's Fernando mendez at number one... So fernando goes one”
3Sonny Styles to be picked at number 4“I do think The titans can Go Sony styles because everyone's telling me they're gonna Ta jeremiah... so you Go mendoza the two pass Rushers. Styles”
4Jeremiyah Love to be picked “does not go in the top five” (picks 1–5)“so my bold prediction Is Jeremiah love does not go in the top five”
5Omar Cooper to be 2nd wide receiver off the board“So Omar Cooper, second wide receiver off the board.”
6Aaron Rodgers to move to Pittsburgh Steelers“I predicted Aaron Rodgers. We get some news during the draft that Aaron Rodgers officially coming back... It'll definitely happen by Friday.”
7Detroit Lions to pick “moving up seven or eight spots”“I think the Lions at seventeen have moving up for a tackle written all over them... But I can see the Lions moving up seven or eight spots and taking an offensive line”

Box score

HitCloseMissWaiting

Call	Kind	What happened	Score	Naive	Skill
Ty Simpson to be picked “does not go in the first round” (picks 1–32)¹	Mock Draft Picks	Went 13	0	50	+50
Fernando Mendoza to be picked at number 1²	Mock Draft Picks	Went 1	100	50	+50
Sonny Styles to be picked at number 4³	Mock Draft Picks	Went 7	87.81	50	+50
Jeremiyah Love to be picked “does not go in the top five” (picks 1–5)⁴	Mock Draft Picks	Went 3	0	50	+50
Omar Cooper to be 2nd wide receiver off the board⁵	Position Order Calls	—	35.36	14.51	+20.84
Aaron Rodgers to move to Pittsburgh Steelers⁶	Trade and Signing Calls	—	—	—	—
Detroit Lions to pick “moving up seven or eight spots”⁷	Team Draft Slot Calls	—	—	—	—
7 calls · 2 hits · 3 misses · 2 waiting			44.6	42.9

How each call scored

a naive guessbetter than naiveworse than naive

7 checkable claims — 4 mock draft picks, 1 position order call, 1 team draft slot call and 1 trade and signing call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.

It names 9 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

5 of 7 have settled so far, averaging 44.6 out of 100, against 42.9 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.

Their call against what happened

overall pick

does not go in the first round (NOT picks 1–32)They said

13What happened

Their call against what actually happened.

1Mock Draft Picks Ty Simpson
Ty Simpson to be picked “does not go in the first round” (picks 1–32)
What happenedWent 13
0Miss · naive 50
100this mock’s order50a shuffled mock50better than naive1difficulty+50skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
50
player:
Ty Simpson
season:
2026
zero credit this far off:
32
accuracy:
0
baseline:
50
actual pick:
13
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
0
predicted pick:
does not go in the first round (NOT picks 1–32)
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
100
Think this is wrong?
2Mock Draft Picks Fernando Mendoza
Fernando Mendoza to be picked at number 1
What happenedWent 1mocked at 1
100Hit · naive 50
100this mock’s order50a shuffled mock50better than naive1difficulty+50skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
50
player:
Fernando Mendoza
season:
2026
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
Think this is wrong?
3Mock Draft Picks Sonny Styles Tennessee Titans
Sonny Styles to be picked at number 4
What happenedWent 7mocked at 4
87.81Hit · naive 50
100this mock’s order50a shuffled mock50better than naive1difficulty+50skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
50
player:
Sonny Styles
season:
2026
zero credit this far off:
32
accuracy:
87.81
baseline:
50
actual pick:
7
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
87.81
predicted pick:
4
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
100
Think this is wrong?
4Mock Draft Picks Jeremiyah Love
Jeremiyah Love to be picked “does not go in the top five” (picks 1–5)
What happenedWent 3
0Miss · naive 50
100this mock’s order50a shuffled mock50better than naive1difficulty+50skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
50
player:
Jeremiyah Love
season:
2026
zero credit this far off:
32
accuracy:
0
baseline:
50
actual pick:
3
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
0
predicted pick:
does not go in the top five (NOT picks 1–5)
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
100
Think this is wrong?
5Position Order Calls Omar Cooper
Omar Cooper to be 2nd wide receiver off the board
VerdictMiss
35.36Miss · naive 14.51
35.36this call14.51a naive guess20.85better than naive1difficulty+20.84skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
naming one of the 36 at random averages 14.51
skill:
20.84
player:
Omar Cooper
season:
2026
zero credit this far off:
credit halves every two places
accuracy:
35.36
baseline:
14.51
position:
wide receiver
class size:
36
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
actual order:
5
predicted order:
2
weeks left when called:
0
Think this is wrong?
6Trade and Signing Calls Aaron Rodgers Pittsburgh Steelers
Aaron Rodgers to move to Pittsburgh Steelers
VerdictWaiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Think this is wrong?
7Team Draft Slot Calls Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions to pick “moving up seven or eight spots”
VerdictWaiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Think this is wrong?
All
The take as a whole
the average of 5 settled calls, each counted once
44.6naive 42.9