# Joe Marino: Marino stacks 14 inside linebackers in the 2026 NFL draft class and assigns each a round-value grade, with Sonny Styles first (top-10 grade) and Anthony Hill third; he says Hill would be his preferred pick if Buffalo takes a linebacker at No. 26. **Claimed:** Apr 8, 2026 **Pundit:** Joe Marino — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/joe-marino **Outlet:** Locked On Bills (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/locked-on-bills-podcast **How it reached us:** said on air, transcribed by us **Original:** https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/pdrl.fm/8c06ff/lockedon.simplecastaudio.com/d5c86183-3556-42ef-a0fc-3e82326ec162/episodes/8e84a337-851b-481e-a8c7-44fb3c99d377/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=d5c86183-3556-42ef-a0fc-3e82326ec162&awEpisodeId=8e84a337-851b-481e-a8c7-44fb3c99d377&feed=LIaoLB9Y 19 checkable claims — 14 mock draft picks, 2 position order calls, 1 depth chart call, 1 sleeper call and 1 top player list — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 18 players and teams, each linked to their own record. 11 of 19 have settled so far, averaging 79 out of 100, against 44 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. > If the Bills took one at 26, let it be Anthony Hill. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Deontae Lawson to be picked “fourth to early fifth round range” (picks 101–181)** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Deontae Lawson - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Kyle Louis to be picked “third round grade” (picks 65–100)** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Kyle Louis, Pittsburgh Steelers - Verdict: scored 19.28 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Anthony Hill to be picked “late first, early second round grade” (picks 1–64)** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Anthony Hill - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Jimmy Rolder to be picked “fourth round grade” (picks 101–140)** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Jimmy Rolder - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Kaleb Elarms-Orr to be picked “fourth round grade” (picks 101–140)** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Kaleb Elarms-Orr - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Sonny Styles to be 1st linebacker off the board** - Kind: Position Order Calls · About: Sonny Styles - Verdict: scored 50 out of 100, against 17.77 for a naive guess - **Sonny Styles to be picked “top 10 grade” (picks 1–10)** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Sonny Styles - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Jacob Rodriguez to be picked “second round” (picks 33–64)** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Jacob Rodriguez - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Arvell Reese to be picked “first round grade” (picks 1–32)** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Arvell Reese - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **C.J. Allen to be picked “second round grade” (picks 33–64)** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: C.J. Allen - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Arvell Reese to be 2nd linebacker off the board** - Kind: Position Order Calls · About: Arvell Reese - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 15.85 for a naive guess - **Jimmy Rolder to outplay his draft cost (fourth round grade)** - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Jimmy Rolder - Verdict: not settled yet - **Bryce Boettcher to be picked “late five, early six”** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Bryce Boettcher - Verdict: not settled yet - **Red Murdock to be picked “late six, early seven”** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Red Murdock, Buffalo Bills - Verdict: not settled yet - **Josiah Trotter to be picked “late two, early three”** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Josiah Trotter - Verdict: not settled yet - **Jake Galdi to be picked “late two, early three”** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Jake Galdi, Cincinnati Bengals - Verdict: not settled yet - **Keyshaun Elliott to be picked “late five, early six”** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Keyshaun Elliott - Verdict: not settled yet - **Sonny Styles is number one... And then Red Murdoch is number 14 out of Buffalo, late six, early seven in terms of where I value him.** - Kind: Top Player Lists - Verdict: not settled yet - **Dorian Williams to be 1st on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Dorian Williams, Buffalo Bills - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Deontae Lawson — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/deontae-lawson - Kyle Louis — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/kyle-louis - Pittsburgh Steelers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/steelers - Anthony Hill — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/anthony-hill - Jimmy Rolder — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jimmy-rolder - Kaleb Elarms-Orr — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/kaleb-elarms-orr - Sonny Styles — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/sonny-styles - Jacob Rodriguez — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jacob-rodriguez - Arvell Reese — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/arvell-reese - C.J. Allen — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/c-j-allen - Bryce Boettcher — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/bryce-boettcher - Red Murdock — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/red-murdock - Buffalo Bills — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bills - Josiah Trotter — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/josiah-trotter - Jake Galdi — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jake-galdi - Cincinnati Bengals — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bengals - Keyshaun Elliott — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/keyshaun-elliott - Dorian Williams — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/dorian-williams ## What others said about the same people - Chris Simms on Cincinnati Bengals: Simms went through the entire Week 3 slate with straight-up winners and predicted final scores, taking Jacksonville, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle, the Giants, Baltimore, New Orleans, Minnesota, San Francisco, Denver and Philadelphia. He also expected Zay Flowers and Puka Nacua to sit, Kyler Murray to play, and said Marvin Harrison Jr. projects as no better than a good No. 2 or high-end No. 3 receiver. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/662b7ba3-1bf6-4ad0-9f93-9f2ab83143fd (scored 40.48) - Chris Long on Cincinnati Bengals: Long liked the Rams over the Broncos on Sunday night even without Puka Nacua, and expected the Bills to beat the winless Chargers in Buffalo. He also backed the Bengals over the Steelers, expected an angry Detroit team to handle the Jets, and still thought both the Lions and Vikings could win the NFC North. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/3df9ea25-e57f-4fd7-b20c-c910a1c3633a (scored 0) - Matt Harmon on Cincinnati Bengals: Harmon picked the Bengals to beat the Texans in Week 2, expecting Nico Collins to miss the game with a hamstring injury, and also predicted the Titans would be shut out by the Eagles. He took the Rams over the Giants, the Bears over the Vikings, and the Jaguars at Denver. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/21a71025-ab65-4716-ac2c-e77ad5ce3348 (scored 100) - Nate Tice on Cincinnati Bengals: Tice picked the Bengals over the Texans in a low-scoring game, the Jaguars at Denver, the Bears over the Vikings, the Patriots over the Steelers and the Rams to edge the Giants, and his Hail Mary was the Cowboys scoring 40 on Washington. He also floated Abdul Carter as a possible All-Pro. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b6211c80-3d1c-46b8-8a0c-151fc0ba92de (scored 73.81) - Ralph Ventre on Christian Benford: Ventre expects Christian Benford's toe injury to sideline him for at least the Week 4 game against New England, and believes the Bills will have to add a cornerback to the 53-man roster this week — likely by moving Benford to injured reserve — with practice squad rookie Kani Walker the most likely player elevated. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/94b844fe-bb22-4517-81f5-6263eb0213f1 (scored 0) - Carmen Vitali on Buffalo Bills: In the show's weekly picks segment Vitali took the Broncos over the Rams, the Ravens over the Cowboys in Rio, Tampa at home over Minnesota, the Bills over the Chargers and the Eagles on the road in Chicago. She also agreed that Caleb Williams would be out roughly two to three weeks. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/948bc684-6a05-4cb4-a5ff-72861da00102 (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) - Lance Zierlein on Jeremiyah Love: Zierlein laid out his final mock draft: Jeremiah Love at No. 3 to Arizona, Sonny Styles at No. 4 to Robert Saleh's team, and Caleb Downs to the Giants at No. 5. He also called Styles the only first-round linebacker in the class and said Ty Simpson is a lock to be a first-round pick, most likely to Arizona. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/cf600df8-87eb-492b-9d91-f7a2b39104ac (scored 100) - 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) --- 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=joe-marino