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John Middlekauff is a former NFL scout and former contributor to The Athletic Bay Area. The predictions here come from podcast work: Middlekauff's own show, 3 and Out with John Middlekauff, plus appearances on The Colin Cowherd Podcast and The Herd with Colin Cowherd. The calls cover game outcomes, season win totals, division winners, playoff berths, player movement, draft position, depth charts and player awards. Teams in the mix include the Cowboys, 49ers, Seahawks, Bengals, Bears, Saints, Bills and Chargers; players range from Dak Prescott and Jared Goff to Maxx Crosby and Kyler Murray.
More about John Middlekauff ↓Writes at The Colin Cowherd Podcast (podcast)
Across 124 graded calls in 40 articles, John Middlekauff scores 65.48% accuracy and a MissedTakes Score of 18.21, which means their calls were better than a naive guess on the same claims.
That is an established record: thirty or more graded articles. That ranks #48 of 87 ranked NFL pundits on the MissedTakes leaderboard. Their strongest kind of call is Mock Draft Picks (76.12% accuracy across 19 graded calls); their weakest is Season Win Totals (56.25% across 13 graded calls).
How accurate are NFL experts overall? →
Every number here is computed from the published methodology, and every call below opens to its own arithmetic.
All 280 calls · one square per call
63hits51% of graded
11Close9%
50misses40%
How much better than a naive guess on the same claims. This is the ranking.
John Middlekauff is a former NFL scout and former contributor to The Athletic Bay Area. The predictions here come from podcast work: Middlekauff's own show, 3 and Out with John Middlekauff, plus appearances on The Colin Cowherd Podcast and The Herd with Colin Cowherd. The calls cover game outcomes, season win totals, division winners, playoff berths, player movement, draft position, depth charts and player awards. Teams in the mix include the Cowboys, 49ers, Seahawks, Bengals, Bears, Saints, Bills and Chargers; players range from Dak Prescott and Jared Goff to Maxx Crosby and Kyler Murray.
A longer profile is written once a record reaches 30 graded articles, and published only after a person reviews it.
124 graded calls in 40 articles, newest first — page 1 of 4. Every take from John Middlekauff, including the ones still waiting →
Game calls show that game’s closing betting line under their grade: a dated fact from nflverse, for context and never part of a grade. MissedTakes takes no bets and earns nothing from any sportsbook.
156waitingnot graded yet
The same 87, by how often their calls landed, with no credit for difficulty.
Why the ranks differ: a naive guess scores very differently depending on which calls were made, from 15.25% on the hardest record here to 85.71% on the easiest. Accuracy alone flatters easy calls, so by accuracy John Middlekauff would be #34; the Score measures the lift over a naive guess on the same calls, and that puts this record at #48.
| # | Pundit | Score | Accuracy | Graded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46 | Jason McIntyre | 18.7 | 64.93% | 98 |
| 47 | Kevin Wildes | 18.47 | 41.89% | 32 |
| 48 | John Middlekauff | 18.21 | 65.48% | 124 |
| 49 | Nick Wright | 18.09 | 58.97% | 403 |
| 50 | Pamela Maldonado | 17.59 | 44.58% | 40 |
Green Bay Packers to beat Patriots
“I also kind of like the Packers in this spot... the Patriots, Drake Mays playing out of his mind. But, like, how many times can you throw to Pop Douglas?”
Closing line (Nov 8): Patriots by 3 · underdog pick, Packers 38%.
Chicago Bears to beat Tampa
“Yeah, I mean, I think I like the Bears big in this game, but if you told me this game gets weird, I could see– it's going to be fascinating.”
Closing line (Nov 8): Bears by 6.5 · favorite pick, Bears 71%.
Jacksonville Jaguars to beat Ravens
“We have a good Thursday night game. Jacksonville at the Ravens. That would have been good if Lamar was playing, but that's a tough spot for an undrafted free agent. So this has to set the tone. Jacksonville might kill them in that game.”
Closing line (Nov 5): Jaguars by 8.5 · favorite pick, Jaguars about 4 in 5 (79%).
New York Giants to beat Eagles
“And next week they play the Giants who... I think you still have to question, is J.J. just going to play like that continuously? If he does, they will smoke the Eagles. They will destroy them.”
Closing line (Nov 8): Giants by 3 · favorite pick, Giants 59%.
Pittsburgh Steelers to beat Cleveland Browns
“I like Pittsburgh a lot in this spot. I really do. ... So I like Pittsburgh in this spot. I by no means take Cleveland.”
Closing line (Nov 1): Steelers by 3.5 · favorite pick, Steelers 64%.
Jacksonville Jaguars to beat Colts
“Would anyone be shocked if Jacksonville just runs them out of the building? ... I could see this thing being a bloodbath.”
Closing line (Nov 1): Jaguars by 10 · favorite pick, Jaguars about 4 in 5 (80%).
Detroit Lions to beat Minnesota
“It's why I like Detroit big in this game.”
Closing line (Nov 1): Lions by 3 · favorite pick, Lions 60%.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers to beat Atlanta
“But to me, if Tampa gets some momentum off that win and generate pressure, I like Tampa in this game.”
Closing line (Nov 1): Buccaneers by 2.5 · favorite pick, Buccaneers 54%.
Carolina Panthers to beat Tampa
“I don't like the Panthers. I love the Panthers... So I'm really high on Carolina this week.”
Closing line (Oct 25): Panthers by 3 · favorite pick, Panthers 60%.
Minnesota Vikings to beat Indianapolis
“So I love Minnesota this week... I would understand if it was just a complete implosion. And that's what I expect.”
Closing line (Oct 25): Vikings by 6.5 · favorite pick, Vikings about 3 in 4 (73%).
Green Bay Packers to beat Detroit
“So, kind of like the Packers on the road in this spot.”
Closing line (Oct 25): Lions by 3.5 · underdog pick, Packers 37%.
Seattle Seahawks to beat Kansas City
“I guess I just lean Seattle just because I do think it's must win.”
Closing line (Oct 25): Seahawks by 3 · favorite pick, Seahawks 59%.
Pittsburgh Steelers to beat Saints
“I would lean the Steelers here. I would like the Saints more if this was just a normal home game... I'll lean the Steelers here.”
Closing line (Oct 25): Steelers by 3 · favorite pick, Steelers 59%.
Cincinnati Bengals to beat Ravens
“I think I'm leaning Cincinnati here, but historically it makes you a little nervous going into Baltimore.”
Closing line (Oct 25): Bengals by 3 · favorite pick, Bengals 59%.
Las Vegas Raiders to beat Rams
“So, I mean, I like the Raiders in this spot.”
Closing line (Oct 25): Rams by 3.5 · underdog pick, Raiders 38%.