Daniel Jeremiah· Feb 17, 2026
Jeremiah says Ohio State defensive tackle Kayden McDonald currently sits just outside his first round, though thin free agency at the position could push him back into round one.
“Maybe that moves. A guy like I'm thinking of Kayden McDonald from Ohio state... maybe that elevates him back up into the first round. He's just outside that for me.”
said on air or in an interview · Move the Sticks (podcast) · read the original →
The page this came from has changed since we captured it on Aug 5, 2026. The quote and evidence above are from our capture, not from what the page says today.
One checkable claim, graded on its own against what actually happened.
The call scored 84.1 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess at the same calls.
Their call against what happened
overall pickjust outside the first round (picks 1–32)They said
36What happened
Their call against what actually happened.
Where do you stand? Pick this and every open claim on Picks →
Who this take is about
1 checkable claim in this take
Each one is scored on its own against the published methodology. A pundit naming several outcomes is graded on each, not on all-or-nothing.
- Mock Draft PicksKayden McDonaldFeb 17, 2026
Kayden McDonald to be picked “just outside the first round” (picks 1–32)
“maybe that elevates him back up into the first round. He's just outside that for me.”
Hit · 84Scored 84.09a naive guess scored 50How this was scored
- draft:
- 2026
- naive:
- a shuffled mock scores 50
- player:
- Kayden McDonald
- season:
- 2025
- zero at:
- 32
- accuracy:
- 84.09
- baseline:
- 50
- actual pick:
- 36
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- pick accuracy:
- 84.09
- predicted pick:
- just outside the first round (picks 1–32)
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- mock ordering score:
- only one pick — no order to score
What others said about the same people
- Scott BogmanMock Draft Picks · Kayden McDonaldClose · 48He gave David Bailey to Tennessee at 4, Sonny Styles to Washington at 7, Caleb Downs to Cincinnati at 10, Carnell Tate to the Rams at 13, Denzel Boston to the Jets at 16, Kayden McDonald to Carolina at 19, Vega Ioane to the Chargers at 22, Peter Woods to Chicago at 25, Emmanuel Pregnon to Houston at 28 and Romello Height to Denver at 31, and insisted both Bailey and Downs are top-10 locks.
- Ryan TracyPosition Order Calls · Kayden McDonaldClose · 50Tracy ranks Caleb McDonald as the top defensive tackle in the draft class, says Grayson Halton is the best pass rusher in the class by production, and projects a series of DT prospects to specific draft ranges — Halton around pick 74, Rayshawn Benny late Day 3/round 3-4, Kenneth Proctor Day 3, Zane Durant in the fifth round, and Skyler Gil Howard falling to the late rounds of Day 3. He also doubts Christian Miller lasts to pick 40 and expects the Chiefs to end up with fewer than their current nine picks.
- Ollie ConnollyMock Draft Picks · Kayden McDonaldHit · 84Connelly expects Texas linebacker Anthony Hill to be drafted in the second round despite his reservations, sees Caden McDonald sneaking into the back of the first round and Lee Hunter going in the second, and warns that Caleb Banks — because of the recurring foot injury and disappearing stretches — will break the heart of whoever drafts him.
- Andrew EricksonMock Draft Picks · Kayden McDonaldClose · 65Erickson made the even-numbered selections in the 2026 mock draft, taking David Bailey second to the Jets, Caleb Downs fifth to the Giants and Carnell Tate eighth to the Saints, and also called Sonny Styles a top-five pick and Tate the first receiver drafted.
- Scott BogmanMock Draft Picks · Kayden McDonaldClose · 68Bogman's mock picks: Arvel Reese to Arizona at 3, Francis Mauigoa to Cleveland at 6, Keldric Faulk to Kansas City at 9, Sonny Styles to Dallas at 12, Cashius Howell to Tampa Bay at 15, Avieon Terrell to Minnesota at 18, Makai Lemon to Pittsburgh at 21, KC Concepcion to Cleveland at 24, Kayden McDonald to San Francisco at 27 and Anthony Hill to Denver at 30.
- Keith SanchezMock Draft Picks · Kayden McDonaldClose · 65In his final 2026 NFL mock draft, Sanchez projects the full first round plus several second-round picks, starting with Fernando Mendoza going No. 1 overall to the Raiders.
More mock draft picks
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
- Lance ZierleinMock Draft Picks · Jeremiyah LoveHit · 100Zierlein 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.
- Nick ShookMock Draft Picks · Max IheanachorHit · 88Shook 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.
- Gregg RosenthalMock Draft Picks · K.C. ConcepcionClose · 68Rosenthal 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.
- Bucky BrooksMock Draft Picks · Carnell TateHit · 81In a mock draft covering the first 14 picks, Brooks made the odd-numbered selections: Fernando Mendoza to the Raiders at No. 1, a Miami offensive lineman to Arizona at No. 3, Caleb Downs to the Giants at No. 5, Ohio State's Arvell Reese to Washington at No. 7, Carnell Tate to Kansas City at No. 9, tight end Kenyon Sadiq to Miami at No. 11, and Spencer Fano to the Rams at No. 13.
- Jeff CavanaughMock Draft Picks · Lorenzo StylesMiss · 1Streaming from the NFL Combine, Jeff pegged safety Dylan Thienemann's draft range at roughly picks 20-35, said LSU safety AJ Halsey would cost a second- or third-round pick, and insisted Sonny Styles' brother would not be a top-50 selection despite a fast 40.
- Scott BogmanMock Draft Picks · Olaivavega IoaneClose · 71He gave David Bailey to Tennessee at 4, Sonny Styles to Washington at 7, Caleb Downs to Cincinnati at 10, Carnell Tate to the Rams at 13, Denzel Boston to the Jets at 16, Kayden McDonald to Carolina at 19, Vega Ioane to the Chargers at 22, Peter Woods to Chicago at 25, Emmanuel Pregnon to Houston at 28 and Romello Height to Denver at 31, and insisted both Bailey and Downs are top-10 locks.