# Rich Eisen: Eisen argues Ohio State will produce multiple top-10 picks — Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese and Caleb Downs — becoming the first school with three defensive players in the top 10, and that Styles will not be available at No. 12 to the Cowboys. He also thinks Fernando Mendoza is worthy of the No. 1 overall pick and expects the Raiders to draft him, and picks Trey Lance over Anthony Richardson to start a game first, Micah Parsons to fetch a bigger trade return than Maxx Crosby, Kirk Cousins as the released QB most likely to reach the playoffs, and J.J. McCarthy as the Vikings' Week 1 starter.

**Claimed:** Feb 27, 2026
**Pundit:** Rich Eisen — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/pundits/rich-eisen
**Outlet:** The Rich Eisen Show (podcast) — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/outlets/the-rich-eisen-show-podcast
**How it reached us:** said on air, transcribed by us
**Original:** https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.megaphone.fm/ESP9617765932.mp3?updated=1772217735

9 checkable claims — 5 mock draft picks, 1 depth chart call, 1 playoff pick, 1 position order call and 1 trade and signing call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.

It names 11 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

7 of 9 have settled so far, averaging 85.1 out of 100, against 43 for a naive guess at the same calls.

> How do you look at Sonny Styles and Arvel Rees and tonight Caleb Downs and not think that's three top 10 picks.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Sonny Styles to be picked “top 10 picks” (picks 1–10)**
  - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Sonny Styles
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess
- **Carnell Tate to be 1st wide receiver off the board**
  - Kind: Position Order Calls · About: Carnell Tate
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 9.48 for a naive guess
- **Francis Mauigoa to be picked “top 10” (picks 1–10)**
  - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Francis Mauigoa, Miami Dolphins
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess
- **Arvell Reese to be picked “top 10 picks” (picks 1–10)**
  - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Arvell Reese
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess
- **Minnesota Vikings to make the playoffs**
  - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Minnesota Vikings
  - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Caleb Downs to be picked “top 10 picks” (picks 1–10)**
  - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Caleb Downs
  - Verdict: scored 95.76 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess
- **J.J. McCarthy to be 1st on the depth chart**
  - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 91.67 for a naive guess
- **Mansoor Delane to be picked “a top top pick”**
  - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Mansoor Delane
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Fernando Mendoza to move to Las Vegas Raiders**
  - Kind: Trade and Signing Calls · About: Fernando Mendoza, Las Vegas Raiders
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Sonny Styles — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/sonny-styles
- Carnell Tate — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/carnell-tate
- Francis Mauigoa — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/francis-mauigoa
- Miami Dolphins — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/dolphins
- Arvell Reese — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/arvell-reese
- Minnesota Vikings — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/vikings
- Caleb Downs — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/caleb-downs
- J.J. McCarthy — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/j-j-mccarthy
- Mansoor Delane — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/mansoor-delane
- Fernando Mendoza — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/fernando-mendoza
- Las Vegas Raiders — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/raiders

## What others said about the same people

- Tracy Sandler on Minnesota Vikings: Sandler predicted Caleb Williams would miss two to three weeks with his hamstring injury, and in the picks segment took the Broncos, Ravens, Vikings, Bills and Bears (switching off an earlier Tampa pick). — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/74f12600-9587-488a-af00-2e8c11643531 (scored 100)
- Chris Broussard on Las Vegas Raiders: Broussard picked the Bills to beat the Chargers in a competitive, higher-scoring game, said the Chiefs will rout the Dolphins, and for upset alert parlayed the Patriots over the Jaguars and the Raiders over the Saints. He also restated his Cowboys-versus-Ravens Super Bowl matchup pick. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/dee7585c-6da6-4afc-9954-ff32cf8de4e3 (scored 100)
- Jared Dubin on Minnesota Vikings: Dubin gave final-score predictions for the same eight Week 3 games, picking the Packers, Bengals, Jaguars, Texans, Vikings, Ravens, Rams and Eagles. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/fe04828a-d532-414c-a58a-54f6505f2263 (scored 97.62)
- Richard Sherman on Minnesota Vikings: Sherman picked winners and several exact scores across the Week 3 slate, favoring Seattle, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Detroit, Green Bay, Carolina, New Orleans, Baltimore, the Rams, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Kansas City, Minnesota, the Giants, Jacksonville and Houston, and named Kenneth Walker his MVP. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/c2102f61-711d-4041-af08-065e95ccaf03 (scored 100)
- Tyler Sullivan on Minnesota Vikings: Sullivan projects final scores for every Week 3 game, including a Bills blowout of the reeling Chargers, a Chiefs rout in Miami, a Seahawks win over a Mariota-led Washington, and the Saints beating the Raiders in their home opener. He also expects Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Jaxson Dart all to be sidelined in Week 3, with Marcus Mariota starting for Washington. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/e4b11b44-d359-4027-a72c-87833f5ff6e3 (scored 88.1)
- Fox Sports on J.J. McCarthy: FOX Sports projects Kyle McCord as Miami's backup behind starter Malik Willis, Mitchell Trubisky as Tennessee's primary backup behind starter Cam Ward, and J.J. McCarthy making the Vikings' 53-man roster. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/dcd95051-2c24-4226-be5d-ff36732ce5dc (scored 100)

## More mock draft picks

The same kind of call, about other players and teams.

- 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.thegoodapps.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.thegoodapps.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.thegoodapps.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.thegoodapps.co/opinions/f60c916c-1b5f-4252-8733-1770c7809577 (scored 80.52)
- Jeff Cavanaugh on Lorenzo Styles: Streaming 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. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/f1f48cc1-f9d5-44ca-b130-2c6447b49bc6 (scored 0.51)
- Scott Bogman on Olaivavega Ioane: He 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. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/0b0cd1a9-31f7-40d9-9b9e-f52957c10494 (scored 70.71)

---

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.thegoodapps.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.thegoodapps.co/corrections?pundit=rich-eisen
