# John Middlekauff: The former NFL scout says Cam Ward goes No. 1 overall to Tennessee, expects Miami to collapse to four or five wins and a top-four pick with Tyreek Hill possibly traded, sees the 49ers beating expectations at nine or ten wins, and likes the Patriots at eight or nine wins and the Chargers to clear their number.

**Claimed:** Apr 3, 2025
**Pundit:** John Middlekauff — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/pundits/john-middlekauff
**Outlet:** The Colin Cowherd Podcast (podcast) — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/outlets/the-colin-cowherd-podcast-podcast
**How it reached us:** said on air or in an interview
**Original:** https://omny.fm/shows/the-colin-cowherd-podcast/colin-cowherd-podcast-who-should-draft-shedeur-best-nfl-over-under-win-totals-college-football-is-better-than-ever

8 checkable claims — 4 season win totals, 1 mock draft pick, 1 surprise team call, 1 team draft slot call and 1 trade and signing call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.

It names 7 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

5 of 8 have settled so far, averaging 60 out of 100, against 41 for a naive guess at the same calls.

> This guy's going the number one pick all because he transferred.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **San Francisco 49ers to finish with 10 wins**
  - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: San Francisco 49ers
  - Verdict: scored 60 out of 100, against 5 for a naive guess
- **New England Patriots to finish with 9 wins**
  - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: New England Patriots
  - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Miami Dolphins to finish with 5 wins**
  - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Miami Dolphins
  - Verdict: scored 60 out of 100, against 75 for a naive guess
- **Cam Ward to be picked at number 1**
  - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess
- **Los Angeles Chargers to finish with 10 wins**
  - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Los Angeles Chargers
  - Verdict: scored 80 out of 100, against 75 for a naive guess
- **Tyreek Hill to move**
  - Kind: Trade and Signing Calls · About: Tyreek Hill
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Miami Dolphins to pick “three or four”**
  - Kind: Team Draft Slot Calls · About: Miami Dolphins
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **San Francisco 49ers to beat expectations**
  - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: San Francisco 49ers
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- San Francisco 49ers — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/49ers
- New England Patriots — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/patriots
- Miami Dolphins — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/dolphins
- Cam Ward — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/cam-ward
- Tennessee Titans — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/titans
- Los Angeles Chargers — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/chargers
- Tyreek Hill — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/tyreek-hill

## What others said about the same people

- Steven Ruiz on A.J. Brown: Ruiz expects the Eagles to trade A.J. Brown once the June 1 dead-cap threshold passes, most likely to New England, and thinks Baker Mayfield will get a Buccaneers extension making him the league's highest-paid quarterback within a month or two. He also argues the Lions may have to let one or two of their 2023 draft class leave, and that Houston should extend C.J. Stroud. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/6f6c3a28-18bb-4f4d-beb5-061d863b4e28 (scored 100)
- Mike Tannenbaum on Stefon Diggs: Tannenbaum argues the Chiefs should lean on the run game early while Mahomes recovers, says the Bills haven't done enough at receiver and would repeat their playoff shortcoming, expects AJ Brown to have a massive impact in New England, thinks George Pickens will earn a big raise, and offers free-agent fits: Deebo Samuel to Buffalo, Joey Bosa to Tampa Bay, Taylor Decker to Houston, and Stefon Diggs to San Francisco. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/f7a29c18-face-49c0-b84f-33715b4c6678 (scored 0)
- Brandon Carney on A.J. Brown: Carney drafted a team of rookies he expects to make an immediate fantasy impact (headlined by Karnell Tate and Makai Lemon), predicted landing spots for the remaining big-name free agents, and gave way-too-early division winners, wild cards and award picks — Patriots, Chargers, Bengals, Jaguars, Eagles, Rams, Vikings and Saints as division champs with Joe Burrow as MVP. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/c4d477da-4fb8-4a25-a904-c5057a249a70 (scored 100)
- Jeremy White on A.J. Brown: Jeremy White expects the Patriots to acquire AJ Brown, calling the trade likely inevitable within about a month. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/a8701720-01eb-4a29-8bf1-5a8555f0d1ed (scored 100)
- Chris Brockman on A.J. Brown: Brockman predicted only Stafford and Josh Allen of last year's MVP vote-getters get votes again, Fernando Mendoza starts and wins Rookie of the Year, the Colts win the AFC South, AJ Brown is traded to New England leaving DeVonta Smith as Philadelphia's clear No. 1 and a breakout star, five running backs top 1,600 yards, George Pickens breaks a Cowboys receiving record, and Justin Fields starts for Kansas City in September. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/2307f474-6a3d-405e-b048-7b023ffda1be (scored 100)
- Shannon Sharpe on A.J. Brown: Sharpe predicted that A.J. Brown will be playing for New England once June 1 arrives. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/4b2704cf-245c-4a11-af0e-8164d327c7e0 (scored 100)

## More season win totals

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

- Colin Cowherd on Dallas Cowboys: Cowherd projects the NFC East with the Giants winning the division ahead of Philadelphia, Washington and Dallas, pegging the Cowboys as a six- or seven-win team. He also expects Malik Willis to land a big free-agent deal, Kayvon Thibodeaux to be moved, and Baltimore to lose Isaiah Likely, and he floats the Rams reaching on Ty Simpson late in round one. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/cd243624-9451-4824-a8a4-7b468d681c8f (scored 100)
- Richard Sherman on Green Bay Packers: Sherman previewed every division: he picked Seattle to win the NFC West on a tiebreaker over San Francisco (both 11-11 wins), the Lions over the Packers in the North, the Eagles to run away with the East, Tampa Bay in the South, and Kansas City, Buffalo and the Ravens' division rivals in the AFC. He picked an Eagles–Chiefs Super Bowl with Philadelphia repeating, Joe Burrow for MVP, and gave a top-five power ranking. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/ec43b02b-8e3a-4b2e-8c36-1839c9c52e3c (scored 40)
- Nick Wright on Denver Broncos: Nick Wright gave his early AFC win-total leans: overs on the Jets, Ravens, Jaguars, Chiefs and Raiders, plus projected win ranges for the Dolphins, Texans, Chargers and Broncos, and predicted the Raiders take Ashton Jeanty at No. 6. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/cc9d1905-c3e9-4d7f-8dbb-0f840dbb7535 (scored 20)
- Richard Sherman on Detroit Lions: Sherman picks the Chiefs to beat the Bills in the AFC Championship Game despite Buffalo's turnover dominance, and picks the Commanders to upset the Eagles in Philadelphia in the NFC Championship Game. He also expects Saquon Barkley to win Offensive Player of the Year, though he hedges that voters may give it to Lamar or Josh Allen. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/fd0cf59d-3729-4865-8641-02792d0b6b24 (scored 100)
- Chris Brockman on Carolina Panthers: Brockman pitched that the Eagles are the NFL's best team and that Saquon Barkley will win MVP as the first non-quarterback since 2011. He also declared the AFC playoff field already set with six weeks to go, said the Cowboys will make the playoffs, predicted Buffalo would blast the 49ers, and reiterated his earlier call that Carolina would win five or six games. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/bf1a843e-6b29-497e-b58c-b8394d790374 (scored 100)
- JP Acosta on New York Giants: Acosta expects John Harbaugh's Giants to jump to roughly seven wins in year one, and forecast several offseason moves: Aaron Rodgers returning to Pittsburgh, Daniel Jones returning to the Colts, Kirk Cousins being released by Atlanta, and Brandon Aiyuk leaving San Francisco. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/17ab1ec5-a2f1-41c6-a6df-a0e6d949351b (scored 40)

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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

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