Connelly assesses the 2026 draft class: he sees Jeremiah Love as a top-ten most productive player at running back with an Ezekiel Elliott-to-Bijan/McCaffrey range, projects Fernando Mendoza as a top-8-to-12 starting QB in the league, pegs Ty Simpson as a top-of-the-second-round pick he'd only be comfortable taking in the third, and slots various tight ends and late running backs into specific rounds.

9 checkable claims from this

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 PicksApr 17, 2026

  “Maybe he's probably gonna go in the fourth or fifth round.”

  Scored 0a naive guess scored 50
  How this was scored

  draft:

  2026

  naive:

  a shuffled mock scores 50

  player:

  DeMont Clairbone

  season:

  2026

  zero at:

  undrafted

  outcome:

  went undrafted in 2026; has not appeared on an NFL roster

  accuracy:

  0

  baseline:

  50

  actual pick:

  undrafted

  difficulty:

  1

  weeks in the season:

  18

  pick accuracy:

  0

  predicted pick:

  fourth or fifth round (picks 129–172)

  weeks left when called:

  0

  mock ordering score:

  only one pick — no order to score

  Think this is wrong?

• Mock Draft PicksApr 17, 2026

  “he'll probably be on the field more than other potential sixth round pick types”

  Scored 0a naive guess scored 50
  How this was scored

  draft:

  2026

  naive:

  a shuffled mock scores 50

  player:

  Klon black

  season:

  2026

  zero at:

  undrafted

  outcome:

  went undrafted in 2026; has not appeared on an NFL roster

  accuracy:

  0

  baseline:

  50

  actual pick:

  undrafted

  difficulty:

  1

  weeks in the season:

  18

  pick accuracy:

  0

  predicted pick:

  potential sixth round pick types (picks 161–204)

  weeks left when called:

  0

  mock ordering score:

  only one pick — no order to score

  Think this is wrong?

• Mock Draft PicksApr 17, 2026

  “Kyle Lewis, who's going to be a second or third round pick as a linebacker or safety”

  Scored 0a naive guess scored 50
  How this was scored

  draft:

  2026

  naive:

  a shuffled mock scores 50

  player:

  Kyle Lewis

  season:

  2026

  zero at:

  undrafted

  outcome:

  went undrafted in 2026; has not appeared on an NFL roster

  accuracy:

  0

  baseline:

  50

  actual pick:

  undrafted

  difficulty:

  1

  weeks in the season:

  18

  pick accuracy:

  0

  predicted pick:

  second or third round pick (picks 65–96)

  weeks left when called:

  0

  mock ordering score:

  only one pick — no order to score

  Think this is wrong?

• Mock Draft PicksApr 17, 2026

  “Well, you're probably going to have to do it the top of the second round.”

  Scored 42.04a naive guess scored 50
  How this was scored

  draft:

  2026

  naive:

  a shuffled mock scores 50

  player:

  Ty Simpson

  season:

  2026

  zero at:

  32

  accuracy:

  42.04

  baseline:

  50

  actual pick:

  13

  difficulty:

  1

  weeks in the season:

  18

  pick accuracy:

  42.04

  predicted pick:

  top of the second round (picks 33–64)

  weeks left when called:

  0

  mock ordering score:

  only one pick — no order to score

  Think this is wrong?

• Positional FinishesApr 17, 2026

  “to push on him be maybe a top twelve to top eight starts in the league”

  Too vague to check — we could not tell what would count as right.

  Think this is wrong?

• Mock Draft PicksApr 17, 2026

  “no it feels like the range has come down slightly from Post COMBINE i would say that maybe it's mole down in the teens the twenties”

  Not settled yet. This is graded once the season it describes has finished.

  Think this is wrong?

• Mock Draft PicksApr 17, 2026

  “but if you think he's one of the top two blocking tight, ends that feels like an early day. Three”

  Not settled yet. This is graded once the season it describes has finished.

  Think this is wrong?

• Positional FinishesApr 17, 2026

  “And I think you're getting someone where the benchmark is going to be top ten most productive play at his position.”

  Too vague to check — we could not tell what would count as right.

  Think this is wrong?

• Position Order CallsApr 17, 2026

  “I love Sunny Styles. I think he's maybe the second or third best player of role in the class.”

  Too vague to check — we could not tell what would count as right.

  Think this is wrong?