# Lance Zierlein: Zierlein raised his draft evaluations after Thursday's workouts: Oklahoma linebacker Danny Stutsman moved into his top 100, South Carolina's Demetrius Knight could be the first inside linebacker drafted, and Caine Medrano went from undrafted to draftable on his board. **Claimed:** Feb 28, 2025 **Pundit:** Lance Zierlein — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/pundits/lance-zierlein **Outlet:** Move the Sticks (podcast) — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/outlets/move-the-sticks-podcast **How it reached us:** said on air or in an interview **Original:** https://omny.fm/shows/nfl-move-the-sticks-with-daniel-jeremiah-bucky-bro/2025-nfl-combine-recap-dl-lbs 3 checkable claims — 2 mock draft picks and 1 position order call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 3 players and teams, each linked to their own record. 2 of 3 have settled so far, averaging 25.4 out of 100, against 36 for a naive guess at the same calls. > I thought he was like a third fourth. I think he's in the top one hundred now. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Demetrius Knight Jr. to be 1st inside linebacker off the board** - Kind: Position Order Calls · About: Demetrius Knight Jr. - Verdict: scored 50 out of 100, against 21.98 for a naive guess - **Danny Stutsman to be picked “top one hundred” (picks 1–1)** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Danny Stutsman - Verdict: scored 0.82 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Kain Medrano to be picked “drafted”** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Kain Medrano - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Demetrius Knight Jr. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/demetrius-knight-jr - Danny Stutsman — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/danny-stutsman - Kain Medrano — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/kain-medrano ## What others said about the same people - Philip Hughes on Kain Medrano: Hughes projects Washington's initial 53-man roster ahead of the final preseason game, naming every player he expects to make the team by position group, and slots Athan Kaliakmanis as the No. 3 quarterback behind Jayden Daniels and Marcus Mariota. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/4ec7adba-dd12-4caf-9bb1-f1a343cee65a (scored 100) - Ross Jackson on Danny Stutsman: Ross Jackson lays out his early defensive 53-man roster projection for the 2026 Saints, naming five edge rushers, four interior defensive linemen, five cornerbacks, five linebackers and five safeties, plus his kicker, punter and long snapper, and sends Mike Heldman, Chris Rumph and Jackson Sirmon to the practice squad. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/43240125-25d4-4060-bbc1-fa62fe5cd6d9 (scored 100) - Ross Jackson on Danny Stutsman: Reviewing the Saints' 2025 draft class, Jackson argues New Orleans should win the NFL's best draft class award and says day-three picks Danny Stutzman and Devin Neal are soon-to-be starters for the team. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/2382a8ac-cf57-43d0-bf1c-c2081ca9cf19 (scored 83.33) - Kyle Crabbs on Demetrius Knight Jr.: Crabbs projects all seven rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft, starting with Cam Ward going No. 1 overall to Tennessee, Travis Hunter second to Cleveland and Abdul Carter third to the Giants. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/e8a40874-e85c-44ec-a4c8-b6f0edbd22d2 (scored 28.47) - David Harrison on Kain Medrano: Harrison gives his initial 53-man roster projection for the Washington Commanders: three quarterbacks including Ethan Kalyak Manus, three running backs, four tight ends, six receivers (leaving off De'Ami Brown and Jaden Bradley), nine offensive linemen with Matt Goldman at center, and a defense of six linebackers but only four cornerbacks. He also projects Tunstall and Newton going to IR on Monday with De'Ami Brown and Dietrich Wise re-signed, plus a corner-heavy practice squad. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/1d5b2565-5531-47ac-bff8-ccb9b23a980a (not settled) - Ross Jackson on Danny Stutsman: Ross Jackson gives his final preseason 53-man roster projection for the New Orleans Saints, naming who makes the initial roster at every position group, who starts on injured reserve or the practice squad, and who the five starting offensive linemen and kicker will be. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/b43691e9-1673-4236-ba12-7d60ad3b95f5 (not settled) ## More mock draft picks The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - 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) - Daniel Jeremiah on Carnell Tate: Jeremiah says Denver, not Kansas City, will be the clear favorite in the AFC West this season; he also puts Carnell Tate sixth and Monroe Freeling twentieth on his prospect board, mocks Tate to Cleveland at No. 6, and expects Georgia receiver Branch to be a Day 2 pick after a strong pro day. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/48a1d189-dc0f-4250-aa3b-0e27119c733a (scored 91.7) - Bucky Brooks on Carnell Tate: In 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. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/677f566f-9e38-4dd7-b312-0baad54b440e (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) --- 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=lance-zierlein