# Joel Klatt: Klatt said Texas will not make the College Football Playoff, picked Oregon to beat USC by 10-13 points, predicted Lane Kiffin will leave Ole Miss for Florida, and forecast big NFL draft outcomes for Arvell Reese, Caleb Downs and Fernando Mendoza.

**Claimed:** Nov 19, 2025
**Pundit:** Joel Klatt — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/pundits/joel-klatt
**Outlet:** The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast) — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/outlets/the-herd-with-colin-cowherd-podcast
**How it reached us:** said on air or in an interview
**Original:** https://omny.fm/shows/the-herd-with-colin-cowherd/the-herd-hour-2-nfl-playoff-predictions-joel-klatt-discusses-controversial-college-football-playoff-rankings

3 checkable claims — 3 mock draft picks — 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.

All 3 have settled, averaging 95.8 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess at the same calls.

> Mendoza is going to be easily a top three pick, maybe the top pick in the entire NFL draft.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Arvell Reese to be picked “top three pick” (picks 1–3)**
  - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Arvell Reese
  - Verdict: scored 91.7 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess
- **Fernando Mendoza to be picked “top three pick, maybe the top pick” (picks 1–3)**
  - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Fernando Mendoza
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess
- **Caleb Downs to be picked “top ten pick” (picks 1–10)**
  - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Caleb Downs
  - Verdict: scored 95.76 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess

## Who this take is about

- Arvell Reese — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/arvell-reese
- Fernando Mendoza — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/fernando-mendoza
- Caleb Downs — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/caleb-downs

## What others said about the same people

- Patricia Traina on Arvell Reese: Traina projects the Giants' initial 53-man roster position by position, naming who makes the team and who lands on the practice squad, including keeping Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Evan Neal (with a possible trade), Dalen Cambre over Braxton Berrios, Lucas Patrick as backup center, and Dominic Zvada as the kicker. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/8bb1a183-b45b-44db-8a61-23bdd2238a6b (scored 100)
- Nick Shook on Fernando Mendoza: 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 100)
- Shannon Sharpe on Fernando Mendoza: Sharpe expects Myles Garrett, now with the Rams, to remain dominant and post at least 14-15 sacks, and he also thinks Micah Parsons will again reach double-digit sacks. He predicts the Dolphins win only two games this season, and says Jeremiah Smith won't go ahead of Mendoza at the top of the draft. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/471fb1a1-3faf-4a75-bf81-ff8ebf57c88d (scored 100)
- nthony Darelle "Booger" McFarland on Arvell Reese: McFarland projected Ohio State's Arbel Reese to measure in at roughly 6-4 and 240-245 pounds at the combine, and argued Cincinnati and Trey Hendrickson will go their separate ways this offseason. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/c01c6b3d-b24f-4074-b082-e5b10055c15f (scored 100)
- Colin Cowherd on Fernando Mendoza: Cowherd is high on Fernando Mendoza, calling him a first-round prospect who fits none of the bust profiles, and expects Kirk Cousins to open the season as the starter. Among his five bold predictions he has Justin Herbert winning multiple playoff games and Caleb Williams winning MVP. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/ec4160af-aa50-41ea-ba24-909ed8406a2a (scored 100)
- Jaime Eisner on Fernando Mendoza: A seven-round Raiders mock draft projecting Fernando Mendoza first overall to Las Vegas and nine additional picks, including Denzel Boston in Round 2 and A.J. Haulcy in Round 3. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/bbfe3a86-3855-40a0-853b-b94372c10622 (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)
- 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)

---

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=joel-klatt