Ralph Ventre· Aug 23, 2026
Ventre expects five Bills wide receivers — DJ Moore, Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer and rookie Skyler Bell — to be locks for the 53-man roster, with one remaining spot up for grabs, and believes undrafted rookie Ja'mori Maclin has at least secured a practice squad opportunity.
“At this point, Maclin appears to have locked up a practice squad opportunity, and he's seriously challenging two veterans for a spot on the 53-man roster.”
published in writing · Sports Illustrated · read the original →
6 checkable claims — 6 roster spot calls — 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 6 have settled so far, averaging 100 out of 100, against 80 for a naive guess at the same calls.
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Who this take is about
6 checkable claims in this take
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.
- Roster Spot CallsDJ MooreBuffalo BillsAug 23, 2026
DJ Moore to make the roster
“With DJ Moore, Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer and fourth-round rookie Skyler Bell seemingly destined for roster spots”
Hit · 100Scored 100a naive guess scored 100+0 skillHow this was scored
- club:
- BUF
- skill:
- 0
- player:
- 30323b8f-b3bb-4bba-9292-c3653bd3d031
- season:
- 2026
- claimed:
- he makes the 53
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 100
- difficulty:
- 2
- the naive guess:
- he was on somebody's 53 last season, so he makes one again
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks on the53:
- 1
- weeks left when called:
- 18
- first week on the53:
- 1
- weeks on the practice squad:
- 0
- Roster Spot CallsSkyler BellBuffalo BillsAug 23, 2026
Skyler Bell to make the roster
“fourth-round rookie Skyler Bell seemingly destined for roster spots”
Hit · 100Scored 100a naive guess scored 0+200 skillHow this was scored
- club:
- BUF
- skill:
- 200
- player:
- 18a3f6f5-8063-4504-8908-1a1acefc73ec
- season:
- 2026
- claimed:
- he makes the 53
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 0
- difficulty:
- 2
- the naive guess:
- he was on somebody's 53 last season, so he makes one again
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks on the53:
- 1
- weeks left when called:
- 18
- first week on the53:
- 1
- weeks on the practice squad:
- 0
- Roster Spot CallsKeon ColemanBuffalo BillsAug 23, 2026
Keon Coleman to make the roster
“With DJ Moore, Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer and fourth-round rookie Skyler Bell seemingly destined for roster spots”
Hit · 100Scored 100a naive guess scored 100+0 skillHow this was scored
- club:
- BUF
- skill:
- 0
- player:
- 8878d24a-9bb6-4dd6-89ea-58b5d59da538
- season:
- 2026
- claimed:
- he makes the 53
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 100
- difficulty:
- 2
- the naive guess:
- he was on somebody's 53 last season, so he makes one again
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks on the53:
- 1
- weeks left when called:
- 18
- first week on the53:
- 1
- weeks on the practice squad:
- 0
- Roster Spot CallsKhalil ShakirBuffalo BillsAug 23, 2026
Khalil Shakir to make the roster
“With DJ Moore, Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer and fourth-round rookie Skyler Bell seemingly destined for roster spots”
Hit · 100Scored 100a naive guess scored 100+0 skillHow this was scored
- club:
- BUF
- skill:
- 0
- player:
- ae6de5a6-82df-4bca-9954-65ff69be6f48
- season:
- 2026
- claimed:
- he makes the 53
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 100
- difficulty:
- 2
- the naive guess:
- he was on somebody's 53 last season, so he makes one again
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks on the53:
- 1
- weeks left when called:
- 18
- first week on the53:
- 1
- weeks on the practice squad:
- 0
- Roster Spot CallsJosh PalmerBuffalo BillsAug 23, 2026
Josh Palmer to make the roster
“With DJ Moore, Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer and fourth-round rookie Skyler Bell seemingly destined for roster spots”
Hit · 100Scored 100a naive guess scored 100+0 skillHow this was scored
- club:
- BUF
- skill:
- 0
- player:
- 68ae9c92-2a24-4e15-9307-26d2eef0a17e
- season:
- 2026
- claimed:
- he makes the 53
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 100
- difficulty:
- 2
- the naive guess:
- he was on somebody's 53 last season, so he makes one again
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks on the53:
- 1
- weeks left when called:
- 18
- first week on the53:
- 1
- weeks on the practice squad:
- 0
- Roster Spot CallsJa'Mori MaclinBuffalo BillsAug 23, 2026
Ja'Mori Maclin to make the roster
“At this point, Maclin appears to have locked up a practice squad opportunity”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
What others said about the same people
- Danny ParkinsGame Outcome Picks · Buffalo BillsHit · 100Parkins picked the Giants to upset Dallas, the Steelers to beat Atlanta by two scores, the Bears to beat Carolina, the Bills to beat Houston and Denver to beat Kansas City outright; he also said Justin Herbert will win an MVP and had the Bengals as AFC North champs.
- Kirk HerbstreitGame Outcome Picks · Buffalo BillsHit · 100Herbstreit made a full slate of Week 1 picks — Lions, Ravens, Bears, Bills, Buccaneers, Jaguars, Titans, Eagles, Packers and Cowboys — and also said he still thinks Seattle is the team to beat in the NFC West.
- AJ HawkGame Outcome Picks · Buffalo BillsHit · 100AJ Hawk picked the Ravens over the Colts, Carolina to beat Chicago outright, the Bills at Houston, the Bengals over Tampa Bay, the Titans over the Jets, the Raiders over Miami, the Packers at Minnesota and the Cowboys over the Giants.
- Richard ShermanScore Predictions · Buffalo BillsHit · 98Sherman picked Seattle to beat New England 28-17 in the opener, ran through score picks for the rest of the week one slate (49ers, Cowboys, Bills, Bears, Vikings, Colts, Broncos), said the Seahawks would also beat the Cardinals, Commanders and Chargers, backed Dallas to win its division, and predicted Christian Gonzalez's deal would come in barely above Devon Witherspoon's.
- Mike KadlickGame Outcome Picks · Buffalo BillsHit · 100Kadlick's Week 1 straight-up picks for all 16 games.
- Albert BreerGame Outcome Picks · Buffalo BillsHit · 100Breer's Week 1 straight-up picks for all 16 games.
More roster spot calls
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
- John ShipleyRoster Spot Calls · Jack KiserMiss · 0Shipley projects a full 16-player (plus one international/exemption spot) Jaguars practice squad for 2026, naming specific players at each position he expects to land there.
- Cody RourkeRoster Spot Calls · Mitchell FraboniMiss · 0Rourke names the Ravens as the bounce-back team most likely to be dangerous in the AFC again, and says Houston's defense alone should carry the Texans into the postseason. He also expects long snapper Mitchell Fraboni to be one of Denver's practice-squad elevations for the Chiefs game, and slots Pat Bryant as Denver's third receiver behind Courtland Sutton and Jaylen Waddle.
- Sayre BedingerRoster Spot Calls · Adam PrenticeMiss · 0Benninger expects Houston's elite defense to make them either a division winner or a wild card team, thinks Marvin Mims was trending toward being Denver's fourth receiver rather than just the return man, and figures Adam Prentice will be the Broncos' other practice-squad call-up.
- Bob MorrisRoster Spot Calls · Adam PrenticeHit · 100Morris predicts Jarrett Stidham holds the backup QB job behind Bo Nix, Adam Prentice makes the 53-man roster as the fullback/fourth back, and Lucas Krull gets cut.
- Erick TrickelRoster Spot Calls · Adam PrenticeHit · 100After the Broncos' preseason opener, Trickel argued fullback Adam Prentice has shown enough value to earn a spot on the 53-man roster ahead of the team's fourth running back options (Jaleel McLaughlin, Tyler Badie, Cody Schrader).
- Nick ShookRoster Spot Calls · Aaron DonaldHit · 100Shook unveiled his first NFL power rankings of the year, putting the Rams first, the Broncos second and the defending champion Seahawks only third, with the Dolphins last.