Patricia Traina· Aug 28, 2026
Previewing the Giants' preseason finale, Traina says John Michael Schmitz is locked in as the starting center and identifies Malik Nabers, Malachi Fields and Darius Slayton as receivers certain to make the 53-man roster.
“John Michael Schmitz is firmly entrenched as the starter, but his backup still needs to be resolved.”
published in writing · Sports Illustrated · read the original →
4 checkable claims — 3 roster spot calls and 1 depth chart call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.
It names 5 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
3 of 4 have settled so far, averaging 100 out of 100, against 66.7 for a naive guess at the same calls.
Of the 1 unsettled call enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands below the rest of the room.
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Who this take is about
4 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 CallsMalik NabersNew York GiantsAug 28, 2026
Malik Nabers to make the roster
“forced the Giants to rethink the bottom of their receiver depth chart behind prospective roster locks Malik Nabers, Malachi Fields, and Darius Slayton”
Hit · 100Scored 100a naive guess scored 100+0 skillHow this was scored
- club:
- NYG
- skill:
- 0
- player:
- 40b03489-33f0-45f7-b5ac-d7a343c4956c
- 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 CallsMalachi FieldsNew York GiantsAug 28, 2026
Malachi Fields to make the roster
“prospective roster locks Malik Nabers, Malachi Fields, and Darius Slayton”
Hit · 100Scored 100a naive guess scored 0+200 skillHow this was scored
- club:
- NYG
- skill:
- 200
- player:
- af118780-8c4a-4db8-a799-0ac271d406f5
- 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 CallsDarius SlaytonNew York GiantsAug 28, 2026
Darius Slayton to make the roster
“prospective roster locks Malik Nabers, Malachi Fields, and Darius Slayton”
Hit · 100Scored 100a naive guess scored 100+0 skillHow this was scored
- club:
- NYG
- skill:
- 0
- player:
- f7387a43-58f5-4d10-949c-6fd7dd60110e
- 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
John Michael Schmitz to be 1st on the depth chart
“John Michael Schmitz is firmly entrenched as the starter, but his backup still needs to be resolved.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
What others said about the same people
- Chad MillmanGame Outcome Picks · New York GiantsHit · 100Chad Millman said he had taken money-line positions on several Week 1 underdogs — the Texans outright over the Bills, the Giants outright over Dallas (in a money-line underdog parlay), and Miami outright at Las Vegas — and that the show's survivor pick was the Steelers to win.
- Simon HunterGame Outcome Picks · New York GiantsHit · 100Hunter picked Houston and the Giants as underdog money line plays, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Detroit as favorites, and used Pittsburgh plus the Chargers as his survivor picks for week one.
- Chad MillmanGame Outcome Picks · New York GiantsHit · 100Millman backed several week one sides outright: Miami to beat the Raiders straight up, the Jets over the Titans, an underdog money line parlay of Houston and the Giants, and a favorites money line parlay of Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Detroit. He also stands by his preseason take that Drake Maye is a top-five NFL quarterback.
- Danny ParkinsGame Outcome Picks · New York GiantsHit · 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.
- LaVar ArringtonGame Outcome Picks · New York GiantsHit · 100Arrington picked the Steelers over the Falcons, the Bengals to cover against the Buccaneers, the Texans on the money line over the Bills, and the Giants to upset the Cowboys.
- Mike FlorioScore Predictions · New York GiantsHit · 86Florio gives score predictions for every Week 1 game of the 2026 NFL season, including an opening-night upset by the Patriots in Seattle and narrow home wins for the Giants and Chiefs.
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.