# Lance Zierlein: 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.

**Claimed:** Apr 21, 2026
**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/nfl-draft-week-giants-positioned-for-franchise-changing-draft-predicting-the-cowboys-strategy-and-djs-final-top-50-prospects

5 checkable claims — 4 mock draft picks and 1 position order call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.

It names 6 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

All 5 have settled, averaging 93 out of 100, against 44.2 for a naive guess at the same calls.

> So what I ultimately did was I think I ended up going Caleb Downs there at at pick number five. I have Styles going four, I had Jeremy I Love three.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Jeremiyah Love to be picked at number 3**
  - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Jeremiyah Love, Arizona Cardinals
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess
- **Sonny Styles to be picked at number 4**
  - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Sonny Styles
  - Verdict: scored 87.81 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess
- **Sonny Styles to be 1st linebacker off the board**
  - Kind: Position Order Calls · About: Sonny Styles
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 20.82 for a naive guess
- **Ty Simpson to be picked “first round” (picks 1–32)**
  - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Ty Simpson, Arizona Cardinals
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess
- **Caleb Downs to be picked at number 5**
  - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Caleb Downs, New York Giants
  - Verdict: scored 77.11 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess

## Who this take is about

- Jeremiyah Love — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/jeremiyah-love
- Arizona Cardinals — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/cardinals
- Sonny Styles — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/sonny-styles
- Ty Simpson — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/ty-simpson
- Caleb Downs — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/caleb-downs
- New York Giants — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/giants

## What others said about the same people

- Pat Fitzmaurice on Rueben Bain: Making a third of the mock's picks, he gave Reuben Bain to Arizona at 3, Francis Mauinoa to Cleveland at 6, Jeremiah Love to Kansas City at 9, Mansoor Delane to Dallas at 12, Cassius Howell to Tampa Bay at 15, Avieon Terrell to Minnesota at 18, Makai Lemon to Pittsburgh at 21, KC Concepcion to Cleveland at 24, Kadyn Proctor to San Francisco at 27 and TJ Parker to New England at 30. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/a61a436c-f178-40ce-aedd-fa92cbc80c82 (scored 59.46)
- Steve Mensch on Spencer Fano: Making the even-numbered picks in the mock, he sent Arvell Reese to the Jets at No. 2, Spencer Fano to the Giants at 5, Jordan Tyson to the Saints at 8, a Tennessee cornerback to Miami at 11, Keldric Faulk to Baltimore at 14, Akheem Mesidor to Dallas at 20, Kenyon Sadiq to Philadelphia at 23, Caleb Banks to Buffalo at 26, Ty Simpson to the Rams at 29 and Chris Johnson to Seattle at 32, plus Caleb Lomu to Detroit at 17. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/f65851f3-1c53-4ae9-80ef-875db5ce2a3f (scored 84.09)
- Richard Sherman on New York Giants: Sherman previewed every division: he picked Seattle to win the NFC West on a tiebreaker over San Francisco (both 11-11 wins), the Lions over the Packers in the North, the Eagles to run away with the East, Tampa Bay in the South, and Kansas City, Buffalo and the Ravens' division rivals in the AFC. He picked an Eagles–Chiefs Super Bowl with Philadelphia repeating, Joe Burrow for MVP, and gave a top-five power ranking. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/ec43b02b-8e3a-4b2e-8c36-1839c9c52e3c (scored 20)
- Colin Cowherd on Jameis Winston: Cowherd delivered his own top-15 draft board — what he would do as GM of each team — pairing prospects with picks 1 through 15, and separately argued Shedeur Sanders is a far better prospect than Daniel Jones and that Aaron Rodgers should retire. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/1d3f1be7-f506-422a-af38-e6e32088f3e5 (scored 100)
- Bobby Skinner on Davante Adams: Skinner predicted Daniel Jones signs with and wins the starting job in Indianapolis, Milton Williams to New England, Lavonte David back to Tampa, Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams to the Giants, DJ Reid to Arizona, Hassan Reddick to Washington and Justin Fields staying in Pittsburgh, plus alternates he had listed. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/6bc51663-60f7-4897-b5dc-40e284f869a2 (scored 0)
- Dalton Feely on Josh Sweat: Feenie predicted Chris Godwin stays in Tampa Bay, Josh Sweat reunites with Jonathan Gannon in Arizona, Ronnie Stanley signs with New England, Jevon Holland lands in Indianapolis, Khalil Mack joins Washington, Asante Samuel Jr. goes to San Francisco, Najee Harris to the Raiders and Bobby Wagner to Dallas. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/5456472e-edf1-49c5-9f6b-bd59183fcea7 (scored 100)

## 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)

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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:
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