# Todd McShay: McShay projects the 2026 draft's top of the board: Mendoza first overall to the Raiders, Jeremiah Love inside the top five, Sonny Styles inside the top 10, Ty Simpson as the second quarterback and a first-rounder, and UCF edge Malachi Lawrence as a top-100 pick. **Claimed:** Mar 2, 2026 **Pundit:** Todd McShay — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/pundits/todd-mcshay **Outlet:** The Rich Eisen Show (podcast) — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/outlets/the-rich-eisen-show-podcast **How it reached us:** said on air, transcribed by us **Original:** https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.megaphone.fm/ESP8852140414.mp3?updated=1772479492 6 checkable claims — 5 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 6 have settled, averaging 100 out of 100, against 48.3 for a naive guess at the same calls. > The Jets are gonna take a defensive player, and the Raiders at one are gonna take Fernando Mendoza. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Sonny Styles to be picked “top 10” (picks 1–10)** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Sonny Styles - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Fernando Mendoza to be picked at number 1** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Fernando Mendoza, Las Vegas Raiders - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Jeremiyah Love to be picked “top five” (picks 1–5)** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Jeremiyah Love - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Ty Simpson to be 2nd quarterback off the board** - Kind: Position Order Calls · About: Ty Simpson - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 39.7 for a naive guess - **Ty Simpson to be picked “first round” (picks 1–32)** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Ty Simpson - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Malachi Lawrence to be picked “top 100 pick” (picks 1–100)** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Malachi Lawrence - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess ## Who this take is about - Sonny Styles — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/sonny-styles - Fernando Mendoza — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/fernando-mendoza - Las Vegas Raiders — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/raiders - Jeremiyah Love — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/jeremiyah-love - Ty Simpson — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/ty-simpson - Malachi Lawrence — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/malachi-lawrence ## What others said about the same people - David Harrison on Sonny Styles: 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 (scored 100) - David Harrison on Sonny Styles: Harrison projects the Washington Commanders' initial 53-man roster if it had to be set today, naming 26 offensive players, three specialists and 24 defenders, and also assigns depth-chart slots at quarterback, running back, the offensive line, the interior defensive line, and the return/specialist jobs. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/2e2254ee-daf7-4f82-81d4-2bc73e1b7291 (scored 100) - Jeff Cavanaugh on Malachi Lawrence: Building his projected Cowboys 53-man roster on defense, Jeff keeps five interior linemen (Kenny Clark, Quentin, Tito Obonia, LT Overton, Bullard), six edge rushers including Von Miller, Malachi Lawrence and Marist Liufau while cutting Sam Williams, four linebackers with Jayshawn Barham starting, six corners including rookie Devin Moore, and four safeties including Marquise Bell. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/d20c4eda-eab4-4a8c-ba13-0e120fdd7d91 (scored 100) - Hondo Carpenter on Patrick Johnson: Carpenter says the right guard competition currently favors Jackson Powers-Johnson over Caleb Rogers, though he expects Rogers to get starts at some point this season, and he projects veteran DE Patrick Johnson to make the 53-man roster. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/ca5f809a-068e-4d04-b0fc-e392ed8f0c13 (scored 100) - Hondo Carpenter on Aidan O'Connell: Carpenter predicts special-teams linebacker Segun Olubi will make the Raiders' 53-man roster, with Las Vegas carrying five inside linebackers. He also notes projections that the Raiders keep all three quarterbacks, including Aidan O'Connell. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/bef79899-9859-4758-9cb0-e3400c3a6c8e (scored 100) - Philip Hughes on Sonny Styles: 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) ## 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=todd-mcshay