Dane Brugler· Apr 10, 2025
The Athletic's draft analyst laid out his expected top of the draft — Cam Ward first, Travis Hunter second to Cleveland, Abdul Carter third to the Giants — while predicting Shedeur Sanders slides outside the top 10 (a late first/early second grade), Jalen Milroe goes in round two, and all five of the class's top quarterbacks come off the board within the first 50-60 picks.
“I think there's a good chance we see cam Ward go one, Travis Hunter go two to the Browns, and then Abdul Carter three to the Giants.”
said on air or in an interview · The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast) · read the original →
The page this came from has changed since we captured it on Aug 5, 2026. The quote and evidence above are from our capture, not from what the page says today.
8 checkable claims — 8 mock draft picks — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.
It names 10 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
4 of 8 have settled so far, averaging 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess at the same calls.
Their call against what happened
overall pickTheir call against what actually happened.
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Who this take is about
8 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.
- Mock Draft PicksShedeur SandersApr 10, 2025
Shedeur Sanders to be picked “outside the top ten” (picks 1–10)
“the Browns at two, the Giants at three, the Saints at nine. If I have to make a bet today, I say he gets through those three spots and he's outside the top ten.”
Hit · 100Scored 100 on this pickthis mock ordered the draft 100 against a shuffle’s 50+50 skillHow this was scored
- draft:
- 2025
- naive:
- a shuffled mock scores 50
- skill:
- 50
- player:
- Shedeur Sanders
- season:
- 2025
- zero at:
- 32
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 50
- actual pick:
- 144
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- pick accuracy:
- 100
- predicted pick:
- outside the top ten (NOT picks 1–10)
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- mock ordering score:
- 100
- Mock Draft PicksCam WardTennessee TitansApr 10, 2025
Cam Ward to be picked at number 1
“I think there's a good chance we see cam Ward go one, Travis Hunter go two to the Browns, and then Abdul Carter three to the Giants.”
Hit · 100Scored 100 on this pickthis mock ordered the draft 100 against a shuffle’s 50+50 skillHow this was scored
- draft:
- 2025
- naive:
- a shuffled mock scores 50
- skill:
- 50
- player:
- Cam Ward
- season:
- 2025
- zero at:
- 32
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 50
- actual pick:
- 1
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- pick accuracy:
- 100
- predicted pick:
- 1
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- mock ordering score:
- 100
- Mock Draft PicksAbdul CarterNew York GiantsApr 10, 2025
Abdul Carter to be picked at number 3
“Abdul Carter three to the Giants... I just don't think he gets out of the top three when it's all set out.”
Hit · 100Scored 100 on this pickthis mock ordered the draft 100 against a shuffle’s 50+50 skillHow this was scored
- draft:
- 2025
- naive:
- a shuffled mock scores 50
- skill:
- 50
- player:
- Abdul Carter
- season:
- 2025
- zero at:
- 32
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 50
- actual pick:
- 3
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- pick accuracy:
- 100
- predicted pick:
- 3
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- mock ordering score:
- 100
- Mock Draft PicksTravis HunterCleveland BrownsApr 10, 2025
Travis Hunter to be picked at number 2
“I think there's a good chance we see cam Ward go one, Travis Hunter go two to the Browns, and then Abdul Carter three to the Giants.”
Hit · 100Scored 100 on this pickthis mock ordered the draft 100 against a shuffle’s 50+50 skillHow this was scored
- draft:
- 2025
- naive:
- a shuffled mock scores 50
- skill:
- 50
- player:
- Travis Hunter
- season:
- 2025
- zero at:
- 32
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 50
- actual pick:
- 2
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- pick accuracy:
- 100
- predicted pick:
- 2
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- mock ordering score:
- 100
- Mock Draft PicksJalen MilroeApr 10, 2025
Jalen Milroe to be picked “round two”
“If I'm a betting guy, I would say there's a better chance he goes round two, but sure you could see an avenue where he goes round one.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Mock Draft PicksTyler ShoughApr 10, 2025
Tyler Shough to be picked “off the board in the top fifty to sixty picks”
“There's a good chance all five of these quarterbacks talking about cam Wore, chaud or Sanders Jackson Dart, Tyler Shuck, and Jaln Milroe. There's a good chance all five of those are off the board in the top fifty to sixty picks.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Mock Draft PicksJaxson DartApr 10, 2025
Jaxson Dart to be picked “off the board in the top fifty to sixty picks”
“There's a good chance all five of these quarterbacks talking about cam Wore, chaud or Sanders Jackson Dart, Tyler Shuck, and Jaln Milroe. There's a good chance all five of those are off the board in the top fifty to sixty picks.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Mock Draft PicksShedeur SandersApr 10, 2025
Shedeur Sanders to be picked “a late one, early two”
“my evaluation of Shador has been pretty consistent since the season. I think he's a late one, early two.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
What others said about the same people
- Matt SeveranceDepth Chart Calls · Deshaun WatsonHit · 100The CBS Sports preview backs Tampa Bay to beat Cleveland in the Bucs' Week 2 home opener, and states that Deshaun Watson — not Shedeur Sanders — will be Cleveland's starting quarterback in Week 2.
- Rafael ZamoranoDepth Chart Calls · Deshaun WatsonHit · 100Zamorano reports Watson will start Week 2 at Tampa Bay and suggests there's little reason to expect improvement, raising the possibility Watson's five-year contract never yields more than single-digit wins.
- Tyler SullivanDepth Chart Calls · Deshaun WatsonHit · 100An unsigned CBS Sports preseason review grading all 32 teams, which along the way stakes out a number of depth-chart calls for Week 1 and beyond — including Deshaun Watson opening as Cleveland's starter, Fernando Mendoza taking over as Las Vegas' QB1 by season's end, and Minnesota's Murray-Wentz-McCarthy quarterback order.
- Ryan WilsonDepth Chart Calls · Deshaun WatsonHit · 100A CBS Sports piece states Deshaun Watson has won Cleveland's starting quarterback job for Week 1 with Shedeur Sanders next in line, while arguing Watson will not play like even an average NFL quarterback and that none of the Browns' current young passers should stop them from drafting a first-round quarterback next April.
- Rafael ZamoranoDepth Chart Calls · Deshaun WatsonHit · 100Zamorano argues the Browns do not have a franchise quarterback and that it's unlikely Watson or Sanders is their long-term answer.
- John BreechDepth Chart Calls · Deshaun WatsonHit · 100The unsigned newsletter author says Deshaun Watson will start Week 1 at Jacksonville, notes he voted for Jaxson Dart as his breakout QB rather than Caleb Williams, and says newly signed Daniel Carlson is the favorite to win the Saints' kicking job.
More mock draft picks
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
- Lance ZierleinMock Draft Picks · Jeremiyah LoveHit · 100Zierlein 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.
- Gregg RosenthalMock Draft Picks · K.C. ConcepcionClose · 68Rosenthal 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.
- Nick ShookMock Draft Picks · Dillon ThienemanClose · 57Shook 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.
- Daniel JeremiahMock Draft Picks · Keyron CrawfordHit · 81In 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.
- Bucky BrooksMock Draft Picks · Carnell TateHit · 81In 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.
- Jeff CavanaughMock Draft Picks · Lorenzo StylesMiss · 1Streaming 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.