Ross Jackson· Mar 30, 2026
In a quick-fire seven-round Saints mock draft, Jackson has New Orleans taking Ohio State safety Caleb Downs at No. 8, Missouri DE Zion Young at 42, Georgia WR Zachariah Branch at 73, Alabama NT Tim Keenan III at 132 plus USC WR Jacobi Lane in round four, Western Michigan edge Nadame Tucker and Texas guard DJ Campbell in round five, and Utah TE Dallin Bentley to close it out.
“The, number one, round one pick eight selection for me as we lead off this mock draft Monday is going to be Ohio State safety, Caleb Downs.”
said on air, transcribed by us · Locked On Saints (podcast) · read the original →
8 checkable claims — 8 mock draft picks — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.
It names 9 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
5 of 8 have settled so far, averaging 56.8 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 PicksD.J. CampbellNew Orleans SaintsMar 30, 2026
D.J. Campbell to be picked at number 172
“Over at one seventy two in rounds in round five, I went with Texas guard DJ Campbell.”
Miss · 30Scored 29.73 on this pickthis mock ordered the draft 95 against a shuffle’s 50+45 skillHow this was scored
- draft:
- 2026
- naive:
- a shuffled mock scores 50
- skill:
- 45
- player:
- D.J. Campbell
- season:
- 2026
- zero at:
- 32
- accuracy:
- 29.73
- baseline:
- 50
- actual pick:
- 200
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- pick accuracy:
- 29.73
- predicted pick:
- 172
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- mock ordering score:
- 95
- Mock Draft PicksZion YoungNew Orleans SaintsMar 30, 2026
Zion Young to be picked at number 42
“So round two, pick 42, I went with Missouri defensive end, Zion Young.”
Hit · 88Scored 87.81 on this pickthis mock ordered the draft 100 against a shuffle’s 50+50 skillHow this was scored
- draft:
- 2026
- naive:
- a shuffled mock scores 50
- skill:
- 50
- player:
- Zion Young
- season:
- 2026
- zero at:
- 32
- accuracy:
- 87.81
- baseline:
- 50
- actual pick:
- 45
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- pick accuracy:
- 87.81
- predicted pick:
- 42
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- mock ordering score:
- 100
- Mock Draft PicksCaleb DownsNew Orleans SaintsMar 30, 2026
Caleb Downs to be picked at number 8
“The, number one, round one pick eight selection for me ... is going to be Ohio State safety, Caleb Downs.”
Hit · 88Scored 87.81 on this pickthis mock ordered the draft 100 against a shuffle’s 50+50 skillHow this was scored
- draft:
- 2026
- naive:
- a shuffled mock scores 50
- skill:
- 50
- player:
- Caleb Downs
- season:
- 2026
- zero at:
- 32
- accuracy:
- 87.81
- baseline:
- 50
- actual pick:
- 11
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- pick accuracy:
- 87.81
- predicted pick:
- 8
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- mock ordering score:
- 100
- Mock Draft PicksTim KeenanNew Orleans SaintsMar 30, 2026
Tim Keenan to be picked at number 132
“We're gonna go with at one thirty two, Alabama's Tim Keenan the third, six one, three hundred and twenty seven pound nose tackle”
Miss · 1Scored 1.31 on this pickthis mock ordered the draft 100 against a shuffle’s 50+50 skillHow this was scored
- draft:
- 2026
- naive:
- a shuffled mock scores 50
- skill:
- 50
- player:
- Tim Keenan
- season:
- 2026
- zero at:
- 32
- accuracy:
- 1.31
- baseline:
- 50
- actual pick:
- 232
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- pick accuracy:
- 1.31
- predicted pick:
- 132
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- mock ordering score:
- 100
Zachariah Branch to be picked at number 73
“We're grabbing our first one in this draft, round three, pick 73. Georgia wide receiver Zachariah Branch”
Close · 77Scored 77.11 on this pickthis mock ordered the draft 100 against a shuffle’s 50+50 skillHow this was scored
- draft:
- 2026
- naive:
- a shuffled mock scores 50
- skill:
- 50
- player:
- Zachariah Branch
- season:
- 2026
- zero at:
- 32
- accuracy:
- 77.11
- baseline:
- 50
- actual pick:
- 79
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- pick accuracy:
- 77.11
- predicted pick:
- 73
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- mock ordering score:
- 100
- Mock Draft PicksNadame TuckerNew Orleans SaintsMar 30, 2026
Nadame Tucker to be picked “Round five”
“Round five. Two more picks here in round five. I went with Western Michigan edge rusher, Nadame Tucker”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Mock Draft PicksJa'Kobi LaneNew Orleans SaintsMar 30, 2026
Ja'Kobi Lane to be picked “round four”
“And then we'll go USC wide receiver Jacobi Lane ... So in round four, we're grabbing both of those guys, Tim Keenan the third as well as Jacoby Lane.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Mock Draft PicksDallen BentleyNew Orleans SaintsMar 30, 2026
Dallen Bentley to be picked at a slot they never named
“And then finally, we'll wrap up with a tight end. Utah's Dallin Bentley ... was the final selection there to wrap that one up.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
What others said about the same people
- Nick WrightScore Predictions · New Orleans SaintsMiss · 33On his Week 3 pick show, Nick Wright gave straight-up final-score predictions for five games, calling blowouts by Seattle over Washington and Kansas City over Miami, a Jacksonville home win over New England, a narrow New Orleans win over the Raiders and a low-scoring Baltimore win over Dallas in Brazil. He also called Seattle the best team in the NFL with the league's best defense.
- Dan BeyerGame Outcome Picks · New Orleans SaintsMiss · 0For his Week 3 survivor pick, he took the Saints to beat the Raiders at home, saying he doesn't see Las Vegas staying unbeaten.
- Darrion GrayScore Predictions · New Orleans SaintsClose · 45Predicted the Saints beat the Raiders 27-17 at home.
- John HendricksScore Predictions · New Orleans SaintsClose · 43Predicted a lower-scoring Saints win over the Raiders, 24-19, with the defense carrying them.
- Lance MooreScore Predictions · New Orleans SaintsClose · 48Called for a Saints victory over the Raiders by a score of 27-20.
- Dylan SandersScore Predictions · New Orleans SaintsMiss · 36Picked the Saints to beat the Raiders at home in Week 3 by a score of 31-17, with New Orleans getting off to a fast start.
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.
- Nick ShookMock Draft Picks · Max IheanachorHit · 88Shook 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Daniel JeremiahMock Draft Picks · Carnell TateHit · 92Jeremiah 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.
- 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.