Colin Cowherd Predictions: Record, Accuracy, Every Take | MissedTakes

Colin Cowherd

Colin Cowherd is an American sports media personality who began his broadcasting career as a sports director at Las Vegas television station KVBC before moving through several other stations and joining ESPN in 2003. At ESPN, he hosted a radio show on the ESPN Radio network and became one of the original hosts of SportsNation, as well as Colin's New Football Show. He currently hosts The Herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio and Fox Sports 1. Cowherd covers the NFL with particular attention to franchises like the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, and Philadelphia Eagles. His predictions range from individual game outcomes to playoff berths, draft positioning, and season win totals — the full spectrum of NFL forecasting.

Writes at Fox Sports

Every take from Colin Cowherd, including the ones still waiting →

Is Colin Cowherd accurate? Across 445 graded calls in 72 articles, Colin Cowherd scores 55.35% accuracy and a MissedTakes Score of 9.13, which means their calls were better than a naive guess on the same claims. That is an established record: thirty or more graded articles.

55.35%

Accuracy

How often they were right.

9.13

MissedTakes Score

Versus a naive guess. 0 means no better.

445

Graded calls

across 72 articles. 420 more not yet settled.

96.36% of their claims were specific enough to check. Most of what they said committed to something.

Every number here is computed from the published methodology, and every call below shows its own arithmetic.

What they call, and how it goes

The record split by kind of claim — five graded calls minimum before a kind shows here. A pundit can be sharp on drafts and ordinary on game picks, and averaging that away is how a number stops meaning anything.

Game Outcome Picks73 graded70.65 accuracy
Score Predictions71 graded62.76 accuracy
Playoff Picks68 graded33.7 accuracy

Against the grain

Teams and players where Colin Cowherd keeps landing outside the room: at least twice, their call sat beyond every other pundit who made a comparable one — higher or lower than all of them, in a room of at least five voices. The bar is their standing lean (+100 would be the most bullish voice in every room), and the accuracy covers just those out-on-a-limb calls, once they settle. Computed, never chosen.

Lamar Jackson-93
Outside the room in 3 of 5 articles — always lower · the strays aren’t settled yet
Tennessee Titans+92
Outside the room in 3 of 6 articles — always higher · when they strayed: 18.3 accuracy (3 settled)

Form

Rolling accuracy over their last fifteen graded calls, in the order the claims were made. The dashed line is their career average — the question this answers is whether the number above is who they are or who they were.

Graded calls · 445

13 of 79 graded articles on this page, newest first — page 1 of 14.

The co-host (identified only as "Mitchell") gave his own Week 2 picks: Seattle, the Niners in dominant fashion, his Lions over Buffalo, Cincinnati 31-27 at Houston, Chicago, Pittsburgh 24-21 as a road upset, Jacksonville by at least a touchdown, Dallas 26-22, and Kansas City handily.Sep 17, 2026
- Detroit Lions to beat Buffalo Bills
  “I like the Lions to cover. I like the Lions to win.”
  Miss · 0Scored 0a naive guess scored 100-194 skill
  How this was scored
  won:
  BUF
  score:
  31-41
  skill:
  -194
  they picked:
  DET
  season:
  2026
  accuracy:
  0
  baseline:
  100
  the naive pick:
  BUF
  difficulty:

Cowherd delivered a mock draft of the first 15 picks based on what he says he's hearing from league sources, starting with Fernando Mendoza to the Raiders at No. 1 and running through Emmanuel McNeil-Warren to Tampa Bay at No. 15.15 graded calls · Apr 9, 2026

Mansoor Delane to be picked at number 11
“number eleven, Well, defensive head coach, they need a lot but mansour Delaye the LSU corner ... I think Miami goes for a lockdown guy”
Hit · 81Scored 80.52 on this pickthis mock ordered the draft 93.13 against a shuffle’s 50+43.13 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
43.13
player:
Mansoor Delane
season:
2026
zero at:
32
accuracy:
80.52
baseline:
50
actual pick:
6
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
80.52
predicted pick:
11
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
93.13
Think this grade is wrong?
Monroe Freeling to be picked at number 14
“Number fourteen ravens Lamar Jackson last year pressured on twenty six percent of his throw career high. They go get Monroe Freeling, Georgia. Tackle”
Hit · 81Scored 80.52 on this pickthis mock ordered the draft 93.13 against a shuffle’s 50+43.13 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
43.13
player:
Monroe Freeling
season:
2026
zero at:
32
accuracy:
80.52
baseline:
50
actual pick:
19
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
80.52
predicted pick:
14
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
Rueben Bain to be picked at number 8
“Number eight. Another Miami Hurricane goes eight, Ruben Bain. Listen, you could say the Saints have a lot of needs, but this kid lives in the backfield.”
Close · 74Scored 73.84 on this pickthis mock ordered the draft 93.13 against a shuffle’s 50+43.13 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
43.13
player:
Rueben Bain
season:
2026
zero at:
32
accuracy:
73.84
baseline:
50
actual pick:
15
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
73.84
predicted pick:
8
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren to be picked at number 15
“Number fifty Buccaneers draft well safety from Toledo, Emmanuel McNeil. Warren, local kid played in Tampa.”
Miss · 16Scored 15.52 on this pickthis mock ordered the draft 93.13 against a shuffle’s 50+43.13 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
43.13
player:
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren
season:
2026
zero at:
32
accuracy:
15.52
baseline:
50
actual pick:
58
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
15.52
predicted pick:
15
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
Sonny Styles to be picked at number 5
“number five. I think the Giants get that. Maybe the cleanest player in the draft, sunny styles ... Giants take Sunny Styles”
Hit · 92Scored 91.7 on this pickthis mock ordered the draft 93.57 against a shuffle’s 50+43.57 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
43.57
player:
Sonny Styles
season:
2026
zero at:
32
accuracy:
91.7
baseline:
50
actual pick:
7
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
91.7
predicted pick:
5
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
Fernando Mendoza to be picked at number 1
“Number one. Okay, that's the easy one. I'm going to go one for one. Fernando Mendoza ... the most obvious pick outside of Fernando Mendoza to the Raiders”
Hit · 100Scored 100 on this pickthis mock ordered the draft 93.13 against a shuffle’s 50+43.13 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
43.13
player:
Fernando Mendoza
season:
2026
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:
Caleb Downs to be picked at number 10
“Number ten, Caleb Downs, Ohio State ... Caleb Downs stays in state. He goes to the Bengals at ten”
Hit · 96Scored 95.76 on this pickthis mock ordered the draft 93.13 against a shuffle’s 50+43.13 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
43.13
player:
Caleb Downs
season:
2026
zero at:
32
accuracy:
95.76
baseline:
50
actual pick:
11
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
95.76
predicted pick:
10
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
93.13
Spencer Fano to be picked at number 9
“Number nine. See this seems obvious. Spencer Fino to tackle from Utah to Kansas City ... I think he goes nine to Kansas City Spencer Fane.”
Hit · 100Scored 100 on this pickthis mock ordered the draft 93.13 against a shuffle’s 50+43.13 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
43.13
player:
Spencer Fano
season:
2026
zero at:
32
accuracy:
100
baseline:
50
actual pick:
9
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
100
predicted pick:
9
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
Francis Mauigoa to be picked at number 7
“number seven. Well, Jaden Daniels needs protection. Laramie Tonzel meet Francis Mawiinoah Miami ... He goes seven to the Commanders.”
Hit · 88Scored 87.81 on this pickthis mock ordered the draft 93.13 against a shuffle’s 50+43.13 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
43.13
player:
Francis Mauigoa
season:
2026
zero at:
32
accuracy:
87.81
baseline:
50
actual pick:
10
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
87.81
predicted pick:
7
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
Carnell Tate to be picked at number 6
“number six. The best receiver in this draft is Carneal Tate and Cleveland's got an egregiously bad wide receiving corps”
Hit · 92Scored 91.7 on this pickthis mock ordered the draft 93.13 against a shuffle’s 50+43.13 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
43.13
player:
Carnell Tate
season:
2026
zero at:
32
accuracy:
91.7
baseline:
50
actual pick:
4
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
91.7
predicted pick:
6
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
Jermod McCoy to be picked at number 12
“Number twelve. I think the Cowboys ... They get Jermad McCoy from Tennessee.”
Miss · 2Scored 2.12 on this pickthis mock ordered the draft 93.13 against a shuffle’s 50+43.13 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
43.13
player:
Jermod McCoy
season:
2026
zero at:
32
accuracy:
2.12
baseline:
50
actual pick:
101
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
2.12
predicted pick:
12
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
93.13
Makai Lemon to be picked at number 13
“Number thirty McKay lemon wide receiver USC ... McKay lemon walks in day one. He'll figure the playbook out in three practices.”
Close · 74Scored 73.84 on this pickthis mock ordered the draft 93.13 against a shuffle’s 50+43.13 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
43.13
player:
Makai Lemon
season:
2026
zero at:
32
accuracy:
73.84
baseline:
50
actual pick:
20
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
73.84
predicted pick:
13
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
David Bailey to be picked at number 3
“Number three. So Arizona, seeing that Bailey is now available David Bailey Texas Tech, they will then draft David Bailey because they have a pass rush issue.”
Hit · 96Scored 95.76 on this pickthis mock ordered the draft 93.57 against a shuffle’s 50+43.57 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
43.57
player:
David Bailey
season:
2026
zero at:
32
accuracy:
95.76
baseline:
50
actual pick:
2
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
95.76
predicted pick:
3
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
Arvell Reese to be picked at number 2
“Number two, I think the Jet take a big swing on Rvel Reese, who's one of the youngest prospects in the draft.”
Hit · 88Scored 87.81 on this pickthis mock ordered the draft 93.13 against a shuffle’s 50+43.13 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
43.13
player:
Arvell Reese
season:
2026
zero at:
32
accuracy:
87.81
baseline:
50
actual pick:
5
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
87.81
predicted pick:
2
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
93.13
Jeremiyah Love to be picked at number 4
“If they get Bailey number four, then I think the Titans will take Jeremiah Love ... He goes four to the Tennessee Titans”
Hit · 96Scored 95.76 on this pickthis mock ordered the draft 93.13 against a shuffle’s 50+43.13 skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
skill:
43.13
player:
Jeremiyah Love
season:
2026
zero at:
32
accuracy:
95.76
baseline:
50
actual pick:
3
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
95.76
predicted pick:
4
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:

Cowherd argues Sam Darnold belongs in the top ten of quarterbacks and predicts he'll win the Super Bowl with Seattle; he also expects Jim Harbaugh's Giants to make the playoffs next year, the Raiders to take Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 pick, and says Bill Belichick will eventually make the Hall of Fame.5 graded calls · Jan 29, 2026

Fernando Mendoza to be picked at number 1
“They'll get Fernando Mendoza with a number one pick.”
Hit · 100Scored 100a naive guess scored 50
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
player:
Fernando Mendoza
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:
only one pick — no order to score
Think this grade is wrong?
Las Vegas Raiders to pick at number 1
“They'll get Fernando Mendoza with a number one pick.”
Hit · 100Scored 100a naive guess scored 80.52+19.48 skill
How this was scored
team:
LV
draft:
2026
naive:
they picked 6 the year before
skill:
19.48
season:
2025
zero at:
32
accuracy:
100
baseline:
80.52
actual pick:
1
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
predicted pick:
1
weeks left when called:
0
Think this grade is wrong?
New York Giants to make the playoffs
“I think Harbaugh's going to crush it with the Giants. They're going to be a playoff team next year.”
Miss · 0Scored 0a naive guess scored 100-100 skill
How this was scored
team:
NYG
skill:
-100
season:
2025
accuracy:
0
baseline:
100
the naive guess said:
no
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
made the playoffs:
no
weeks left when called:
0
Think this grade is wrong?
Sam Darnold to finish top 10 at his position, by passing yards
“But I don't think it's crazy to say that Sam Darnold hoists a trophy. You gotta put him in the top ten.”
Close · 58Scored 58.33a naive guess scored 100-41.67 skill
How this was scored
skill:
-41.67
player:
Sam Darnold
season:
2025
zero at:
12
accuracy:
58.33
baseline:
100
position:
QB
ranked by:
passing yards
difficulty:
1
the naive guess:
where he finished last season
weeks in the season:
18
naive finish:
5
actual finish:
5
weeks left when called:
0
predicted finish:
10
Seattle Seahawks to win the Super Bowl
“Seems like to me, hoisting a trophy in about ten twelve days. Have to reconsider where we put him.”
Hit · 100Scored 100a naive guess scored 0+100 skill
How this was scored
skill:
100
they picked:
SEA
season:
2025
accuracy:
100
baseline:
0
champion:
SEA
runner up:
NE
the naive pick:
PHI
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
weeks left when called:
0
Think this grade is wrong?