# Manti Te'o — prediction record Manti Te'o played linebacker in the NFL from 2013 to 2021, selected in the second round by the San Diego Chargers after earning unanimous All-American honors at Notre Dame. Since 2024, he's worked as an on-air commentator and analyst for NFL Network, where we've tracked his predictions on the Move the Sticks podcast. His commentary spans the league broadly — AFC and NFC playoff races, award picks, Super Bowl predictions — with particular attention to players like Lamar Jackson, Jalen Carter, and Jihaad Campbell. ## Record - **Accuracy:** 35.09% - **MissedTakes Score:** 5.22 - **Graded articles:** 21 - **Graded individual calls:** 65 - **Clarity:** 100% LIMITED SAMPLE: between 10 and 29 graded articles. Treat with caution. The MissedTakes Score is how much better than a naive baseline they did, not how often they were right. Zero means no better than a strategy requiring no knowledge. A record is counted in ARTICLES rather than individual calls, because thirty picks in one mock draft is one act of judgment rather than thirty. Full method: https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/methodology ## Graded articles (21) ### Jan 14, 2026 — scored 0 across 1 call Discussing the 49ers-Seahawks divisional game, he pointed to San Francisco's undefeated record in Seattle with Brock Purdy and suggested the Niners could win or at least keep it close. https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/c52f8494-b0ca-41f0-8539-9a6461946ae2 ### Jan 6, 2026 — scored 91.43 across 1 call Ranked the six remaining AFC playoff teams (excluding Denver), putting New England first, Jacksonville second and Pittsburgh last. https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/bebf38e1-8fb6-4076-bc91-1d544cba9ca0 ### Dec 5, 2025 — scored 50 across 2 calls Te'o picked the Rams to bounce back and beat the Cardinals, and called Lamar Jackson a must-start fantasy option who will bounce back against the Steelers and lead Baltimore to a win. https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/98beb84f-f79c-490f-86b4-c3e900a77909 ### Nov 1, 2025 — scored 71.43 across 7 calls Praises Seattle's surprising offense and defense, and reviews his preseason picks: proud of the Broncos as AFC West champs and having three AFC West teams in the playoffs, regrets not picking the Lions to win the NFC North, wishes he could change his Vikings pick, and doubles down on the Ravens winning the AFC North. Also picks the Panthers to win the NFC South. https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/0c3df734-9c9f-4499-92f5-6ae655b7935d ### Oct 30, 2025 — scored 60 across 5 calls Te'o stands by the Broncos as AFC West champions and all three of the Chargers, Broncos and Chiefs making the playoffs, and doubles down on the Ravens winning the AFC North with Lamar Jackson returning. https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/3f3320f6-29af-4e09-abd8-d1b1978f855d ### Oct 18, 2025 — scored 55 across 1 call Gave his top five NFL teams in Week 7, with the Colts first and the Buccaneers second, keeping the Lions at No. 3 despite their loss to Kansas City. https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/1e3aa096-3c9f-40b7-a467-e25d335a0b89 ### Oct 15, 2025 — scored 55 across 1 call Ranked his top five NFL teams in Week 7: Colts first, then Buccaneers, Lions, Seahawks and Chiefs, praising Indianapolis' balance on offense, defense and special teams. https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/ef47ceba-2af8-40c9-ac61-96e5f390f315 ### Sep 6, 2025 — scored 12.5 across 4 calls Manti predicted a Ravens-Rams Super Bowl with Baltimore winning, and named Lamar Jackson his MVP. https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/b2918507-3315-44d8-847c-ae0a899c691b ### Sep 5, 2025 — scored 75 across 2 calls For the Week 1 survival pool he took the Broncos to beat the Titans in Denver, and separately said he has the Rams reaching the Super Bowl. https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/6d4e47dd-06d2-4b07-a668-6f2db8fdaf7e ### Sep 4, 2025 — scored 10 across 5 calls Picked a Rams–Ravens Super Bowl with Baltimore winning, and Lamar Jackson taking both season MVP and Super Bowl MVP. He also picked Jalen Carter as Defensive Player of the Year. https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/51e93aac-f0be-4bce-98a7-5f7449f3edf2 ### Sep 4, 2025 — scored 12.5 across 4 calls Manti picked a Ravens-Rams Super Bowl with Baltimore winning it, and also named Lamar Jackson his MVP. https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/b29ba2e4-c287-4859-8900-df1f3e66291b ### Sep 3, 2025 — scored 48.96 across 8 calls Te'o picks Lamar Jackson for a third MVP, Jalen Carter for Defensive Player of the Year, the Broncos to win the AFC West, and has the 49ers, Steelers, Buccaneers and Ravens in the playoffs. https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/fdaf5344-36a2-4839-9a1d-a1f4984460f1 ### Sep 2, 2025 — scored 35.71 across 14 calls Manti picked his 14 playoff teams: AFC division winners Bills, Ravens, Texans and Broncos with wild cards Chiefs, Chargers and Steelers (seventh seed); NFC division winners Eagles, Buccaneers, Rams and Vikings with wild cards Commanders, Lions and 49ers (seventh seed). https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/f815c13c-6355-4a47-81dd-6d232bca390e ### Sep 1, 2025 — scored 0 across 3 calls Manti picked Giants edge Abdul Carter as Defensive Rookie of the Year, Colts tight end Tyler Warren as Offensive Rookie of the Year, and Dan Campbell as Coach of the Year. https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/91674a79-f81c-463c-bc81-4e9468ef65ad ### Sep 1, 2025 — scored 0 across 1 call Te'o picks Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions as 2025 Coach of the Year, and predicts Lamar Jackson will be named the No. 1 player on the NFL Top 100. https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/3f94a334-8d5c-4bb7-ad70-5c7cd9894689 ### Jul 25, 2025 — scored 50 across 1 call Te'o revealed his ranking of the top ten linebackers currently playing in the NFL, with Bobby Wagner first and Fred Warner second. https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/2b0e2cf9-dcff-4993-9bdc-17f6ebf83cac ### Jul 7, 2025 — scored 0 across 1 call Te'o picks the Vikings as the ones who should be NFC North favorites, finishing one game ahead of Detroit, argues JJ McCarthy will outperform Sam Darnold's Minnesota season, and predicts Ladd McConkey climbs the Top 100 list. https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/c51f2194-ae94-4979-bc8b-a25b13b210f8 ### Apr 28, 2025 — scored 0 across 1 call He predicted Eagles linebacker Jihaad Campbell will be a Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate and produce sacks and tackles, and expects Cam Skattebo to be a change-of-pace, tone-setting back for the Giants. https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/b90ed008-a92e-4171-8d2a-7f1cddf1a486 ### Feb 28, 2025 — scored 100 across 1 call Te'o argued Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell's combine testing and drill work make him a clear first-round pick. https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/e7a7f4a7-7df0-493e-ba0c-ba868281c1c6 ### Feb 26, 2025 — scored 0 across 1 call Te'o predicted Trey Hendrickson would return to Cincinnati, while arguing the Bengals' contract priority should be their two wide receivers. https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/6c07f789-59a4-43b0-a58b-0f952ffa0685 ### Jan 10, 2025 — scored 0 across 1 call Manti Te'o picked the Chargers to beat the Houston Texans. https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/72cff4b3-3c53-4ee5-87eb-f64f619c0321 --- We grade claims about outcomes, never claims about people. If something here is wrong, tell us: https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/corrections?pundit=manti-te-o