Verse for today...
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
John 8:32
Hope you are having a good day. Each year, I like to compare how my first round mock draft stacked up with the experts in the field. Anybody can SAY they are good at mock drafts. I like proof! I have reviewed lots of mock drafts from the experts who get paid to do this stuff. I include familiar names and those who might not be so familiar but have excellent track records. These mock drafts are almost all from websites or newspapers where you would expect to find the best of the best, so you will recognize many of the names. Two popular ways exist to grade a draft. You can grade it by seeing how many players you name to go in the first round who actually go in the first round, or you can see how many you pick to the correct team. Adding the two together seems like a fair way of scoring it. All of these appear to be final versions of each person's mock draft. * Also, check out https://www.thehuddlereport.com/mock.scores.shtml which grades mock drafts for the last five years from some of the best experts in the field and others who are just getting started. You have to have a well-established website to be considered. Maybe I'll get there some day. They score players going in the first round as one point (fair enough) and players to the correct team as two points (seems too heavy considering trades can royally mess that up). Anyway, my 5-year mock draft record would rank 15th of the 63 experts who have 5-year records using their scoring method and 8th out of 155 experts for this year.
Here are the results, including where I fit in if scoring one point for going in the first round and one point for the correct team. I’m tied for 2nd out of 23 mock drafters. Here are the scores. The date of the mock drafts is assumed to be the day of the draft unless otherwise known and listed.
Forrest N. Long The Huddle Report 28 + 10 = 38
***Draftman Rick Anderson 29 + 8 = 37***
Dane Brugler The Athletic 27 + 10 = 37
Shane Hallam www.draftcountdown.com 30 + 6 = 36
Albert Breer Sports Illustrated (4/26/22) 27 + 9 = 36
Peter Schrager NFL Network and www.nfl.com 29 + 6 = 35
Sam Farmer LA Times (4/27/22) 29 + 6 = 35
Lance Zierlein NFL Network and www.nfl.com 28 + 7 = 35
Todd McShay ESPN Draft Analyst 29 + 5 = 34
Mel Kiper ESPN Draft Analyst 28 + 6 = 34
Lou Pickney www.DraftKing.com (4/27/22) 27 + 7 = 34
Robby Esch The Huddle Report 27 + 7 = 34
Jason McIntyre FOX Sports (4/27/22) 26 + 8 = 34
Michael Renner Pro Football Focus (4/27/22) 27 + 6 = 33
Daniel Jeremiah NFL Network and www.nfl.com (4/27/22) 26 + 7 = 33
Jason Boris Times News Lehighton, PA www.tnonline.com 26 + 7 = 33
Nate Davis USA Today 26 + 6 = 32
Peter King https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/ (4/25/22) 26 + 6 = 32
Mark Maske Washington Post (4/26/22) 25 + 7 = 32
Kevin Hanson Sports Illustrated 28 + 3 = 31
Greg DePalma www.ourlads.com (4/27/22) 26 + 5 = 31
Rob Rang www.FOXSports.com (4/27/22) 26 + 4 = 30
Bucky Brooks NFL Network and www.nfl.com (4/26/22) 25 + 4 = 29
I used to consider Nolan Nawrocki to be the king of mock drafts. Nolan learned from the deceased all-time draft master of Pro Football Weekly, Joel Buschbaem. Nawrocki was hired as a scout by the Raiders in 2019, so he can't do a mock draft. Rick Gosselin and Michael Abromowitz have stopped putting out a mock draft. So, who’s the new king of mock drafts? I’d say it’s Jason Boris of the Times News in Lehighton, PA. According to the Huddle Report, who scores lots of mock drafts, Jason is number 6 and climbing for his 5-year average. Jason is incredibly insightful. May God always be your number 1 draft pick! Draftman Rick Anderson