I took a glance back and counted how many “wins” and “losses” each reporter had. I didn’t look at whom they slotted in their mock drafts – the Wall Street Journal did a good job of that prior to this year – but rather, my task was delving into reports that said “Team X really likes Player A,” or “Team Y plans to trade up.”
I’ve also included the top 10 best reports and top five worst reports for 2016, so check those out below the following wins and losses (Note that these aren’t exactly ordered by percentage; getting a report right is difficult, so I wanted to award those who had more correct. As a result, it’s sort of a mixture). Follow @walterfootball for updates.
National Media (2016):
Charlie Campbell: 6-2
Peter King: 3-0
Adam Schefter: 3-0
Tony Pauline: 10-9
Alex Marvez: 2-0
Michael Silverback: 2-0
Lance Zerlein: 2-0
Jason Cole: 2-1
Daniel Jeremiah: 2-1
Jason La Canfora: 2-1
Ian Rapoport: 2-1
Adam Caplan: 1-0
Todd McShay: 1-0
Louis Riddick: 1-0
Eric Edholm: 1-0
Pro Football Talk: 1-1
Joel Klatt: 1-1
Matt Miller: 1-1
Pat Yasinskas: 1-1
Aaron Wilson: 0-1
Bucky Brooks: 0-1
Dane Brugler: 0-1
Charley Casserly: 0-1
Jeff Chadiha: 0-2
National Media (2013-16):
Charlie Campbell: 20-10
Adam Schefter: 13-8
Daniel Jeremiah: 7-4
Peter King: 16-15
Adam Caplan: 5-2
Chris Mortensen: 8-6
Tony Pauline: 23-24
Jason Cole: 4-2
Pete Schrager: 4-2
Jason La Canfora: 7-9
Ian Rapoport: 7-10
Albert Breer: 2-0
Bob Holtzman: 2-0
Alex Marvez: 2-0
Michael Silverback: 2-0
Jay Glazer: 2-1
Pat Yasinskas: 2-1
Lance Zerlein: 3-3
Jeremy Fowler: 2-2
Todd McShay: 2-2
Tom Curran: 1-0
Charles Davis: 1-0
Eric Edholm: 1-0
Greg Gabriel: 1-0
Clark Judge: 1-0
Mike Mayock: 1-0
Louis Riddick: 1-0
Jim Trotter: 1-0
Joel Klatt: 1-1
Aaron Wilson: 1-1
Dane Brugler: 1-2
Sal Paolantonio: 1-2
Charley Casserly: 1-2
Scott Bischoff: 0-1
Bucky Brooks: 0-1
John Clayton: 0-1
Ashley Fox: 0-1
Rand Getlin: 0-1
Ron Jaworski: 0-1
Bob McGinn: 0-1
Josh Norris: 0-1
Pete Prisco: 0-1
Solomon Wilcots: 0-1
Field Yates: 0-1
Shawn Zobel: 0-1
Brian Baldinger: 0-2
Gil Brandt: 0-2
Jeff Chadiha: 0-2
Ed Werder: 0-2
Charles Robinson: 1-4
Mel Kiper: 0-3
Russ Lande: 0-3
Pro Football Talk: 1-5
Matt Miller: 1-7
Local or Specific Team-Based Media (2013-16):
Mike Jurecki: 8-0
Jordan Raanan: 5-0
Jeff McLane: 3-0
Elliot Shorr-Parks: 3-0
Mike Triplett: 3-0
Jim Wyatt: 6-3
Jim Thomas: 3-1
Mary Kay Cabot: 5-3
Armando Salguero: 3-2
Dan Pompei: 2-1
Bryan Broaddus: 2-0
Gerry Dulac: 2-0
Michael Gehlken: 2-0
Jonathan Jones: 2-0
Mike Klis: 2-0
D. Orlando Ledbetter: 2-0
Jon Machota: 2-0
Vaughn McClure: 2-0
Patricia Traina: 2-0
Charean Williams: 2-0
Ben Goessling: 2-1
John McClain: 2-3
Gil Arcia: 1-0
Greg Auman: 1-0
Matt Barrows: 1-0
Adam Beasley: 1-0
Zach Berman: 1-0
Brad Biggs: 1-0
Clifton Brown: 1-0
Joe Buscaglia: 1-0
Steve Corkran: 1-0
Rob Demovsky: 1-0
Larry Holder: 1-0
Bart Hubbuch: 1-0
Barry Jackson: 1-0
Tim Kawakami: 1-0
John Keim: 1-0
Jenna Laine: 1-0
Aaron Leming: 1-0
Brian Linder: 1-0
Terry McCormick: 1-0
John Middlekauff: 1-0
Terez Paylor: 1-0
Terry Pluto: 1-0
Vito Stellino: 1-0
Adam Teicher: 1-0
Jerry McDonald: 1-0
Chris Tomasson: 1-0
Tim Twentyman: 1-0
Mike Wells: 1-0
Michael C. Wright: 1-0
Sam Farmer: 1-1
Jamison Hensley: 1-1
Paul Kuharsky: 1-1
Geoff Moesher: 1-1
Gary Myers: 1-1
Ryan O’Halloran: 1-1
Joe Person: 1-1
Jeff Sullivan: 1-1
Tim McManus: 1-2
Tony Grossi: 1-3
Rich Cimini: 2-3
Andrew Abramson: 0-1
Todd Archer: 0-1
Scott Bischoff: 0-1
Eric Branch: 0-1
Keith Britton: 0-1
David Climer: 0-1
Steve Doerschuk: 0-1
Jeff Duncan: 0-1
Chris Emma: 0-1
Sid Hartman: 0-1
Sheil Kapadia: 0-1
Andrew Krammer: 0-1
Tommy Lawlor: 0-1
Mark Long: 0-1
Manish Mehta: 0-1
Ryan Mink: 0-1
David Moore: 0-1
Jessica Morrey: 0-1
Josh Norris: 0-1
Steve Reed: 0-1
Tom Silverstein: 0-1
Rick Stroud: 0-1
Ben Volin: 0-1
Eric Williams: 0-1
Bill Williamson: 0-2
Top 10 Best 2016 NFL Draft Reports
10. By the end, many were on Ezekiel Elliott to the Cowboys, including Todd McShay, who correctly switched his mock draft picks. However, Louis Riddick was the first to be on the right track:
3/1: It would be “shocking” if Ezekiel Elliott got past the Cowboys at No. 4. – Louis Riddick, ESPN
9. Here’s another top-five pick that was called before anyone else – except that Lance Zierlein predicted that Philadelphia would move up.
4/7: The Eagles are trying to find a way to get Carson Wentz. “Doug Pederson loves him.” – Lance Zierlein, NFL Network
8. The following is a tweet from Charlie prior to Day 2 of the 2016 NFL Draft. Charlie also reported that the Jaguars wanted Joey Bosa more than anyone else, but Bosa didn’t make it to No. 5, unfortunately:
7. Charlie Campbell was the first to report that the Broncos and Browns wanted to move up into the back end of the opening round. Sure enough, they both tried to trade, with the former obviously being successful:
4/23: The Broncos and Browns are looking to trade up from 31, 32. – Charlie Campbell, WalterFootball.com
6. Tony Pauline had an impressive number of correct rumors this year, including this one about the 49ers. Apparently, they were so enamored that they felt like they had to trade up into the back end of the first round for him:
“49ers coach Chip Kelly was enamored with Joshua Garnett, spending time with the offensive lineman and seen talking to his agent.” – Tony Pauline, WalterFootball.com
5. This is one of two top-10 rumors involving the Chargers pick. No one knew what San Diego was going to do on the day of the draft, but Alex Marvez correctly predicted someone they wouldn’t take:
“I’m not sure who Chargers are taking at No. 3 but I’m told by source it isn’t gonna be Ron Stanley. We’ll know for sure soon.” – Alex Marvez, FOX Sports
4. Here’s another great call by Tony, as the Packers liked Jason Spriggs so much that they moved up for him in the second round:
2/28: “As of right now, people feel Jack Conklin is the player most desired by the Green Bay Packers, but it’s very unlikely the Michigan State tackle falls that far. The contingency plans for the Pack seems to be Jason Spriggs at this point.” – Tony Pauline, WalterFootball.com
3. Here’s another second-day lineman correct call from Tony:
4/1: “I’ve known for a few months the Seahawks like Rees Odhiambo as well as his teammate, center Marcus Henry.” – Tony Pauline, WalterFootball.com
2. Everyone had Darron Lee to the Falcons, but not Tony Pauline, who reported that Atlanta had decided on Keanu Neal for quite some time:
4/28: Dan Quinn has been pushing hard for Keanu Neal for weeks. – Tony Pauline, WalterFootball.com
1. I found this amusing while looking through the rumor mill. No one had a clue what the Chargers were going to do with the third-overall pick … and yet the answer was right in front of us the entire time. Charlie Campbell correctly called whom San Diego would take all the way back during the Senior Bowl:
1/28: Joey Bosa is in play for the San Diego Chargers at the third-overall pick. Bosa isn’t a great fit in a 3-4 defense, but the Chargers feel he is a versatile player whom they could move around. – Charlie Campbell, WalterFootball.com
Top Five Worst 2016 NFL Draft Reports
5. Apparently, the word didn’t get around to the Chargers:
“Word is getting around” that the Chargers will select Ronnie Stanley. – , Pro Football Talk
4. Most mock drafters had just one chance to get San Diego’s pick right. The NFL Network’s Jeff Chadiha had three – and he struck out:
The top three players the Chargers like right now are Laremy Tunsil, Ronnie Stanley and Jalen Ramsey. Ramsey is the safest pick for them. – Jeff Chadiha, NFL Network
3. Charley Casserly was way off on this one:
3/20: Myles Jack won’t get out of the first five picks. – Charley Casserly, NFL Network
He almost got out of the first five picks of the second round!
2. Jason Cole had some nice calls this year, but not with this one:
3/20: The Redskins view Michael Thomas as the top receiver in the class. – Jason Cole, Yahoo!
Washington took another receiver (Josh Doctson) in the first round.
1. Of course, a worst-rumors segment wouldn’t be complete without:
4/12: “”It’s a big offseason for the Indianapolis Colts, and I’m told from a team source that they like Baylor nose tackle Andrew Billings a lot in Round 1.” – Matt Miller, Source Copier
Oh, Matt. The Colts didn’t even take Billings in the third round.
I’d say that this is somewhere in between “Matt Barkley will be the seventh pick in the draft,” and “A.J. McCarron won’t get past the Bengals at No. 16.”
Once again, check out the 2016 NFL Draft Rumors here. I’ll notify you of updates on Twitter, so follow me @walterfootball.
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