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 – we did that in our 2018 NFL Mock Draft Results page – 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 best reports and five worst reports for 2018, 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 (2018):
Charlie Campbell: 7-3
Tony Pauline: 6-5
Adam Schefter: 3-0
Jason La Canfora: 3-1
Todd McShay: 2-0
Dan Patrick: 2-0
Lance Zerlein: 2-0
Ian Rapoport: 2-1
Peter King: 1-0
Josina Anderson: 1-0
Mike Garafolo: 1-0
Dane Brugler: 1-0
Charles Robinson: 1-0
Louis Riddick: 1-0
Chris Mortensen: 1-1
Daniel Jeremiah: 1-2
Jeff Darlington: 0-1
Albert Breer: 0-1
Jeremy Fowler: 0-1
Vincent Frank: 0-1
Benjamin Allbright: 1-3
Eric Galko: 0-2
Jon Ledyard: 0-2
Matt Miller: 1-4
National Media (2013-18):
Charlie Campbell: 33-15
Adam Schefter: 16-9
Tony Pauline: 35-32
Peter King: 19-16
Lance Zerlein: 6-3
Daniel Jeremiah: 8-6
Peter Schrager: 5-2
Adam Caplan: 5-2
Chris Mortensen: 9-7
Michael Silver: 3-0
Todd McShay: 5-4
Jason La Canfora: 10-11
Ian Rapoport: 9-11
Jason Cole: 4-3
Bob Holtzman: 2-0
Alex Marvez: 2-0
Mike Mayock: 2-0
Dan Patrick: 2-0
Louis Riddick: 2-0
Jay Glazer: 2-1
Albert Breer: 2-1
Jeremy Fowler: 2-3
Greg Gabriel: 2-3
Tom Curran: 1-0
Charles Davis: 1-0
Eric Edholm: 1-0
Matthew Fairburn: 1-0
Clark Judge: 1-0
Mike Garafolo: 1-0
Jim Trotter: 1-0
Josina Anderson: 1-0
Dane Brugler: 2-2
Joel Klatt: 1-1
Aaron Wilson: 1-1
Sal Paolantonio: 1-2
Charley Casserly: 1-2
Scott Bischoff: 0-1
Bucky Brooks: 0-1
Jeff Darlington: 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
Vincent Frank: 0-1
James Parks: 0-1
Pete Prisco: 0-1
Solomon Wilcots: 0-1
Field Yates: 0-1
Shawn Zobel: 0-1
Charles Robinson: 2-4
Brian Baldinger: 0-2
Jon Ledyard: 0-2
Gil Brandt: 0-2
Jeff Chadiha: 0-2
Ed Werder: 0-2
Eric Galko: 1-3
Benjamin Allbright: 1-3
Russ Lande: 0-3
Mel Kiper: 0-4
Pro Football Talk: 1-5
Matt Miller: 3-14
Local or Specific Team-Based Media (2013-18):
Mike Jurecki: 12-0
Jordan Raanan: 7-1
Mary Kay Cabot: 9-3
Joe Person: 5-1
Armando Salguero: 6-3
Jim Wyatt: 6-3
Dave Lapham: 4-0
D. Orlando Ledbetter: 3-0
Jeff McLane: 3-0
Elliot Shorr-Parks: 3-0
Mike Triplett: 3-0
Jim Thomas: 3-1
Jenna Laine: 2-0
Bryan Broaddus: 2-0
Gerry Dulac: 2-0
Michael Gehlken: 2-0
Jonathan Jones: 2-0
Mike Klis: 2-0
Jon Machota: 2-0
Vaughn McClure: 2-0
Patricia Traina: 2-0
Charean Williams: 2-0
Joe Buscaglia: 2-0
Rich Cimini: 3-3
John McClain: 3-3
Dan Pompei: 2-1
Ben Goessling: 2-1
Doug Kyed: 1-0
Gil Arcia: 1-0
Greg Auman: 1-0
Matt Barrows: 1-0
Adam Beasley: 1-0
Zach Berman: 1-0
Clifton Brown: 1-0
Steve Corkran: 1-0
Rob Demovsky: 1-0
Larry Holder: 1-0
Jane Slater: 1-0
Bart Hubbuch: 1-0
Barry Jackson: 1-0
Tim Kawakami: 1-0
John Keim: 1-0
Aaron Leming: 1-0
Brian Linder: 1-0
Terry McCormick: 1-0
John Middlekauff: 1-0
Vince Langford: 1-0
Terez Paylor: 1-0
Terry Pluto: 1-0
Vito Stellino: 1-0
Adam Teicher: 1-0
Jerry McDonald: 1-0
Ed Bouchette: 1-0
Chris Tomasson: 1-0
Tim Twentyman: 1-0
Mike Wells: 1-0
Paul Schwartz: 1-0
Michael C. Wright: 1-0
Mike DiRoco: 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
Brad Biggs: 1-1
Jeff Sullivan: 1-1
Tim McManus: 1-2
Manish Mehta: 1-2
Tony Grossi: 1-3
John Mullin: 0-1
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
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
Matt Lombardo: 0-1
Simon Clancy: 0-1
Bill Williamson: 0-2
Best 2018 NFL Draft Reports
10. Many had the Browns’ pick wrong. These five reports called it correctly, however:
4/23: The Browns are choosing between Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield. – Dan Patrick, The Dan Patrick Show
3/26: Three sources say the Browns are feigning love for Sam Darnold to bait the Giants to trade to No. 1 overall. – Dan Patrick, The Dan Patrick Show
3/26: “One source with knowledge of the Browns’ private workout and meeting with Baker Mayfield said the session went ‘great’ and the Browns’ interest seems sincere; Dorsey praises him at meetings, and he’s still in the mix.” – Mary Kay Cabot , Cleveland.com
3/4: “There is very strong buzz Cleveland likes Baker Mayfield a lot.” – Mike Garafolo, NFL Network
1/26: There’s a fit developing between the Browns and Baker Mayfield. – Charles Robinson, Yahoo!
Dan Patrick came up big in the pre-draft reporting, as did Mary Kay Cabot, who is a fantastic team reporter, as evidenced by her record above.
9. Would the Giants take Saquon Barkley or Sam Darnold? This was not obvious, as Darnold was the favorite to go second overall for a while. These reports changed that:
4/16: “I have a feeling that there is a strong, strong, strong sentiment within that building for Saquon Barkley, based upon my experience there, if you know what I mean.” – Louis Riddick, ESPN
4/15: It does not appear likely the Giants will select a quarterback at No. 2 overall. – Paul Schwartz, New York Post
8. Tony Pauline called the Ravens liking Orlando Brown, though they must have realized they could take him later in the wake of his poor combine:
2/27: “One league source told me Orlando Brown is the type of blocker Baltimore likes as a big-bodied player with length.” – Tony Pauline, DraftAnalyst.com
7. Jane Slater reported that the Cowboys saw Leighton Vander Esch as the second coming of Brian Urlacher, but Pauline had it first, all the way back in January:
1/25: Someone to keep in mind for the Cowboys is Boise State linebacker Leighton Vander Esch. – Tony Pauline, DraftAnalyst.com
6. Charlie Campbell got this one right about the Redskins, as they selected Da’Ron Payne with Minkah Fitzpatrick off the board. What’s impressive is that this was also made back in January:
1/28: The Redskins love Minkah Fitzpatrick, but don’t expect him to get to their pick. They also love the idea of reuniting Da’Ron Payne with Jonathan Allen. – Charlie Campbell, WalterFootball.com
5. Getting the first pick right was hard enough. Here’s someone who nailed the 24th-overall selection:
4/23: Joe Person predicts the Panthers will select D.J. Moore. Person of the Charlotte Observer has handicapped the Panthers’ first-round picks perfectly in recent years, and he was the first to connect them to Christian McCaffrey in 2017.
4. This is an impressive report, as Jason La Canfora called both the trade and the prospect chosen:
4/21: “If the Raiders do in fact trade down from the 10th overall pick – with someone like New England or Arizona or whoever coming up for a quarterback – look out for UCLA tackle Kolton Miller to be a top target for them.” – Jason La Canfora, CBS
3. Wow, what a call! I wish I knew who wrote this so I could give them proper credit, but it’s something I wrote down in the rumors back in March:
3/21: “Verbatim with 100-percent certainty the Chargers are targeting Uchenna Nwosu with the 48th pick in Round 2. Says he fits the scheme. They are looking for help at linebacker. Anthony Lynn and Gus Bradley among large contingent on site.” – , RosterWatch.com
2. This is why Charlie Campbell is one of the top draft reporters. He called both of Tennessee’s initial two picks with this:
4/23: “Sources say some of the top candidates for Tennessee include Ohio State defensive end Sam Hubbard, Boston College defensive end Harold Landry, and Alabama linebacker Rashaan Evans.” – Charlie Campbell, WalterFootball.com
1. Mike Jurecki is an incredible team reporter, as he’s never gotten anything wrong since we’ve been tracking everyone (see record above.) Look at how on point he was this year, nailing two picks and a trade:
4/23: The Cardinals won’t trade into the top five for a quarterback, but will in the 6-10 range. They believe Josh Rosen is the quarterback to fall.
4/17: The Cardinals are high on Christian Kirk. – Mike Jurecki, Arizona 98.7
Top Five Worst 2018 NFL Draft Reports
5. This was an early report, but the 49ers obviously had no interest in Courtland Sutton at No. 9 overall, given that he fell to the second round:
3/6: “Hearing that Courtland Sutton made some major noise within the 49ers organization during the combine. Don’t be surprised if Sutton is pick at No. 9 or in trade down. The 49ers like Harold Landry, too.” – Vincent Frank, FOX Sports
4. I don’t think the Patriots had “legit” interest in Lamar Jackson, given that they passed on him twice:
4/25: The Patriots’ interest in Lamar Jackson is “legit.” – Ian Rapoport, NFL Network
3. This report was 100-percent incorrect, as Derrius Guice engaged in a shouting match with members of Philadelphia’s front office:
4/25: “The Eagles are likely to trade out of No. 32 unless Derrius Guice is on the board.” – Jon Ledyard, NDT
2. Josh Sweat slipped to the fifth round, so Josh Sweat was definitely not an option at 34:
4/23: “The Giants are interested in Josh Sweat and met with him. Could be an option at 34.” – Matt Lombardo, NJ.com
1. I’m not quite sure who Benjamin Allbright is, but someone I respect in the media asked me why he always spreads false information. Someone on our team entered in this tweet of his, which he promptly deleted. It’s not clear why he was so confident about this scoop when professional reporters with sources repeatedly said that it was going to be between Baker Mayfield and Josh Allen:
4/25: Sam Darnold will be Cleveland’s No. 1 pick – Benjamin Allbright, 104.7 FM Denver
Once again, check out the 2018 NFL Draft Rumors here. I’ll notify you of updates on Twitter, so follow me @walterfootball.
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