2019 NFL Draft Rumor Results

I post lots of things in the NFL Draft Rumors section from various reporters on the Internet and in print media. I’ve been rating how these reporters perform each year because it’s important to differentiate between those who actually have sources, and those who nonsensically post on Twitter, pretending to know people in NFL organizations.

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 2019 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 2019, 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 (2019):

Peter King: 5-0
Charlie Campbell: 5-2
Dianna Marie Russini: 2-0
Adam Schefter: 2-0
Jason La Canfora: 2-1
Albert Breer: 1-0
Dane Brugler: 1-0
Chris Burke: 1-0
Mike Florio: 1-0
Kim Jones: 1-0
Tom Pelissero: 1-0
Peter Schrager: 1-0
Lance Zerlein: 1-0
Tony Pauline: 2-2
Ian Rapoport: 1-1
Rich Eisen: 0-1
Daniel Jeremiah: 0-1
Jon Ledyard: 0-1
Pete Prisco: 0-1
Michael Silver: 0-1
Benjamin Allbright: 0-2
Greg Gabriel: 0-2
Matt Miller: 0-3





National Media (2013-19):

Charlie Campbell: 38-17
Adam Schefter: 18-9
Peter King: 24-16
Tony Pauline: 37-34
Lance Zerlein: 7-3
Peter Schrager: 6-2
Adam Caplan: 5-2
Chris Mortensen: 9-7
Daniel Jeremiah: 8-7
Todd McShay: 5-4
Jason La Canfora: 12-12
Albert Breer: 3-1
Michael Silver: 3-1
Ian Rapoport: 10-12
Jason Cole: 4-3
Bob Holtzman: 2-0
Alex Marvez: 2-0
Mike Mayock: 2-0
Dan Patrick: 2-0
Louis Riddick: 2-0
Dianna Marie Russini: 2-0
Dane Brugler: 3-2
Jay Glazer: 2-1
Jeremy Fowler: 2-3
Josina Anderson: 1-0
Chris Burke: 1-0
Tom Curran: 1-0
Charles Davis: 1-0
Eric Edholm: 1-0
Matthew Fairburn: 1-0
Kim Jones: 1-0
Clark Judge: 1-0
Mike Garafolo: 1-0
Tom Pelissero: 1-0
Jim Trotter: 1-0
Charles Robinson: 2-4
Pro Football Talk: 2-5
Greg Gabriel: 2-5
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
Rich Eisen: 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
Solomon Wilcots: 0-1
Field Yates: 0-1
Shawn Zobel: 0-1
Brian Baldinger: 0-2
Gil Brandt: 0-2
Jeff Chadiha: 0-2
Pete Prisco: 0-2
Ed Werder: 0-2
Eric Galko: 1-3
Benjamin Allbright: 1-5
Russ Lande: 0-3
Jon Ledyard: 0-3
Mel Kiper: 0-4
Matt Miller: 3-17




Local or Specific Team-Based Media (2013-19):

Mike Jurecki: 12-0
Jordan Raanan: 8-1
Mary Kay Cabot: 9-3
Armando Salguero: 7-3
Joe Person: 5-1
Jim Wyatt: 6-3
Dave Lapham: 4-0
Jonathan Jones: 3-0
Cecil Lammey: 3-0
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
Rob Demovsky: 2-0
Gerry Dulac: 2-0
Michael Gehlken: 2-0
Mike Klis: 2-0
Jon Machota: 2-0
Vaughn McClure: 2-0
Patricia Traina: 2-0
Ralph Vacchiano: 2-0
Charean Williams: 2-0
Joe Buscaglia: 2-0
John McClain: 3-3
Ben Goessling: 2-1
Dan Pompei: 2-1
Woody Paige: 1-0
Eric Ting: 1-0
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
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
Darren Wolfson: 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
Rich Cimini: 3-5
Tim McManus: 1-2
Manish Mehta: 1-2
Tony Grossi: 1-3
Bob McManaman: 0-1
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
Jourdan Rodrigue: 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: 0-2
Bill Williamson: 0-2



Best 2019 NFL Draft Reports


10. Armando Salguero called the Dolphins trading for Josh Rosen first:

4/25: The Dolphins are serious about possibly trading for Josh Rosen. – Armando Salgueo, Miami Herald

Salguero is one of the top NFL team beat writers. Given his track record (see above), it’s not a surprise that he nailed this story.


9. Cecil Lammey nailed the 49ers’ pick:

4/2: The “worst-kept secret” in the NFL is the 49ers’ interest in Nick Bosa. – Cecil Lammey, 104.3 The Fan

This is not the last time you’ll see Lammey’s name on this list.





8. Calling the fifth-overall pick is impressive:

4/22: The Buccaneers love Devin White. – Albert Breer, MMQB

The Buccaneers loved White so much that they passed on Josh Allen for him. This was great reporting on Breer’s part.


7. Jonathan Jones of Sports Illustrated pointed out someone the Panthers would ultimately select at No. 16 overall:

3/27: The Panthers have shown the most interest in Brian Burns. – Jonathan Jones, Sports Illustrated

For a time, it didn’t seem like Burns would fall to Carolina, but the Panthers ultimately got their man.


6. Woody Paige and I have a complicated history, as he once called me a “mushroom who lives in dark dankness,” I’ll give credit where credit is due:

4/25: The Broncos like Noah Fant. – Woody Paige, Denver Post

The Broncos really wanted a tight end with their first-round pick. They were able to trade down for Fant, as Paige predicted. And Woody, if you’re reading this, I prefer to be called a mushroom in dank darkness; not dark dankness.




5. Here’s another report from Cecil Lammey:

2/15: The Broncos like Drew Lock. – Cecil Lammey, 104.3 The Fan

Lammey was the first to link the broncos to Drew Lock, and he did so all the way back in February, which is very impressive.


4. This is another quarterback linking that occurred more than a month prior to the draft:

3/20: The Redskins are “very much intrigued” with Dwayne Haskins. – Jason La Canfora, CBS

Dianna Marie Russini was all over the Redskins liking Haskins, but La Canfora had it first.


3. Adam Schefter doesn’t report about the draft very often, but when he does, he’s usually right:

4/25: The Steelers are attempting to trade into the top 10. – Adam Schefter, ESPN

The thing is, the Steelers are known to be a team that hates trading up. However, they were willing to make a rare exception this time, as Schefter reported.


2. While Schefter got a trade into the top 10 correct, Charlie Campbell reported about a trade that would happen all the way in Round 2:

4/26: The Panthers could be “on the move” for an offensive lineman in Round 2. – Charlie Campbell, WalterFootball.com

The Panthers both traded up and selected an offensive lineman once they moved, per Charlie’s report. By the way, congrats again to Charlie for nailing 11 correct picks in his mock draft!


1. People will take this report for granted now, but I’ll explain why it’s No. 1:

3/1: Multiple league sources are “absolutely” convinced that Kyler Murray will be the top pick in the draft. – Ralph Vacchiano, SNY

This came out during the combine when no one knew where Kyler Murray would be chosen. Most mocks at that time predicted that Murray would go to the Dolphins or Redskins at 13 and 15, respectively. Ralph Vacchiano was the first to report that Murray was going to be the No. 1 overall selection, and he would have gotten a ton of flak had he not been correct. For that, he belongs atop this list.




Top Five Worst 2019 NFL Draft Reports


5. Mike Jurecki was once the top NFL team reporter, but he no longer covers the Cardinals. This is unfortunate for us, as you’ll see here:

4/2: “If the Cardinals can’t work a substantial trade with the Raiders at pick No. 4 or the Giants at No. 6, I now think that Nick Bosa will be the pick at No. 1.” – Bob McManaman, The Arizona Republic

This won’t be the last report you’ll see about Murray on this dubious list.

4. Matt Miller will appear multiple times on this list:

4/25: “For weeks now, the talk from NFL sources has been that the Colts really want Johnathan Abram, but there was a belief in their draft room and others that he wouldn’t fall to them at this spot.” – Matt Miller, Bleacher Report

The Colts wanted Johnathan Abram to fall to them so badly that they traded out of their pick when he dropped to No. 26. I suppose they didn’t like Abram very much after all.

3. Here’s another one from Miller:

4/24: Two teams in the top 10 love Dwayne Haskins. – Matt Miller, Bleacher Report

If a team is in “love” with Dwayne Haskins, they would’ve taken him. Teams don’t pass on quarterbacks they love. We saw this with the Giants and Daniel Jones. Which other teams in the top 10 could’ve loved Haskins? I don’t know, given that they all passed on him!




2. As promised, here’s another false story about Murray:

3/28: The motivation for the Cardinals’ interest in Kyler Murray is to trade the No. 1 pick. – Jon Ledyard, Draft Network

I assume this was by Ledyard because the article on his Draft Network Web site cryptically just said “By Draft Network.”

1. This story was reported on Easter, which sent shockwaves throughout the draft community:

4/22: The Cardinals are not going to draft Kyler Murray. – Pete Prisco, CBS

The story discussed how the Cardinals fed smoke to the media about Murray to drive up ticket sales, but they changed their mind about Murray because the response from the fans was lukewarm.

I met and spoke to Pete in Minnesota prior to last year’ Super Bowl, and he seemed like a nice guy, so I feel bad in pointing out that he was incorrectly tipped off. It sucks, and it happens to everyone. Even the most accurate reporters, from Charlie Campbell, to Peter King, to Adam Schefter, have gotten some stories wrong. Given that NFL personnel people leak false information and change their mind at times, it’s impossible to get everything right.

That, however, does not excuse this sort of behavior:



Pete’s response to that was: “Are you serious dude?”

I had the same reaction. Those who kick others when they’re down are horrible people. It’s just inexcusable behavior. What was the purpose behind that tweet to Prisco? To make himself look better when compared to a reporter who had an incorrect report? I really have no idea.

Once again, check out the 2019 NFL Draft Rumors here. I’ll notify you of updates on Twitter, so follow me @walterfootball.





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