2021 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 2021 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 worst reports for 2021, 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 (2021):

Charlie Campbell: 5-0
Tony Pauline: 7-3
Peter King: 2-2
Albert Breer: 1-0
Ian Rapoport: 1-0
Jonathan Jones: 1-0
Pat McAfee: 1-0
Rich Eisen: 1-0
Michael Lombardi: 1-0
Cam Marino: 1-0
Dan Orlovsky: 1-0
Ben Standig: 1-0
Todd McShay: 1-2
Daniel Jeremiah: 0-1
Matt Miller: 0-1





National Media (2013-21):

Charlie Campbell: 51-20
Adam Schefter: 20-9
Tony Pauline: 47-40
Peter King: 31-21
Lance Zerlein: 8-3
Peter Schrager: 6-2
Adam Caplan: 5-2
Chris Mortensen: 9-7
Jason La Canfora: 12-12
Daniel Jeremiah: 8-8
Todd McShay: 6-6
Albert Breer: 4-2
Michael Silver: 3-1
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
Ian Rapoport: 12-16
Dane Brugler: 3-2
Jay Glazer: 2-1
Jeremy Fowler: 2-3
Chris Burke: 1-0
Tom Curran: 1-0
Charles Davis: 1-0
Jonathan Jones: 1-0
Pat McAfee: 1-0
Eric Edholm: 1-0
Michael Lombardi: 1-0
Cam Marino: 1-0
Matthew Fairburn: 1-0
Kim Jones: 1-0
Dan Orlovsky: 1-0
Ben Standig: 1-0
Clark Judge: 1-0
Mike Garafolo: 1-0
Tom Pelissero: 1-0
Jim Trotter: 1-0
Charles Robinson: 3-4
Pro Football Talk: 2-5
Greg Gabriel: 2-5
Joel Klatt: 1-1
Josina Anderson: 1-1
Rich Eisen: 1-1
Aaron Wilson: 1-2
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
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: 3-18




Local or Specific Team-Based Media (2013-21):

Mike Jurecki: 13-0
Cecil Lammey: 7-0
Jordan Raanan: 9-1
Mary Kay Cabot: 9-3
Armando Salguero: 9-4
Dave Lapham: 5-0
Joe Person: 5-1
Jim Wyatt: 6-3
D. Orlando Ledbetter: 4-0
Gerry Dulac: 4-0
Jonathan Jones: 4-0
Ralph Vacchiano: 3-0
Jeff McLane: 3-0
Elliot Shorr-Parks: 3-0
Mike Triplett: 3-0
Jim Thomas: 3-1
Ed Bouchette: 2-0
Jenna Laine: 2-0
Bryan Broaddus: 2-0
Jeff Zrebiec: 2-0
Rob Demovsky: 2-0
Michael Gehlken: 2-0
Larry Holder: 2-0
Mike Klis: 2-0
Jon Machota: 2-0
Jane Slater: 2-0
Vaughn McClure: 2-0
Patricia Traina: 2-0
Charean Williams: 2-0
Joe Buscaglia: 2-0
Tim Twentyman: 2-0
Darren Wolfson: 2-0
John McClain: 3-3
Ben Goessling: 2-1
Dan Pompei: 2-1
Woody Paige: 1-0
Dave Bryan: 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
Peter Bukowski: 1-0
Bart Hubbuch: 1-0
Barry Jackson: 1-0
Tim Kawakami: 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
Joe Tordy: 1-0
Jerry McDonald: 1-0
Chris Tomasson: 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
John Keim: 1-1
Ryan O’Halloran: 1-1
Brad Biggs: 1-1
Todd Archer: 1-1
Tom Silverstein: 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
Les Bowen: 0-1
John Mullin: 0-1
Andrew Abramson: 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
Rick Stroud: 0-1
Ben Volin: 0-1
Eric Williams: 0-1
Matt Lombardo: 0-1
Simon Clancy: 0-2
Bill Williamson: 0-2
Paul Crane: 0-2



Best 2021 NFL Draft Reports





5. It’s difficult to get picks right on Day 2:

4/30: “Hearing a lot of Tyson Campbell as the first or second pick off the board in the second round.” – Jonathan Jones, CBS

Jonathan Jones correctly reported whom the Jaguars would select to kick off the second round.


4. Tony Pauline published some tremendous reports, as usual:

4/28: Assuming Kyle Pitts and Ja’Marr Chase are off the board, the Dolphins are moving away from Devonta Smith and are now preferring Penei Sewell or Jaylen Waddle. – Tony Pauline, Pro Football Network

Unfortunately, I guessed incorrectly in my mock draft!




3. Here’s a trade Peter King correctly reported:

4/26: “It won’t surprise me, if the Broncos do not draft a quarterback, to see Denver make a mid-round deal for Teddy Bridgewater with Carolina.” – Peter King, NBC

King messed up the San Francisco news, but he was able to call the Bridgewater trade.


2. Charlie Campbell is the best in the business, and he published several great reports, including this one:

4/29: “Team sources said on Wednesday night that the Bengals had decided on LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase.” – Charlie Campbell, WalterFootball.com

The mock drafters who predicted that the Bengals would select Penei Sewell would have gotten one more pick correct had they listened to Charlie’s news.


1. Rich Eisen seldom reports draft news, but he made a great call eight days prior to the draft:

4/21: “I’m hearing [the third pick] is Trey Lance.” – Rich Eisen, NFL Network

Eisen said this when everyone and their evil stepmother was mocking Mac Jones to the 49ers. Several others eventually got on the Trey Lance bus, including Pat McAfee and his declaration on draft day, but Eisen was the first.




Worst 2021 NFL Draft Reports


3. This is contrary to Charlie Campbell’s report about the Bengals:

4/26: Penei Sewell is the favorite at No. 5. – Todd McShay, ESPN

McShay had mixed results this year, but he led many mock drafters astray with this false report.




2. Here’s another negative for McShay:

4/26: The Lions seem to prefer Kyle Pitts, Ja’Marr Chase, Devonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle. – Todd McShay, ESPN

Four swings, four misses for McShay. The Lions loved the one elite prospect McShay didn’t mention.

1. Matt Miller, notoriously known for reporting that Matt Barkley would be a top-10 pick, has once again made an appearance on this page:

4/8: “I can’t find anyone who thinks it’s other than Mac Jones at No. 3.” – Matt Miller, Rich Eisen Show

Who was Miller talking to, exactly? Alabama homers? This is the only report of Miller’s I saw because he now keeps his content behind a pay wall for some reason.

Once again, check out the 2021 NFL Draft Rumors here. I’ll notify you of updates on Twitter, so follow me @walterfootball.





NFL Power Rankings - Feb. 22


2024 NFL Mock Draft - Feb. 21


Fantasy Football Rankings - Feb. 19


NFL Picks - Feb. 12