Seth Walder Apr 21, 2026, 06:30 AM ET Close Seth Walder is an analytics writer at ESPN, specializing in quantitative analysis. He is also a regular on "ESPN Bet Live" and helps cover sports betting. Seth has been at ESPN since 2017. He previously worked at the New York Daily News covering the Jets and Giants. You can follow Seth on X via @SethWalder. The game within the game of the NFL draft is forecasting how it will unfold. Teams build internal models to help figure out when they need to pick a player and how far forward -- or back -- they can trade. For us, it means using ESPN's Draft Day Predictor to figure out the fuller draft picture before it plays out -- and of course, to power our mock draft simulator . But what is the Draft Day Predictor? It's a model that uses expert mock drafts , Scouts Inc. grades and team needs to predict the full range of selection outcomes for top prospects . The accuracy of those measures in past drafts informs the model's outputs for this upcoming draft.…