# Derek Brown: Derek Brown (Debro) is high on Isaiah Likely with the Giants, ranking him TE7 in early redraft and calling him a must-draft with top-five upside at the position given Malik Nabers' injury.

**Claimed:** Mar 21, 2026
**Pundit:** Derek Brown — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/pundits/derek-brown
**Outlet:** The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast) — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/outlets/the-herd-with-colin-cowherd-podcast
**How it reached us:** said on air or in an interview
**Original:** https://omny.fm/shows/fantasypros-fantasy-football-podcast/fantasy-gold-the-top-10-must-have-players-for-2026-ep-1981

2 checkable claims — 1 positional finishe and 1 sleeper call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.

None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in.

> In my early redraft ranks, I had him as tight end seven, and I just the clear path or targets is set.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Isaiah Likely to outplay his draft cost (outside of the top twelve tight ends)**
  - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Isaiah Likely
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Isaiah Likely to finish top 7 at his position, by fantasy points**
  - Kind: Positional Finishes · About: Isaiah Likely
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Isaiah Likely — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/isaiah-likely

## What others said about the same people

- Patricia Traina on Isaiah Likely: Traina projects the Giants' initial 53-man roster position by position, naming who makes the team and who lands on the practice squad, including keeping Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Evan Neal (with a possible trade), Dalen Cambre over Braxton Berrios, Lucas Patrick as backup center, and Dominic Zvada as the kicker. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/8bb1a183-b45b-44db-8a61-23bdd2238a6b (scored 100)
- Joe Dolan on Isaiah Likely: Dolan sees no fantasy value in Darren Waller's return with Miami (projecting him as roughly TE33), but loves Devon Achane's passing-game upside with Jonnu Smith gone, Rashee Rice as a discounted target hog who leads the Chiefs in targets, Kenneth Walker as a bell-cow at a cheap price, Jordan Addison as badly underpriced, Darnell Mooney as too cheap, Isaiah Likely as a late-round breakout, and Devaughn Vele as the Broncos' starting slot man. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/7bbd232a-2e40-474c-b3e1-80438d5a98d3 (scored 0)
- Tim Hasselbeck on Isaiah Likely: Hasselbeck expects Kyler Murray to be released by Arizona, believes Malik Willis will sign somewhere as the anointed opening-day starter, and thinks Isaiah Likely can be a true No. 1 tight end who would catch over 75 passes with close to seven touchdowns as a full-season starter. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/f427a6b0-2fb5-4887-90e3-a02973258757 (scored 0)
- Jake Ciely on Isaiah Likely: Sealey gave his early 2026 quarterback ranks — Allen, Lamar, May and Daniels as his top four, Joe Burrow sixth, Daniel Jones 17th, Justin Herbert 10th, C.J. Stroud 25th and Sam Darnold 26th — plus tight ends with Isaiah Likely 13th and Dalton Kincaid down at 16. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/f0bd19b0-da37-47d6-b81f-8863be80fbe2 (scored 91.67)
- Andrew Erickson on Isaiah Likely: Erickson predicted the Chiefs could lose outright at Tennessee in a flat spot, with Tony Pollard finishing as a top-24 running back for a third straight week; he also called Darren Waller a likely TE1 in Week 16, Tetairoa McMillan a top-20 receiver against Tampa Bay, Omarion Hampton the week's RB1, Isaiah Likely a top-12 tight end in a Patriots win over the Ravens, and Audric Estime a smash flex play for the Saints. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/9a86737a-7153-4055-8e85-9e8e11d49f0b (scored 0)
- Rich Hribar on Isaiah Likely: In his Week 2 Giants-Rams worksheet, Hribar treats Jaxson Dart as a consistent QB1, Stafford as a fringe QB1, Kyren Williams as a touchdown-dependent RB2, Nacua as a front-end receiver, Nabers as an upside WR2, Adams as a WR2/WR3, and Isaiah Likely as an upside TE1, while calling Corum marginal and the Rams tight ends touchdown-dependent TE2s. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/84790379-62d8-453f-af18-4f08f6655538 (not settled)

## More sleeper calls

The same kind of call, about other players and teams.

- Tom Strachan on Ricky Pearsall: Tom Strachan backed Xavier Worthy, Jalen Coker, Egbuka, Jalen Waddle, Darnell Mooney, Zay Flowers, George Pickens, DeVonta Smith and Travis Hunter as values at their draft costs, while avoiding Jerry Jeudy and the Cleveland receivers. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/c42eacc5-eb10-4103-a94d-50545a487cbb (scored 100)
- Ryan Wormeli on Ricky Pearsall: Host Ryan Warmley endorsed Ricky Pearsall as a bet worth making and put his rookie-receiver capital in Tetairoa McMillan, while fading Zay Flowers at his cost and opting out of Marvin Harrison Jr. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/192d6e67-2e0e-49b3-bc82-4c8a77bd5950 (scored 100)
- Chris Welsh on Tyler Warren: Welsh drafted Christian McCaffrey, Breece Hall, RJ Harvey, Tetairoa McMillan, Travis Hunter, the Rams and Saints receivers, Justin Fields (a top-10 QB), Drake Maye (QB10-14), Travis Kelce and Tyler Warren, while passing on Joe Mixon, the Commanders backfield, Tyreek Hill, Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/9f0f2132-f3b8-4813-b2b1-374b827d86a8 (scored 100)
- Pat Fitzmaurice on Rashee Rice: Pat Fitzmaurice gave draft-or-pass calls: reluctant drafts on Christian McCaffrey, RJ Harvey, Tetairoa McMillan (his WR16), Rashee Rice at a ninth-round price, Austin Ekeler, Chris Rodriguez, Chris Olave, Drake Maye (his QB8) and Tyler Warren, with passes on Breece Hall, Joe Mixon, Croskey-Merritt, Tyreek Hill, Travis Hunter, the Rams receivers and Justin Fields. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/e36f1287-466c-4889-a7ea-c9d86f4b5182 (scored 0)
- Joe Pisapia on Tyreek Hill: Joey P (Joe Pisapia) played draft-or-pass on 2025 fantasy values: he passed on Christian McCaffrey at pick 7, Breece Hall, Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, Travis Hunter and Chris Olave, while drafting RJ Harvey, Tyreek Hill, Tetairoa McMillan, Puka Nacua, Tyler Warren and a late-round Joe Mixon. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/c3c95c1c-64a4-42b6-9389-58d5fb5b27d1 (scored 0)
- Ryan Wormeli on Tetairoa McMillan: Hosting the segment, Warmley backed Bryce Young to finish better than his QB22 consensus ranking, endorsed Cedric Tillman as a late-round target, and said Tetairoa McMillan will be a top-15 fantasy receiver this season. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/2c695b79-bc5e-4d3f-8136-6705656267a2 (scored 100)

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Accuracy is 0-100 against what actually happened. The naive guess is what a strategy requiring no knowledge would have scored on the same call — the difference is the skill, and it is what the MissedTakes Score averages.

Full method: https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/methodology

We summarize what a pundit said and quote a short span for attribution; we never republish their article. If this is wrong, tell us:
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