# Bucky Brooks: Brooks names the five riskiest and five best contracts of the 2026 offseason, arguing among other things that Alec Pierce will take over as the Colts' No. 1 receiving option and Alontae Taylor will play the CB1 role in Tennessee, while Kyler Murray, Riq Woolen, Braden Smith, Kenneth Walker III and Tyler Biadasz are bargains.

**Claimed:** Aug 11, 2026
**Pundit:** Bucky Brooks — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/pundits/bucky-brooks
**Outlet:** Fox Sports — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/outlets/fox-sports
**How it reached us:** published in writing
**Original:** https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/nfls-5-best-5-worst-contracts-offseason

2 checkable claims — 2 depth chart calls — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.

It names 4 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

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

Of the 1 unsettled call enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands below the rest of the room.

> It is rare for a WR2 to seamlessly transition to the WR1 role.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Alontae Taylor to be 1st on the depth chart**
  - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Alontae Taylor, Tennessee Titans
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Alec Pierce to be 1st on the depth chart**
  - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Alec Pierce, Indianapolis Colts
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Alontae Taylor — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/alontae-taylor
- Tennessee Titans — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/titans
- Alec Pierce — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/alec-pierce
- Indianapolis Colts — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/colts

## What others said about the same people

- Noah Compton on C.J. Allen: After watching the Colts' eleventh training camp practice, Compton says rookie linebacker CJ Allen is still expected to start the regular-season opener, identifies Alec Pierce as the team's top receiver and Cam Taylor-Britt as the first cornerback behind the starting trio, and declares the kicking job Blake Grupe's to lose. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/98a8bd92-bcd8-4b5a-aad7-96ecd936662b (scored 0)
- Eric Cohen on Tennessee Titans: Cohen says the Bears win easily in Carolina, and that Tennessee starts 1-0 over a Jets team he considers the third-worst in the league. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/37c0b874-cb1b-43c8-b78e-96a7b287ae62 (scored 0)
- Kevin Wildes on Indianapolis Colts: Wildes parlayed two upsets: Houston beating Buffalo and Indianapolis beating Baltimore, and had picked Dak Prescott as league MVP. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/f28f3fe2-4d14-4184-9168-052e865ecb0b (scored 0)
- Kirk Herbstreit on Tennessee Titans: Herbstreit made a full slate of Week 1 picks — Lions, Ravens, Bears, Bills, Buccaneers, Jaguars, Titans, Eagles, Packers and Cowboys — and also said he still thinks Seattle is the team to beat in the NFC West. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/5bc3755c-9b84-484f-b8f2-b18d51a12261 (scored 0)
- AJ Hawk on Tennessee Titans: AJ Hawk picked the Ravens over the Colts, Carolina to beat Chicago outright, the Bills at Houston, the Bengals over Tampa Bay, the Titans over the Jets, the Raiders over Miami, the Packers at Minnesota and the Cowboys over the Giants. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/74f9146c-d27f-4851-b8a4-4103d043308f (scored 0)
- Richard Sherman on Indianapolis Colts: Sherman picked Seattle to beat New England 28-17 in the opener, ran through score picks for the rest of the week one slate (49ers, Cowboys, Bills, Bears, Vikings, Colts, Broncos), said the Seahawks would also beat the Cardinals, Commanders and Chargers, backed Dallas to win its division, and predicted Christian Gonzalez's deal would come in barely above Devon Witherspoon's. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/3b4f1960-4810-4136-8023-c9a76a0598a3 (scored 21.43)

## More depth chart calls

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

- Tyler Sullivan on Drew Lock: In an unsigned Week 2 odds roundup, the piece states that with Sam Darnold hurt, Drew Lock will likely start at quarterback for Seattle against Arizona. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/8a14b5e6-066b-457f-b409-a3ddbd512aca (scored 0)
- Ralph Vacchiano on Tua Tagovailoa: Vacchiano ranks all 32 NFL teams entering the 2026 season, with the Rams first and Dolphins last. He also flags the Giants as a potential surprise team with a top-10 defense, and notes Deshaun Watson won Cleveland's QB job while Tua Tagovailoa starts Week 1 in Atlanta. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/6f782be9-64d3-47cf-b054-6566e14194d6 (scored 0)
- Pat Fitzmaurice on Kyler Murray: Fitzmaurice touts Kyler Murray as a value QB who will start Week 1 for Minnesota, Tyler Shough as the Saints' undisputed starter, and Juwan Johnson and Terrance Ferguson as late-round tight end targets. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/70a7844a-2fb6-44d7-814f-30ec9fbcc26d (scored 100)
- Pat Fitzmaurice on Kyler Murray: Fitzmaurice expects Kyler Murray to be Minnesota's Week 1 starter and calls him one of the better quarterback values in 2026 drafts; he also views Jordan Love as a top-10 real-life quarterback but only a QB2 in fantasy. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/0653fc24-437c-4aba-89ee-f1f417e1983d (scored 100)
- Steven Ruiz on Michael Penix Jr.: In a retrospective tiering of all 32 starting quarterbacks, Ruiz treats Michael Penix Jr. as the Falcons' Week 1 starter over Kirk Cousins, whom he places in his lowest tier. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/968b3764-11ef-41b5-a370-ff570b3219d1 (scored 0)
- Mike Florio on Shedeur Sanders: Florio reports the Browns will start Deshaun Watson in Week 1 but predicts Shedeur Sanders will likely be the starting quarterback by Week 3. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/cf6258b2-b55f-4f50-84f9-24269a5a006a (scored 0)

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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

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