Colin Cowherd · Jan 22, 2026
Cowherd ranked the ten best players in the AFC Championship game between the Patriots and Broncos, with Patrick Surtain first, and argued New England's quarterback edge (Drake Maye over Jarrett Stidham) will decide the game. He also said he'd bet the Rams plus points against Seattle and predicted the Rams will pick near the bottom of the first round for the next decade.
“Number one. Patrick's artan I think is you can make the argument he's the best corner.”
said on air or in an interview · The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast) · read the original →
4 checkable claims from this
Each one is scored on its own against the published methodology. A pundit naming several outcomes is graded on each, not on all-or-nothing.
- Game Outcome PicksJan 22, 2026
“bought New England at the most important position, has a sizeable advantage. Drake May over Jarrett Stidham, and I think that's the difference in the game.”
Scored 100a naive guess scored 0+100 skillHow this was scored
- won:
- NE
- score:
- 10-7
- skill:
- 100
- they picked:
- NE
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 0
- naive pick:
- DEN
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- Team Draft Slot CallsJan 22, 2026
“they're going to be at the bottom of the first round for the next ten Years”
Scored 100a naive guess scored 54.53+45.47 skillHow this was scored
- team:
- LAR
- draft:
- 2026
- naive:
- they picked 46 the year before
- skill:
- 45.47
- season:
- 2025
- zero at:
- 32
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 54.53
- actual pick:
- 13
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- predicted pick:
- at the bottom of the first round for the next ten Years (picks 1–32)
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- Top Player ListsJan 22, 2026
“who are the ten best players between the Patriots and Broncos in our opinion or at least mine heading into the AFC Championship”
Scored 50a naive guess scored 50+0 skillHow this was scored
- naive:
- a coin-flip ordering scores 50
- skill:
- 0
- placed:
- 4
- season:
- 2025
- players:
- 10
- accuracy:
- 50
- baseline:
- 50
- by position:
- CB 2: 100, WR 2: 0
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- could not place:
- 1
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- Positional FinishesJan 22, 2026
“One of the top four to five best guards in the NFL”
Too vague to check — we could not tell what would count as right.