# Donnie Druin: Druin writes that with Jeremiyah Love and Tyler Allgeier ahead of him, James Conner will serve as a change-of-pace back behind them, and expects Conner to be ready for the regular-season opener even without a set timeline. **Claimed:** Aug 16, 2026 **Pundit:** Donnie Druin — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/pundits/donnie-druin **Outlet:** Sports Illustrated — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/outlets/sports-illustrated **How it reached us:** published in writing **Original:** https://www.si.com/nfl/cardinals/onsi/arizona-cardinals-give-james-conner-update-will-he-play-preseason One checkable claim, graded on its own against what actually happened. It names 2 players and teams, each linked to their own record. Nothing to score yet: this grades once the result is in. Of the 1 unsettled call enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands above the rest of the room. > With Jeremiyah Love and Tyler Allgeier atop the Cardinals' pecking order, there's no reason to rush Conner back – though the veteran is still serviceable and should provide a change of pace when needed. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **James Conner to be 3rd on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: James Conner, Arizona Cardinals - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - James Conner — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/james-conner - Arizona Cardinals — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/cardinals ## What others said about the same people - Greg Jennings on Arizona Cardinals: Jennings put the Cardinals up as his upset alert over Seattle, backed the Texans over Cincinnati and the Bears over Minnesota with chips, put two chips on Denver beating Jacksonville, and wrote a headline of the Packers beating the Jets; he also called the Bengals a playoff team and the Chiefs winners over Indianapolis. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/420d3e29-6224-43a2-8d68-b15c864838cd (scored 0) - John Breech on Arizona Cardinals: Breech has San Francisco routing Miami 38-16 and says the Dolphins are headed for an 0-17 season; he also picks Arizona to upset Seattle 20-17. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/437a6bd1-ac3a-4745-8c35-137f4d364b0a (scored 0) - John Breech on Arizona Cardinals: Breech picks the Bills to beat the Lions 38-31 on Thursday night, floats the game as a Super Bowl preview, and takes the Cardinals to upset the Seahawks 20-17 in Week 2. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/f42c4080-99e0-449b-b2fa-05e18ce6f922 (scored 0) - John Breech on Arizona Cardinals: Breech expects more upsets in NFL Week 2, specifically picking the Cardinals to beat the Seahawks, who may be without Sam Darnold. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/279e13ea-7477-4ca6-9e67-0bc53271b3e7 (scored 0) - John Breech on Arizona Cardinals: Breech picks every Week 2 game with scores, takes the Cardinals to upset the Seahawks, sees a Bills-Lions shootout, predicts Baker Mayfield's revenge win over Cleveland, and says the Browns will miss the playoffs while the Dolphins go winless. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/eb6d274b-c294-4c3d-ba42-d3dee06c6e87 (scored 0) - Lance Zierlein on Jeremiyah Love: Zierlein laid out his final mock draft: Jeremiah Love at No. 3 to Arizona, Sonny Styles at No. 4 to Robert Saleh's team, and Caleb Downs to the Giants at No. 5. He also called Styles the only first-round linebacker in the class and said Ty Simpson is a lock to be a first-round pick, most likely to Arizona. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/cf600df8-87eb-492b-9d91-f7a2b39104ac (scored 100) ## More depth chart calls The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Matt Severance on Deshaun Watson: The CBS Sports preview backs Tampa Bay to beat Cleveland in the Bucs' Week 2 home opener, and states that Deshaun Watson — not Shedeur Sanders — will be Cleveland's starting quarterback in Week 2. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/944568ce-7205-409f-8354-a392016fd8bf (scored 100) - Rafael Zamorano on Deshaun Watson: Zamorano reports Watson will start Week 2 at Tampa Bay and suggests there's little reason to expect improvement, raising the possibility Watson's five-year contract never yields more than single-digit wins. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/d7d7e0a2-61e0-4525-970b-b01a2356f11b (scored 100) - Rich Hribar on Tua Tagovailoa: Hribar expects Tua Tagovailoa to be Atlanta's starting quarterback for Week 2 while Michael Penix stays out, with Penix's return closer to Week 4. He is unenthusiastic about the Falcons' offense either way and treats Bryce Young as a fringe fantasy starter. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/124ac755-a942-4382-8bad-177da7f8170d (scored 0) - Bradley Locker on Carson Wentz: PFF's unsigned adjusted power rankings after Week 1 of the 2026 season place the Bills first, the Rams second and the Dolphins last, with notes on quarterback situations in Seattle, Minnesota and Cleveland. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/a3716f21-0488-4fc8-a414-c25c2d781a6e (scored 100) - Tyler Sullivan on Michael Penix Jr.: In a Week 1 recap with no named byline, CBS Sports suggested Michael Penix Jr. would take over as Atlanta's Week 2 starter if healthy, called Ashton Jeanty's sophomore breakout imminent, and warned readers not to overlook San Francisco as NFC West winners. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/1000d8d0-5de1-405e-b8ce-255cde75a32d (scored 0) - Pat Fitzmaurice on Rashod Bateman: In his Week 2 waiver wire column, Fitzmaurice recommends a slate of pickups he expects to outperform their current rostership (Kaelon Black, Deebo Samuel, Tyler Shough, Geno Smith and others), lays out several depth-chart expectations (Black as the 49ers' No. 2 back, Shedeur Sanders eventually taking over in Cleveland, Penix returning for Atlanta), and flags Fool's Gold/drop candidates such as Mike Gesicki, Kendrick Bourne and Rashid Shaheed. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/6218d3c2-61e7-4ace-9976-b51eeefdf22c (scored 0) --- 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: https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/corrections?pundit=donnie-druin