John Middlekauff· Mar 26, 2026
Middlekauff picks his NCAA Tournament Final Four (Arkansas, St. John's, Nebraska, Michigan), argues Ty Simpson is not a first-round quarterback and is the type he'd draft after pick 100, and says people should expect Patrick Mahomes back under center for Week 1 after ACL surgery.
“I'm going to Arkansas, the Johnny's, Nebraska and Michigan.”
said on air or in an interview · The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast) · read the original →
The page this came from has changed since we captured it on Aug 5, 2026. The quote and evidence above are from our capture, not from what the page says today.
2 checkable claims — 1 depth chart call and 1 mock draft pick — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.
It names 3 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.
Where this call stands in the room
Patrick Mahomes · 2026 season13 calls from 12 pundits between 1 and 1. John Middlekauff said 1. the room's median is 1. not settled yet
Every dot is a call somebody published on the same question. Where the dots land says where this take sits, not whether it is right — nothing here is settled yet. Hover a dot for the name and number; click it to read that take.
Where do you stand? Pick this and every open claim on Picks →
Who this take is about
2 checkable claims in this take
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.
- Mock Draft PicksTy SimpsonMar 26, 2026
Ty Simpson to be picked “drafted after pick one hundred”
“The other thing is Ty Simpsons got a first round pick for me. I didn't see it when I watched them. I used this comp of like, I think there's some similarities with perty... Those type players for me, are guys that are drafted after pick one hundred.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Patrick Mahomes to be 1st on the depth chart
“I would be prepared for Patrick Mahomes to play Week one.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
What others said about the same people
- Joshua SchulmanGame Outcome Picks · Kansas City ChiefsHit · 100Schulman endorses the view that the Chiefs will beat the Colts in their Sunday night matchup, calling ESPN's heavy lean toward Kansas City a fair assessment.
- Nick WrightGame Outcome Picks · Kansas City ChiefsHit · 100Amid his Week 2 spread picks, Wright made a few straight-up calls: Jacksonville wins outright at Denver, Carolina wins at Atlanta, and he'd be stunned if Kansas City lost to Indianapolis. He also expected Zay Flowers and Ladd McConkie to sit out with injuries.
- Greg JenningsGame Outcome Picks · Kansas City ChiefsHit · 100Jennings 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.
- Jared DubinScore Predictions · Kansas City ChiefsHit · 98Dubin has Houston beating Cincinnati at home and Kansas City grinding out a narrow win over Indianapolis.
- Pete PriscoScore Predictions · Kansas City ChiefsHit · 83Prisco picks final scores for every Week 2 NFL game, with several teams that lost in Week 1 — the Chargers, Patriots, Cowboys, Packers and Rams — bouncing back, and the Bills outlasting the Lions in a shootout.
- Nick WrightGame Outcome Picks · Kansas City ChiefsHit · 100Nick Wright expects the Bills to beat the Lions comfortably in the Thursday night home opener, with Josh Allen shredding a depleted Detroit secondary, and he also picks a workmanlike Chiefs win over the Colts on Sunday night. He further predicts Tyreek Hill will end up on the Chiefs by around Halloween.
More depth chart calls
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
- Matt SeveranceDepth Chart Calls · Deshaun WatsonHit · 100The 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.
- Rafael ZamoranoDepth Chart Calls · Deshaun WatsonHit · 100Zamorano 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.
- Rich HribarDepth Chart Calls · Tua TagovailoaMiss · 0Hribar 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.
- Bradley LockerDepth Chart Calls · Carson WentzHit · 100PFF'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.
- Tyler SullivanDepth Chart Calls · Michael Penix Jr.Miss · 0In 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.
- Pat FitzmauriceDepth Chart Calls · Rashod BatemanMiss · 0In 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.