# John Middlekauff: 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. **Claimed:** Mar 26, 2026 **Pundit:** John Middlekauff — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/pundits/john-middlekauff **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/3-and-out-with-john-middlekauff/nfl-kicking-off-on-a-wednesday-latest-with-puka-nacua-final-four-picks 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. > I'm going to Arkansas, the Johnny's, Nebraska and Michigan. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Ty Simpson to be picked “drafted after pick one hundred”** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Ty Simpson - Verdict: not settled yet - **Patrick Mahomes to be 1st on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Ty Simpson — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/ty-simpson - Patrick Mahomes — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/patrick-mahomes - Kansas City Chiefs — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/chiefs ## What others said about the same people - Joshua Schulman on Kansas City Chiefs: Schulman 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. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/688ed965-da9e-4ced-9e80-10e7c54d5f43 (scored 100) - Nick Wright on Kansas City Chiefs: Amid 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. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/2cdeee40-89bf-46f1-b5a1-1a2511dc01cd (scored 100) - Greg Jennings on Kansas City Chiefs: 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 100) - Jared Dubin on Kansas City Chiefs: Dubin has Houston beating Cincinnati at home and Kansas City grinding out a narrow win over Indianapolis. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/2d7a391a-171e-4d38-abb6-3284a7670a86 (scored 97.62) - Pete Prisco on Kansas City Chiefs: Prisco 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. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/29185ff4-dec4-498f-aa45-4ca2d72dcbe3 (scored 83.33) - Nick Wright on Kansas City Chiefs: Nick 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. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/00ed9114-0e69-4e26-9fb2-4e5e3893c56e (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. 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