Derek Brown· Sep 26, 2026
Brown laid out aggressive rest-of-season positional rankings — Mahomes QB8, Kenneth Walker RB3, Kelce up to TE7, Rashee Rice all the way down at WR31 and Worthy at WR42 — called Drake London a WR1 with Penix back, and picked Tampa Bay 21-18 over Minnesota while declaring Zay Flowers will not play in Brazil.
“RB3 behind only Jameer Gibbs and Bajon Robinson. That's where I'm at.”
said on air or in an interview · The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast) · read the original →
10 checkable claims — 8 positional finishes, 1 availability call and 1 score prediction — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.
It names 14 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
1 of 10 have settled so far, averaging 40.5 out of 100, against 34.5 for a naive guess at the same calls.
Of the 5 unsettled calls enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands above the room on 2 and below it on 3.
Where this call stands in the room
Patrick Mahomes · 2026 season · positional finish4 calls from 4 pundits between 5 positional finish and 12 positional finish. Derek Brown said 8 positional finish. the room's median is 5 positional finish. 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
The game in this take
- Vikings at Buccaneers 10 calls
10 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.
- Score PredictionsTampa Bay BuccaneersSep 26, 2026
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21 — Vikings 18
“I was going to go like 21, 18, and I'm also going to take the Buccaneers here.”
Close · 40Scored 40.48a naive guess scored 34.45+11.39 skillHow this was scored
- score:
- 23-16
- skill:
- 11.39
- they picked:
- TB
- season:
- 2026
- accuracy:
- 40.48
- baseline:
- 34.45
- difficulty:
- 1.89
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- actual margin:
- 7
- weeks left when called:
- 16
- naive home margin:
- 0.47
- predicted margin:
- 3
Tyler Shough to finish top ? at his position, by fantasy points
“I've got him at QB. I kind of go back and forth somewhere in the QB 10 to 12 range (rest of season)”
Too vague to check — we could not tell what would count as right.
- Positional FinishesRashee RiceKansas City ChiefsSep 26, 2026
Rashee Rice to finish top 31 at his position, by fantasy points
“I've got him at wide receiver 31. I've got him at wide receiver 31 right now (Rasheed Rice rest of season)”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Xavier Worthy to finish top 42 at his position, by fantasy points
“I'd like, I've got him at 42 right now. (Xavier Worthy rest of season)”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Patrick Mahomes to finish top 8 at his position, by fantasy points
“Uh qb8 but i'm with fitzy like i think low in qb1 is about right (Mahomes rest of season)”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Positional FinishesKenneth Walker IIISep 26, 2026
Kenneth Walker III to finish top 3 at his position, by fantasy points
“RB3 behind only Jameer Gibbs and Bajon Robinson. That's where I'm at. ... So RB3 for me.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Positional FinishesJeremiyah LoveSep 26, 2026
Jeremiyah Love to finish RB3 (25–36) at his position, by fantasy points
“I have him as an RB3, and when it all shakes out, that's where he's going to be, somewhere in that RB3 range.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Availability CallsZay FlowersBaltimore RavensSep 26, 2026
“Zay Flowers is not going to play. He still hasn't practiced this week. ... I just don't see a world where he plays in this game. (Week 3, Ravens at Cowboys in Brazil)”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Travis Kelce to finish top 7 at his position, by fantasy points
“I could move him up to tight end seven. If Daniel Jones and the Colts keep looking bad, he's going to get a crap ton of volume.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Positional FinishesDrake LondonAtlanta FalconsSep 26, 2026
Drake London to finish top ? at his position, by fantasy points
“He's wide receiver one. Where you want to put him in wide receiver one is fine by me.”
Too vague to check — we could not tell what would count as right.
What others said about the same people
- Carmen VitaliGame Outcome Picks · Tampa Bay BuccaneersMiss · 0In the show's weekly picks segment Vitali took the Broncos over the Rams, the Ravens over the Cowboys in Rio, Tampa at home over Minnesota, the Bills over the Chargers and the Eagles on the road in Chicago. She also agreed that Caleb Williams would be out roughly two to three weeks.
- Tracy SandlerGame Outcome Picks · Baltimore RavensHit · 100Sandler predicted Caleb Williams would miss two to three weeks with his hamstring injury, and in the picks segment took the Broncos, Ravens, Vikings, Bills and Bears (switching off an earlier Tampa pick).
- John MiddlekauffGame Outcome Picks · Kansas City ChiefsHit · 100Middlekauff expects blowout wins for Seattle over Washington and Kansas City over Miami in Week 3, picks Cincinnati to beat Pittsburgh in the AFC North matchup, and takes Tennessee over the Giants if Jameis Winston is taking snaps.
- Pat FitzmauriceScore Predictions · Tampa Bay BuccaneersMiss · 36Fitzmaurice gave rest-of-season positional rankings for several Chiefs and other skill players, including Mahomes as his QB10, Kenneth Walker as RB4 behind Gibbs, Bijan and McCaffrey, Kelce at TE8 and Worthy down at WR50, and he picked Tampa Bay to beat Minnesota 21-20.
- Alain PoupartScore Predictions · Kansas City ChiefsClose · 74Previewing the Week 3 home opener, he predicted the Chiefs would comfortably beat the Dolphins, saying Miami's defense couldn't contain Kansas City and its offense wasn't ready for a shootout.
- Nick WrightScore Predictions · New Orleans SaintsMiss · 33On his Week 3 pick show, Nick Wright gave straight-up final-score predictions for five games, calling blowouts by Seattle over Washington and Kansas City over Miami, a Jacksonville home win over New England, a narrow New Orleans win over the Raiders and a low-scoring Baltimore win over Dallas in Brazil. He also called Seattle the best team in the NFL with the league's best defense.
More positional finishes
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
- Rich HribarPositional Finishes · Matthew StaffordHit · 100Hribar published his 2023 fantasy football quarterback tiers, ordering 41 quarterbacks into eight tiers that reflect how he prioritizes drafting the position, with Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes in the top tier as the trio most likely to finish as the overall QB1.
- Chris BrockmanPositional Finishes · Jaxon Smith-NjigbaHit · 100Brockman argued Jaxon Smith-Njigba is already the best receiver in the NFL and deserves to be the highest paid, called his shot that three quarterbacks (Mendoza, Ty Simpson, Carson Beck) go in the first round with Mendoza first overall, and suggested New England is headed for a 7-10 season.
- Pat GustavsonPositional Finishes · Josh AllenMiss · 17Gustafson picks the Patriots, Bills, Seahawks and Bears in the divisional round with a Seahawks-Patriots Super Bowl, predicts Mike Tomlin and Matt LaFleur stay, Aaron Rodgers returns to Pittsburgh, and lays out his own coaching landing spots.
- Rich EisenPositional Finishes · George PickensHit · 100Eisen called the Rams-winning-it-all take an overreaction but expects Los Angeles to win the NFC West, said he doesn't see how Myles Garrett fails to win Defensive Player of the Year, and called George Pickens perhaps the third-best receiver in the NFL this season.
- Chad Ochocinco JohnsonPositional Finishes · Christian GonzalezMiss · 0Ochocinco says Christian Gonzalez belongs in the top-five DB conversation, believes Kyler Murray will be elsewhere next year, expects Chase to get a one-game suspension, backs Sam Darnold to bounce back, and floats Jaxon Smith-Njigba reaching 2,000 receiving yards. He also reminds listeners he called the Bears and Panthers as teams to watch before the season.
- Rich EisenPositional Finishes · Puka NacuaHit · 92Eisen defended his preseason call of the Packers reaching the Super Bowl, said the Chiefs will win the AFC West, called the Ravens the favorites in the AFC North, said the Colts are a playoff team, expected Denver to handle Cincinnati and the Giants to beat the winless Saints, and endorsed Puka Nacua as the league's best receiver.