# Rich Hribar: In his 2023 fantasy running back tiers, Hribar places Christian McCaffrey, Austin Ekeler and Saquon Barkley in Tier 1 as the backs who check every usage box. He also expects Ekeler and Barkley to retain workhorse/lead-back roles because neither team added a threat to their touches. **Claimed:** Jun 28, 2023 **Pundit:** Rich Hribar — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/pundits/rich-hribar **Outlet:** Sharp Football Analysis — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/outlets/sharp-football-analysis **How it reached us:** published in writing **Original:** https://www.sharpfootballanalysis.com/fantasy/running-back-fantasy-football-tiers-rankings-2023/ 3 checkable claims — 2 depth chart calls and 1 fantasy ranking — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 4 players and teams, each linked to their own record. All 3 have settled, averaging 91.7 out of 100, against 83.3 for a naive guess at the same calls. > The Giants have added no tangible candidates to push Barkley off of significant touches again in 2023. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Tier 1 Fantasy Football RBs: Christian McCaffrey, Austin Ekeler, Saquon Barkley** - Kind: Fantasy Rankings - Verdict: scored 75 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Austin Ekeler to be 1st on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Austin Ekeler, Los Angeles Chargers - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess - **Saquon Barkley to be 1st on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Saquon Barkley, New York Giants - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess ## Who this take is about - Austin Ekeler — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/austin-ekeler - Los Angeles Chargers — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/chargers - Saquon Barkley — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/saquon-barkley - New York Giants — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/giants ## What others said about the same people - Scott Bogman on Olaivavega Ioane: He gave David Bailey to Tennessee at 4, Sonny Styles to Washington at 7, Caleb Downs to Cincinnati at 10, Carnell Tate to the Rams at 13, Denzel Boston to the Jets at 16, Kayden McDonald to Carolina at 19, Vega Ioane to the Chargers at 22, Peter Woods to Chicago at 25, Emmanuel Pregnon to Houston at 28 and Romello Height to Denver at 31, and insisted both Bailey and Downs are top-10 locks. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/0b0cd1a9-31f7-40d9-9b9e-f52957c10494 (scored 70.71) - Steve Mensch on Spencer Fano: Making the even-numbered picks in the mock, he sent Arvell Reese to the Jets at No. 2, Spencer Fano to the Giants at 5, Jordan Tyson to the Saints at 8, a Tennessee cornerback to Miami at 11, Keldric Faulk to Baltimore at 14, Akheem Mesidor to Dallas at 20, Kenyon Sadiq to Philadelphia at 23, Caleb Banks to Buffalo at 26, Ty Simpson to the Rams at 29 and Chris Johnson to Seattle at 32, plus Caleb Lomu to Detroit at 17. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/f65851f3-1c53-4ae9-80ef-875db5ce2a3f (scored 84.09) - Nick Shook on Breece Hall: Shook names Breece Hall, Jakobi Meyers and David Njoku as trade candidates, suggesting Hall could land with the Chargers and that the Raiders will move Meyers as sellers. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/ef6a34cf-2058-4df8-b11a-0ac4a67b074e (scored 0) - Richard Sherman on New York Giants: Sherman previewed every division: he picked Seattle to win the NFC West on a tiebreaker over San Francisco (both 11-11 wins), the Lions over the Packers in the North, the Eagles to run away with the East, Tampa Bay in the South, and Kansas City, Buffalo and the Ravens' division rivals in the AFC. He picked an Eagles–Chiefs Super Bowl with Philadelphia repeating, Joe Burrow for MVP, and gave a top-five power ranking. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/ec43b02b-8e3a-4b2e-8c36-1839c9c52e3c (scored 20) - Colin Cowherd on Jameis Winston: Cowherd delivered his own top-15 draft board — what he would do as GM of each team — pairing prospects with picks 1 through 15, and separately argued Shedeur Sanders is a far better prospect than Daniel Jones and that Aaron Rodgers should retire. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/1d3f1be7-f506-422a-af38-e6e32088f3e5 (scored 100) - Nick Wright on Los Angeles Chargers: Nick Wright gave his early AFC win-total leans: overs on the Jets, Ravens, Jaguars, Chiefs and Raiders, plus projected win ranges for the Dolphins, Texans, Chargers and Broncos, and predicted the Raiders take Ashton Jeanty at No. 6. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/cc9d1905-c3e9-4d7f-8dbb-0f840dbb7535 (scored 80) ## More depth chart calls The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Tyler Sullivan on Deshaun Watson: An unsigned CBS Sports preseason review grading all 32 teams, which along the way stakes out a number of depth-chart calls for Week 1 and beyond — including Deshaun Watson opening as Cleveland's starter, Fernando Mendoza taking over as Las Vegas' QB1 by season's end, and Minnesota's Murray-Wentz-McCarthy quarterback order. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/054d7c3e-baca-4414-b3dd-72c4eced2725 (scored 100) - Ryan Wilson on Deshaun Watson: A CBS Sports piece states Deshaun Watson has won Cleveland's starting quarterback job for Week 1 with Shedeur Sanders next in line, while arguing Watson will not play like even an average NFL quarterback and that none of the Browns' current young passers should stop them from drafting a first-round quarterback next April. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/ff870e69-9992-4166-aa81-9b49d6f77f55 (scored 100) - Rafael Zamorano on Deshaun Watson: Zamorano argues the Browns do not have a franchise quarterback and that it's unlikely Watson or Sanders is their long-term answer. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/80cb396b-8dbf-4e39-bd65-6d25df403db1 (scored 100) - John Breech on Deshaun Watson: The unsigned newsletter author says Deshaun Watson will start Week 1 at Jacksonville, notes he voted for Jaxson Dart as his breakout QB rather than Caleb Williams, and says newly signed Daniel Carlson is the favorite to win the Saints' kicking job. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/1e520b2b-bf4e-4a82-9743-7cb7bc3ee125 (scored 100) - Mark Chichester on Deshaun Watson: Unsigned PFF piece reporting/asserting that Deshaun Watson will be Cleveland's Week 1 starting quarterback against Jacksonville, with Shedeur Sanders behind him on the depth chart. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/ef347873-c28b-4a47-bb04-2488937cd3cf (scored 100) - Zachary Pereles on Deshaun Watson: The unsigned recap argues Sanders clearly outplayed Watson and, even if Sanders isn't named the Week 1 starter, predicts both quarterbacks will see significant playing time in 2026. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/1b6d3216-38ff-4922-9e0a-807497573121 (scored 100) --- 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=rich-hribar