# Ralph Vacchiano: Vacchiano expects veteran Mason Rudolph to serve as Aaron Rodgers' backup in Pittsburgh rather than rookie Drew Allar. On the Giants, he lays out a receiver depth chart with Malik Nabers, Darnell Mooney and rookie Malachi Fields holding the top three spots, and Darius Slayton and Calvin Austin also likely to stick. **Claimed:** Aug 17, 2026 **Pundit:** Ralph Vacchiano — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/pundits/ralph-vacchiano **Outlet:** Fox Sports — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/outlets/fox-sports **How it reached us:** published in writing **Original:** https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/which-rookies-standing-out-7-takeaways-from-week-1-preseason 6 checkable claims — 4 depth chart calls and 2 roster spot calls — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 8 players and teams, each linked to their own record. None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in. Of the 4 unsettled calls enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands above the room on 1 and below it on 3. > He's not even likely to be Rodgers' backup, an honor that probably will go to veteran Mason Rudolph. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Calvin Austin III to make the roster** - Kind: Roster Spot Calls · About: Calvin Austin III, New York Giants - Verdict: not settled yet - **Darnell Mooney to be 2nd on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Darnell Mooney, New York Giants - Verdict: not settled yet - **Malachi Fields to be 3rd on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Malachi Fields, New York Giants - Verdict: not settled yet - **Mason Rudolph to be 2nd on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Mason Rudolph, Pittsburgh Steelers - Verdict: not settled yet - **Darius Slayton to make the roster** - Kind: Roster Spot Calls · About: Darius Slayton, New York Giants - Verdict: not settled yet - **Malik Nabers to be 1st on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Malik Nabers, New York Giants - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Calvin Austin III — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/calvin-austin-iii - New York Giants — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/giants - Darnell Mooney — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/darnell-mooney - Malachi Fields — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/malachi-fields - Mason Rudolph — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/mason-rudolph - Pittsburgh Steelers — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/steelers - Darius Slayton — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/darius-slayton - Malik Nabers — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/malik-nabers ## What others said about the same people - Jason McIntyre on Baker Mayfield: Filling in for Colin Cowherd, McIntyre argued the 49ers' window is closed amid a brutal injury list and record travel, floated a Bijan Robinson trade to the Bears, predicted the Lions can win the NFC North, doubted Atlanta is even a playoff team, said Baker Mayfield's Tampa run ends after this season, and delivered a top-10 quarterback ranking. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/3fa10b83-c7a3-489f-a011-76f2eb991e81 (scored 0) - Evan Silva on Pittsburgh Steelers: In his 2020 fantasy defense/special teams rankings, Silva puts the Steelers first, the 49ers second and the Ravens third, citing pass rush, favorable early schedules and game scripts. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/180b1036-60e5-494b-9b4d-90b5dc3d6528 (scored 100) - Chad Millman on New York Giants: Chad Millman said he had taken money-line positions on several Week 1 underdogs — the Texans outright over the Bills, the Giants outright over Dallas (in a money-line underdog parlay), and Miami outright at Las Vegas — and that the show's survivor pick was the Steelers to win. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/bd767876-d060-44de-aa5a-3fc87ff4e749 (scored 100) - Jordan Dajani on Pittsburgh Steelers: Dajani expects the Steelers to comfortably beat the Falcons in Week 1, arguing Atlanta's quarterback situation under Tua Tagovailoa is a mess; he also picks the Vikings to beat the Packers in a low-scoring game. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/aa3d04bb-6a56-4202-9f05-36e5bda5d05f (scored 100) - Simon Hunter on New York Giants: Hunter picked Houston and the Giants as underdog money line plays, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Detroit as favorites, and used Pittsburgh plus the Chargers as his survivor picks for week one. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/5ac46502-b65b-469b-befc-16fbc672b011 (scored 100) - Chad Millman on Pittsburgh Steelers: Millman backed several week one sides outright: Miami to beat the Raiders straight up, the Jets over the Titans, an underdog money line parlay of Houston and the Giants, and a favorites money line parlay of Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Detroit. He also stands by his preseason take that Drake Maye is a top-five NFL quarterback. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/de991e27-ec15-4c6e-ad88-b55bdaea8665 (scored 100) ## More depth chart calls The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Tyler Sullivan on Drew Lock: In an unsigned Week 2 odds roundup, the piece states that with Sam Darnold hurt, Drew Lock will likely start at quarterback for Seattle against Arizona. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/8a14b5e6-066b-457f-b409-a3ddbd512aca (scored 0) - Pat Fitzmaurice on Kyler Murray: Fitzmaurice touts Kyler Murray as a value QB who will start Week 1 for Minnesota, Tyler Shough as the Saints' undisputed starter, and Juwan Johnson and Terrance Ferguson as late-round tight end targets. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/70a7844a-2fb6-44d7-814f-30ec9fbcc26d (scored 100) - Pat Fitzmaurice on Kyler Murray: Fitzmaurice expects Kyler Murray to be Minnesota's Week 1 starter and calls him one of the better quarterback values in 2026 drafts; he also views Jordan Love as a top-10 real-life quarterback but only a QB2 in fantasy. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/0653fc24-437c-4aba-89ee-f1f417e1983d (scored 100) - Steven Ruiz on Michael Penix Jr.: In a retrospective tiering of all 32 starting quarterbacks, Ruiz treats Michael Penix Jr. as the Falcons' Week 1 starter over Kirk Cousins, whom he places in his lowest tier. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/968b3764-11ef-41b5-a370-ff570b3219d1 (scored 0) - Mike Florio on Shedeur Sanders: Florio reports the Browns will start Deshaun Watson in Week 1 but predicts Shedeur Sanders will likely be the starting quarterback by Week 3. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/cf6258b2-b55f-4f50-84f9-24269a5a006a (scored 0) - Nathan Jahnke on Jalen Tolbert: PFF's preseason fantasy recap makes a large number of depth-chart, role and fantasy-value calls across the league, including Chig Okonkwo as a top sleeper tight end, Tre Tucker as the Raiders' top receiver, and various backfield hierarchies. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/760054fd-7815-4b86-a9e3-bc9bdb0a730b (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=ralph-vacchiano