# Andrew Erickson: Erickson gave his 2026 first-round board, leaning on running backs early with Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs, Ja'Marr Chase as his WR1 and Christian McCaffrey slipping to 12. He also touted Malik Nabers as a buying opportunity, projected big touchdown numbers for Burrow and Chase, and called Barkley a buy-low. **Claimed:** Jan 17, 2026 **Pundit:** Andrew Erickson — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/pundits/andrew-erickson **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/fantasypros-fantasy-football-podcast/projecting-the-first-round-the-top-12-fantasy-football-players-in-2026-ep-1939 6 checkable claims — 2 player season numbers, 1 depth chart call, 1 fantasy ranking, 1 positional finishe and 1 trade and signing call — 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. All 6 have settled, averaging 56.3 out of 100, against 50.3 for a naive guess at the same calls. > So pick nine, I'm on Ross Saint Brown. Pick ten, Devon a Chan... Pick eleven is take one Barkley... And then pick twelve, mister Christian McCaffrey. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **A.J. Brown to move** - Kind: Trade and Signing Calls · About: A.J. Brown - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - **Yes, going with Jeon Robinson... So he's my number two player [Gibbs]... My number one wide receiver is Jamar Chase... So James Cook for me is number four... I got Jackson Smith and Jig Pooka, Nakua, Jonathan Taylor, and Cede Lamb rounding out picks five through eight... So pick nine, I'm on Ross Saint Brown. Pick ten, Devon a Chan. Pick eleven is take one Barkley... And then pick twelve, mister Christian McCaffrey.** - Kind: Fantasy Rankings - Verdict: scored 56.25 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Ja'Marr Chase to record 15 receiving tds** - Kind: Player Season Numbers · About: Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals - Verdict: scored 6.67 out of 100, against 56.87 for a naive guess - **Joe Burrow to record 45 passing tds** - Kind: Player Season Numbers · About: Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 20.05 for a naive guess - **James Cook to finish top 3 at his position, by fantasy points** - Kind: Positional Finishes · About: James Cook, Buffalo Bills - Verdict: scored 83.33 out of 100, against 83.33 for a naive guess - **DeVonta Smith to be 1st on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles - Verdict: scored 91.67 out of 100, against 91.67 for a naive guess ## Who this take is about - A.J. Brown — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/a-j-brown - Ja'Marr Chase — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/ja-marr-chase - Cincinnati Bengals — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/bengals - Joe Burrow — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/joe-burrow - James Cook — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/james-cook - Buffalo Bills — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/bills - DeVonta Smith — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/devonta-smith - Philadelphia Eagles — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/eagles ## What others said about the same people - Nick Wright on Buffalo Bills: 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) - Steven Ruiz on A.J. Brown: Ruiz expects the Eagles to trade A.J. Brown once the June 1 dead-cap threshold passes, most likely to New England, and thinks Baker Mayfield will get a Buccaneers extension making him the league's highest-paid quarterback within a month or two. He also argues the Lions may have to let one or two of their 2023 draft class leave, and that Houston should extend C.J. Stroud. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/6f6c3a28-18bb-4f4d-beb5-061d863b4e28 (scored 100) - Diante Lee on A.J. Brown: A Ringer post-draft power ranking of all 32 teams for the 2026 season, ranked by how much the writer would trust each team to win the Super Bowl, with Denver picked to win the AFC, Detroit projected among the NFC's four best, and win-total calls on Pittsburgh and Miami. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/d8c102e3-a8d3-4d06-bd90-4b7db78d2fa0 (scored 100) - Scott Bogman on A.J. Brown: Bogman laid out fades on Malik Nabers (knee), Kenneth Walker, Bhayshul Tuten, Christian Watson, Jackson Dart and Sam LaPorta, while liking Isaiah Likely and staying more positive on DJ Moore; he also gave his top-seven tight end board and expected Tuten to lead Jacksonville's backfield. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/00bcda68-4f13-404c-8d31-b6f6d82e94f8 (scored 100) - Brandon Carney on A.J. Brown: Carney drafted a team of rookies he expects to make an immediate fantasy impact (headlined by Karnell Tate and Makai Lemon), predicted landing spots for the remaining big-name free agents, and gave way-too-early division winners, wild cards and award picks — Patriots, Chargers, Bengals, Jaguars, Eagles, Rams, Vikings and Saints as division champs with Joe Burrow as MVP. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/c4d477da-4fb8-4a25-a904-c5057a249a70 (scored 100) - Jeremy White on A.J. Brown: Jeremy White expects the Patriots to acquire AJ Brown, calling the trade likely inevitable within about a month. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/a8701720-01eb-4a29-8bf1-5a8555f0d1ed (scored 100) ## More player season numbers The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Ross Jackson on Tyler Shough: Jackson projects a big sophomore jump for Saints QB Tyler Shuck, laying out a Drake May-style stat line (17 starts, 72% completions, ~4,601 passing yards, 24 TDs, 9 INTs) or a Bo Nix-style consistency line (over 4,000 yards, over 20 TDs, ~10 INTs), and says either path means a playoff season for New Orleans in 2026. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/4dc05898-73fd-4fcb-92c4-a940d7e395ba (scored 3.63) - Chris Broussard on Lamar Jackson: Broussard expects Lamar Jackson to play well but not vintage — two touchdown passes and no picks — while Derrick Henry carries the load with over 100 rushing yards. He also takes the Browns to upset the Bengals and believes Myles Garrett gets at least two sacks to break the single-season record. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/5a026afc-40fe-4b1f-b209-3ce53ae205d7 (scored 0) - Nick Wright on Myles Garrett: Wright picks the Steelers to beat the Ravens outright in Pittsburgh, takes Seattle over San Francisco, and thinks the Browns lose to Cincinnati even as Myles Garrett gets the sack record. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/9a8b5cea-9f2f-46f0-9939-72c2a60e4c26 (scored 100) - Nick Wright on Myles Garrett: Nick Wright says Myles Garrett is playing at an all-time level and might reach 25 sacks this season, and among his weekly picks he expects the Bears to beat the Steelers in an ugly low-margin home win and Seattle to win comfortably at Tennessee. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/029b0090-8d3f-47de-9fb9-7f0a02320f3a (scored 84) - Shannon Sharpe on T.J. Watt: On a Bengals-Steelers matchup, Sharpe took the over on several player props: Ja'Marr Chase over 74.5 receiving yards, Joe Flacco over 36.5 pass attempts, and T.J. Watt over 3.5 tackles+assists, adding that Watt will get two sacks. He also predicted Rico Dowdle would make the Pro Bowl this season. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/1fbc5b8e-7449-41f4-a5a2-7029cc4ef65e (scored 0) - Rich Eisen on Micah Parsons: Eisen made a series of picks: Micah Parsons will out-sack any two Cowboys combined (after initially leaning the other way), the NFC North is more likely to produce a Super Bowl team than the NFC East, Eagles wins will outnumber Cowboys losses, Bo Nix/Courtland Sutton will out-touchdown Cam Ward/Calvin Ridley, and Marvin Harrison Jr./James Conner will beat Kamara/Olave in yards and TDs. He also picked the AFC West order and said Deion Sanders is more likely than Bill Belichick to have a winning record. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/f94f8499-af74-4a8d-a688-fd08cd52bb3c (scored 56.25) --- 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=andrew-erickson