# Seth Walder: As read on air, Walder (with Aaron Schatz) ranked the NFL's best projected 2026 starting lineups, with the Rams first, Eagles second and Seahawks third, and the Texans ninth.

**Claimed:** Jul 7, 2026
**Pundit:** Seth Walder — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/pundits/seth-walder
**Outlet:** John and Lance — ESPN Houston (podcast) — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/outlets/john-and-lance-espn-houston-podcast
**How it reached us:** said on air, transcribed by us
**Original:** https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/audioboom.com/posts/8924811.mp3?modified=1783437128&sid=4936948&source=rss

One checkable claim, graded on its own against what actually happened.

Nothing to score yet: this grades once the result is in.

> Seven is the Patriots. Eight is the Broncos. The Texans are nine, and the Packers are 10.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Ranking the best starting lineups in the NFL... Best projected starting lineups. 2,026 NFL rosters. This was put together by Seth Walder, Aaron Schatz... The Rams are one... Eagles are two... the Seahawks are three... the Ravens are five... Detroit is six... Seven is the Patriots. Eight is the Broncos. The Texans are nine, and the Packers are 10... Chargers are 13, Cowboys 14, the Bengals 15... the Bears are 17.**
  - Kind: Power Rankings
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## More power rankings

The same kind of call, about other players and teams.

- Rich Eisen: Eisen power ranked the 10 teams with new head coaches by their chances of a Mike Vrabel-style turnaround, with Baltimore first and Arizona last. He also predicted Kirk Cousins would be Atlanta's Week 1 starter, expected Deshaun Watson to start in Cleveland, and named the Titans as a team he likes. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/9280b9c3-3115-4f39-96f8-9cb20da4d82d (scored 85.45)
- Rich Eisen: Eisen delivered his final NFL power rankings of the season, a top 10 with the Super Bowl champion Seahawks first, the Rams second and the Patriots third, ahead of the Bears, Broncos, 49ers, Bills, Packers, Texans and Jaguars. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/4dc10d0a-5768-4152-9afc-f78c5bed8965 (scored 73.33)
- Anthony Gargano: Gargano also took Indiana over Miami as a mismatch, but split from Schwartz on wild card weekend by picking the Bears over the Packers and the Bills over the Jaguars, while liking the Patriots and Texans and ranking the Rams, Eagles and Bills as the top remaining contenders. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/dfced042-234b-430c-b75f-0ba86fa26db1 (scored 75)
- Rich Eisen: Rich Eisen delivered his final traditional power rankings of the season, counting down the top 10 teams in reverse order and putting the Seahawks first, with the rest of the top four ordered by playoff seeding. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/3821530b-5b98-4254-a5a6-3ec1205b50c3 (scored 92.73)
- Rich Eisen: Rich Eisen delivered his Week 16 NFL power rankings, keeping the Rams at No. 1 with the Broncos second and the Bears holding at 10, and also predicted James Cook wins the rushing title while expecting the Bears and Rams to win their upcoming home games. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/a1a974f3-f302-4ddc-8c1a-8ff633a39c59 (scored 83.03)
- Rich Eisen: Rich Eisen gave his Week 15 top-10 power rankings, installing the Rams at No. 1 as the best team in football, adding the Jaguars and keeping the Bears despite their loss, while dropping the Cowboys and Eagles off the list. He also projected 10-win seasons for both Chicago and Jacksonville and said the Jaguars would handle the Jets at home. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/a3c3755f-fe00-4096-a948-18cb17e42e14 (scored 76.36)

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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

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