# John Middlekauff: In a long mailbag, Middlekauff picked the 49ers to win the NFC West, said he'd lean toward Matt Stafford starting Week 1 despite real concern about the elbow, stuck with Daniel Jones as the Colts' starting quarterback over Anthony Richardson, expected Omarion Hampton to start and put up big rookie numbers with Offensive Rookie of the Year on the table, and thought Denver could win 11-12 games. **Claimed:** Jul 31, 2025 **Pundit:** John Middlekauff — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/john-middlekauff **Outlet:** The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/the-herd-with-colin-cowherd-podcast **How it reached us:** said on air or in an interview **Original:** https://omny.fm/shows/3-and-out-with-john-middlekauff/top-qb-coach-combos-will-stafford-injury-derail-rams-biggest-draft-bust-rookie-rb-s-any-hope-for-the-jets 8 checkable claims — 3 depth chart calls, 2 player season numbers, 1 award pick, 1 division winner and 1 season win total — 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 8 have settled, averaging 41.5 out of 100, against 52.1 for a naive guess at the same calls. > I don't think it's outrageous to go offensive rookie of the year. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **San Francisco 49ers to win the division** - Kind: Division Winners · About: San Francisco 49ers - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - **Omarion Hampton to be 1st on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers - Verdict: scored 91.67 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess - **Matthew Stafford to be 1st on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess - **Omarion Hampton to win Offensive Rookie of the Year** - Kind: Award Picks · About: Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - **Denver Broncos to finish with 11 wins** - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Denver Broncos - Verdict: scored 40 out of 100, against 5 for a naive guess - **Daniel Jones to be 1st on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess - **Omarion Hampton to record 1,300 rushing yards** - Kind: Player Season Numbers · About: Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 39 for a naive guess - **Omarion Hampton to record 10 rushing tds** - Kind: Player Season Numbers · About: Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 72.63 for a naive guess ## Who this take is about - San Francisco 49ers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/49ers - Omarion Hampton — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/omarion-hampton - Los Angeles Chargers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/chargers - Matthew Stafford — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/matthew-stafford - Los Angeles Rams — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/rams - Denver Broncos — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/broncos - Daniel Jones — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/daniel-jones - Indianapolis Colts — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/colts ## What others said about the same people - Chris Simms on San Francisco 49ers: Simms went through the entire Week 3 slate with straight-up winners and predicted final scores, taking Jacksonville, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle, the Giants, Baltimore, New Orleans, Minnesota, San Francisco, Denver and Philadelphia. He also expected Zay Flowers and Puka Nacua to sit, Kyler Murray to play, and said Marvin Harrison Jr. projects as no better than a good No. 2 or high-end No. 3 receiver. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/662b7ba3-1bf6-4ad0-9f93-9f2ab83143fd (scored 88.1) - Chris Long on Los Angeles Rams: Long liked the Rams over the Broncos on Sunday night even without Puka Nacua, and expected the Bills to beat the winless Chargers in Buffalo. He also backed the Bengals over the Steelers, expected an angry Detroit team to handle the Jets, and still thought both the Lions and Vikings could win the NFC North. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/3df9ea25-e57f-4fd7-b20c-c910a1c3633a (scored 0) - Steven Ruiz on Denver Broncos: Previewing Week 3, Ruiz picked the Ravens to beat the Cowboys in Brazil, Jacksonville over New England in a low-scoring game, an upset by the Broncos over the Rams, the Raiders over the Saints, the Eagles over the Bears, the Lions over the Jets, and his Hail Mary that Houston beats Indianapolis by two touchdowns. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a30ff469-4972-4c48-855b-ba984e4de9d0 (scored 100) - Nate Tice on Denver Broncos: Tice matched his guest on every Week 3 game, picking the Ravens over the Cowboys, the Jaguars over the Patriots in a close game, the Broncos to upset the Rams, the Raiders over the Saints, the Eagles over the Bears and the Lions over the Jets. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b8378e16-ea5c-4107-a883-28aaf0e71134 (scored 100) - Sam Monson on Los Angeles Chargers: Monson picked the Chargers to beat the Bills outright (jokingly crediting Buffalo's gray 'Nickel City' jerseys), took the Vikings to win outright in Tampa, and said Seattle would destroy Washington. He also reiterated his Super Bowl pick of Denver over the Rams, called the Dolphins destined for the No. 1 overall pick, and said the Saints are a worst-to-first candidate in the NFC South. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/0b810ffd-fd93-4ea2-a208-b1353dea5fb0 (scored 0) - Matt Harmon on Los Angeles Rams: Harmon picked the Bengals to beat the Texans in Week 2, expecting Nico Collins to miss the game with a hamstring injury, and also predicted the Titans would be shut out by the Eagles. He took the Rams over the Giants, the Bears over the Vikings, and the Jaguars at Denver. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/21a71025-ab65-4716-ac2c-e77ad5ce3348 (scored 100) ## More depth chart calls The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Fox Sports on Michael Penix Jr.: Fox Sports states that a healthy Tua Tagovailoa will serve as Atlanta's backup quarterback in Week 3, with Michael Penix Jr. handling the starting duties against Green Bay. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a90e69a8-707f-43e9-a63e-cdb3e7bd0829 (scored 100) - Pat Fitzmaurice on Aaron Jones: In previewing the 10 most intriguing fantasy performers of Week 2, Fitzmaurice expects Atlanta's quarterback problems to persist with Tua Tagovailoa unlikely to play and Michael Penix Jr. not ready to return, flags Falcons slot corner Billy Bowman Jr. as a possible Week 2 returnee, and describes Aaron Jones as Minnesota's lead back and Kaelon Black as the clear backup to Christian McCaffrey in San Francisco. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/31adc8bb-8f15-453f-bbcf-cab44e29b8b3 (scored 100) - Matt Severance on Deshaun Watson: The CBS Sports preview backs Tampa Bay to beat Cleveland in the Bucs' Week 2 home opener, and states that Deshaun Watson — not Shedeur Sanders — will be Cleveland's starting quarterback in Week 2. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/944568ce-7205-409f-8354-a392016fd8bf (scored 100) - Rafael Zamorano on Deshaun Watson: Zamorano reports Watson will start Week 2 at Tampa Bay and suggests there's little reason to expect improvement, raising the possibility Watson's five-year contract never yields more than single-digit wins. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/d7d7e0a2-61e0-4525-970b-b01a2356f11b (scored 100) - Rich Hribar on Tua Tagovailoa: Hribar expects Tua Tagovailoa to be Atlanta's starting quarterback for Week 2 while Michael Penix stays out, with Penix's return closer to Week 4. He is unenthusiastic about the Falcons' offense either way and treats Bryce Young as a fringe fantasy starter. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/124ac755-a942-4382-8bad-177da7f8170d (scored 0) - Bradley Locker on Carson Wentz: PFF's unsigned adjusted power rankings after Week 1 of the 2026 season place the Bills first, the Rams second and the Dolphins last, with notes on quarterback situations in Seattle, Minnesota and Cleveland. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a3716f21-0488-4fc8-a414-c25c2d781a6e (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.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.co/corrections?pundit=john-middlekauff