Nick Wright#49 of 87 NFL pundits · Aug 13, 2026
Ahead of Week 1 of the preseason, Wright grouped all 32 teams into tiers, with the Seahawks and Rams deadlocked at the top and six teams (Browns, Dolphins, Jets, Titans, Cardinals, Raiders) at the bottom. They also picked Tampa Bay to come out of the NFC South and set a floor of 11 wins for Kansas City, with 12-13 possible if things break right.
Published in writing · Fox SportsRead the original
What Nick Wright said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromTheir floor in that situation is 11 wins.
- Where it was published
- Fox Sports
- The piece
- NFL Tiers: Which Teams Are Title Contenders Entering 2026?
- The original
- Read the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- 1Power Rankings“he revealed his team tiers entering Week 1 of the preseason ... There's no decision to be made regarding the Rams and Seahawks for the top spot on his tier list.”
- 2Kansas City Chiefs to finish with 11 wins“"Their floor in that situation is 11 wins. You add some other elements that I think over the course of the year and it becomes a 12 or 13 win team."”
- 3Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win the division“Still, Wright is all-in on the Buccaneers... "I like the Bucs," Wright said. "It's the NFC South…someone's gonna go 8-8 and one will win it and I hope it's Baker [Mayfield]."”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| “he revealed his team tiers entering Week 1 of the preseason ...…”1 | Power Rankings | — | — | — | — | |
| Kansas City Chiefs to finish with 11 wins2 | Season Win Totals | — | — | — | — | |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win the division3 | Division Winners | — | — | — | — | |
| 3 calls · 3 waiting | — | — | ||||
How each call scored
3 checkable claims — 1 division winner, 1 power ranking and 1 season win total — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 2 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in.
Of the 1 unsettled call enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands above the rest of the room.
Each call is scored 0 to 100 against what happened, on its own, by the published methodology. The naive guess is what knowing nothing would have scored on the same calls; the gap, weighted by how hard the call was, is the skill.
Where this call stands in the room
Kansas City Chiefs · 2026 season · wins10 calls from 7 pundits between 9 wins and 13 wins. Nick Wright said 11 wins. the room's median is 10 wins. not settled yet
Every dot is a call somebody published on the same question. Where the dots land says where this take sits, not whether it is right — nothing here is settled yet. Hover a dot for the name and number; click it to read that take.
“he revealed his team tiers entering Week 1 of the preseason ... There's no decision to be made regarding the Rams and Seahawks for the top spot on his tier list.”
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
2Season Win TotalsKansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs to finish with 11 wins
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
3Division WinnersTampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win the division
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
Chris Clark · Trade and Signing Calls · Nikko Remigio · Miss 0
Clark expects the Chiefs to bring back exclusive-rights receiver Nico (Remigio) and long snapper James Winchester, to re-sign JuJu Smith-Schuster as a cheap veteran fifth receiver, and not to bring back Hollywood Brown, Josh Dobbs-type depth, Gardner Minshew, Janarius Robinson or Mike Caliendo; they also say the Chiefs will not use a franchise tag and believes Bryan Cook won't return.Gilberto Manzano · Trade and Signing Calls · Josh Downs · Hit 100
Previewing the trade deadline, he expects Justin Herbert to stay in Los Angeles despite the Chargers' 0–7 start, thinks the Jets will keep Garrett Wilson and pair him with their young weapons, expects a receiver-hungry Kansas City to be aggressive with Josh Downs the likeliest target, and suggests expiring Eagles contracts Moro Ojomo and Riq Woolen could be dealt for mid-round picks.Joshua Poniatowski · Trade and Signing Calls · Josh Downs · Hit 100
Poniatowski names several trade targets, predicting Malik Willis underperforms this week against New England, that Omarion Hampton could become a viable RB2 if Adam Gase takes over play-calling, that Josh Downs gets traded (ideally to Kansas City, where they'd be a top-24 WR), that Brian Thomas Jr. could be dealt to the Rams or 49ers, and that Travis Kelce remains a consistent weekly TE.Jordan Dajani · Trade and Signing Calls · Josh Downs · Hit 100
After reporting that Colts receiver Josh Downs requested a trade, they identify five clubs as plausible landing spots for them: the Rams, Patriots, Falcons, Chiefs and Raiders, and suggests Las Vegas could also give them a long-term extension.Mike Kadlick · Trade and Signing Calls · Josh Downs · Hit 100
Kadlick names the Chiefs, Patriots and 49ers as the three best trade landing spots for Colts wide receiver Josh Downs ahead of the Nov. 10 deadline.
More division winners
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Daniel DiBerardinis · Division Winners · Atlanta Falcons · Miss 0
Danny D predicts Sonny Styles goes in the top ten (maybe top five), doesn't think Ty Simpson goes before late first round, says Kenyon Sadiq lands with the Rams at 13, and picks the Falcons to win the NFC South while naming the Bengals an AFC bounce-back team. They also give a Final Four of Michigan, Florida, Purdue and Arizona with Michigan winning.Colin Cowherd · Division Winners · New York Giants · Miss 0
Cowherd projects the NFC East with the Giants winning the division ahead of Philadelphia, Washington and Dallas, pegging the Cowboys as a six- or seven-win team. They also expect Malik Willis to land a big free-agent deal, Kayvon Thibodeaux to be moved, and Baltimore to lose Isaiah Likely, and they float the Rams reaching on Ty Simpson late in round one.Colin Cowherd · Division Winners · Los Angeles Chargers · Miss 0
Cowherd unveiled their top 10 NFL teams entering next season, with Seattle first, the Rams second and the Chiefs tenth, and separately picked the Chargers to win the AFC West.Colin Cowherd · Division Winners · Baltimore Ravens · Miss 0
Cowherd likes Jacksonville, Chicago and Pittsburgh (with DK Metcalf back) in the wild-card round, ranks the league's head coaches with McVay first and Ben Johnson seventh, and predicts Lamar Jackson has about two strong years left. They also name the Rams as a possible team to draft a receiver and floats next year's draft having seven first-round quarterbacks.Rich Eisen · Division Winners · Jacksonville Jaguars · Hit 100
Eisen forecast the Week 18 results and the entire wild-card field: Buccaneers over Panthers but Carolina still gets in as the 5 seed when Atlanta beats New Orleans, 49ers over Seahawks, Ravens over Steelers, Jaguars beating Tennessee to win the AFC South, and six wild-card matchups (Seahawks-Panthers, Bills-Jaguars, Texans-Ravens, Packers-Bears, Chargers-Patriots, Rams-Eagles), with Houston upsetting Baltimore. They also tabbed Saints rookie Tyler Shough as a possible Offensive Rookie of the Year.