Mike GarafoloAug 20, 2026
Garafolo insists Deshaun Watson will be the Browns' starting quarterback over Shedeur Sanders, and that Kirk Cousins will start Week 1 for the Raiders even though Fernando Mendoza is impressing and should see the field early in the season. They also called the Bills the best team they saw in camp and predicted DJ Moore would post career-best numbers.
Said on air, transcribed by us · The Rich Eisen Show (podcast)Hear the original
What Mike Garafolo said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromI still think it's gonna be Watson.
- Where it was said
- The Rich Eisen Show (podcast)
- The episode
- The Rich Eisen Show Hour 1: Rich’s Top 5 NFL Preseason Week 2 Storylines, plus NFL Insider Mike Garafolo
- The original
- Hear the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- 1Kirk Cousins to be 1st on the depth chart“Now if you ask me who's gonna start, I would say, based on I I only have it one way via information. So I would have to say it's still Kirk Cousins.”
- 2Player Season Numbers“if DJ Moore, even at this point in his career, is setting career numbers, and doing things that you wouldn't expect a a a guy this deep in his career to do, Sounds like that's gonna be the case there in Buffalo.”
- 3Deshaun Watson to be 1st on the depth chart“I still think it's gonna be Watson. I've always thought it's gonna be Watson until I see something different or hear something different. It's gonna be Watson.”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirk Cousins to be 1st on the depth chart1 | Depth Chart Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| “if DJ Moore, even at this point in his career, is setting…”2 | Player Season Numbers | — | — | — | — | |
| Deshaun Watson to be 1st on the depth chart3 | Depth Chart Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| 3 calls · 2 waiting · 1 too vague to check | — | — | ||||
How each call scored
3 claims — 2 depth chart calls and 1 player season number — the 2 we can check each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 6 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
None of the 2 calls we can check have settled yet — they grade once their results are in.
The other one was too vague to check, so it is not graded.
Of the 2 unsettled calls enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands below the rest of the room on every one.
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
Kirk Cousins · 2026 season29 calls from 27 pundits between 1 and 1. Mike Garafolo said 1. the room's median is 1. 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.
Their call against the room
Their call against everyone else's, while this is still unsettled.
1Depth Chart CallsKirk CousinsLas Vegas Raiders
Kirk Cousins to be 1st on the depth chart
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
2Player Season NumbersDJ MooreBuffalo Bills
“if DJ Moore, even at this point in his career, is setting career numbers, and doing things that you wouldn't expect a a a guy this deep in his career to do, Sounds like that's gonna be the case there in Buffalo.”
VerdictToo vague to checkToo vague to check: we could not tell what would count as right, so it stays on the record without a score.
3Depth Chart CallsDeshaun WatsonCleveland Browns
Deshaun Watson to be 1st on the depth chart
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
Logan Lazarczyk · Trade and Signing Calls · Kirk Cousins · Hit 100
Ahead of the trade deadline, they float three Raiders moves: shipping Kirk Cousins to Minnesota if the Vikings offer a second-round pick, selling Maxx Crosby to Dallas for a first-rounder plus, and acquiring Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr. for a second- or third-round pick.Tom Pelissero · Trade and Signing Calls · Kirk Cousins · Hit 100
Pelissero laid out the Giants' quarterback situation with Jameis Winston starting, said Jayden Daniels likely won't be back when Washington plays the Giants and that Caleb Williams is unlikely to play Monday night, and floated Joey Porter Jr. landing in Dallas and Kirk Cousins being traded in-season.Alex Curry · Trade and Signing Calls · Kirk Cousins · Hit 100
Curry expects Fernando Mendoza to be taken No. 1 overall by the Raiders and to be thrown into the starting lineup immediately, and they say Kirk Cousins will be released by Atlanta within weeks.Alex Curry · Trade and Signing Calls · Kirk Cousins · Hit 100
Curry expects Fernando Mendoza to be the No. 1 overall pick and land with the Raiders, and they say Kirk Cousins will be released by Atlanta.
More depth chart calls
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Nic Bodiford · Depth Chart Calls · Joe Fagnano · Hit 100
Previewing Week 9 running game matchups, Bodiford expects Jacksonville to win lopsidedly over a depleted Baltimore team, with Bhayshul Tuten sitting out and Chris Rodriguez taking over as lead back, while Joe Fagnano starts at quarterback for the Ravens. They also view Broncos rookie Jonah Coleman as an RB2 going forward.Jacob Herlin · Depth Chart Calls · J.J. McCarthy · Hit 100
Herlin published Week 7 fantasy D/ST rankings with projections for 28 team defenses, led by Houston, Minnesota and Cleveland. They also expect Cleveland to post a fourth straight top-10 fantasy defense result, and predicts Jalon Daniels starts another week for Tampa Bay while J.J. McCarthy takes over as the Giants' starter.