# Matt Money Smith: Smith says Ladd McConkie is a legitimate No. 1 receiver who could post a Jaylen Waddle-like season of roughly 1,700 yards and eight touchdowns, and they predict second-year Chargers receiver Trey Harris will have a big year under Mike McDaniel. They also expect Philip Rivers to become an NFL head coach and thinks the Chargers offense will be good in the coming season.

**Claimed:** Feb 26, 2026
**Pundit:** Matt Money Smith — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/matt-money-smith
**Outlet:** 3 and Out with John Middlekauff (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/3-and-out-with-john-middlekauff-podcast
**How it reached us:** said on air or in an interview
**Original:** https://omny.fm/shows/3-and-out-with-john-middlekauff/live-from-the-nfl-combine-seahawks-gm-john-schneider-stops-by-los-angeles-chargers-voice-matt-money-smith-joins

3 checkable claims — 2 player season numbers and 1 depth chart call — 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.

All 3 have settled, averaging 47.2 out of 100, against 85 for a naive guess at the same calls.

> He could end up with Jalen Waddle like seventeen hundred yard eight touchdown season.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Ladd McConkey to record 1,700 receiving yards**
  - Kind: Player Season Numbers · About: Ladd McConkey, Los Angeles Chargers
  - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 89.95 for a naive guess
- **Ladd McConkey to be 1st on the depth chart**
  - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Ladd McConkey, Los Angeles Chargers
  - Verdict: scored 91.67 out of 100, against 91.67 for a naive guess
- **Ladd McConkey to record 8 receiving tds**
  - Kind: Player Season Numbers · About: Ladd McConkey, Los Angeles Chargers
  - Verdict: scored 50 out of 100, against 73.31 for a naive guess

## Who this take is about

- Ladd McConkey — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/ladd-mcconkey
- Los Angeles Chargers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/chargers

## What others said about the same people

- Nate Gosney on Daiyan Henley: After the Broncos rescinded the trade, Gosney expects Daiyan Henley to remain with the Chargers for the rest of the 2026 season, but believes the awkward fallout has effectively killed any chance of them signing a new contract with Los Angeles after the season. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/60272861-4ad0-4749-b36a-dcdf09b9213f (scored 0)
- Tyler Sullivan on Los Angeles Chargers: Sullivan flags five Week 9 underdogs they expect to pull upsets: the Packers at New England, the Vikings over Buffalo, the winless Chargers over Houston, the Panthers over Denver, and the Falcons over Cincinnati in Madrid. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b01bc807-6ff9-460f-8ab3-c7506b54effb (scored 0)
- Kevin Wildes on Los Angeles Chargers: Wildes used their upset alert on the winless Chargers to beat the Rams. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/4a6e4641-36d3-4a34-9929-9d1fdab93cbb (scored 0)
- Greg Auman on Los Angeles Chargers: Auman predicts an all-Los Angeles Super Bowl with the Chargers beating the Rams 24-21. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b529264d-fbdd-4b2c-88aa-4c15848659a6 (scored 21.43)
- Nick Wright on Los Angeles Chargers: Nick Wright ran through their projected 2025 records for all 16 AFC teams, calling Baltimore a 13-win regular-season juggernaut, Houston a 12-win team with the league's best defense, and going under on the Jets, Bengals, Steelers and Chargers; they also picked the Chiefs' game-by-game schedule to 12-5 and said Buffalo wins the AFC East. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/d726dad7-b84e-421c-8274-380142c4ff2e (scored 0)
- Eric Mangini on Los Angeles Chargers: Mangini took the Titans to upset the Texans, and in the chips segment backed the Chargers to upset Denver, the Patriots over the Raiders, and the Rams over the Bills. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/af6364dd-ba73-40cb-95fa-a9fa3ddf962b (scored 0)

## More player season numbers

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

- Andrew Erickson on James Cook: Erickson is targeting Chase Brown, Javonte Williams, Trey Benson, Ray Davis, MarShawn Lloyd, Will Shipley, Braelon Allen and Rishard Smith while fading Tyrone Tracy, Tank Bigsby and Kyren Williams, and they expect James Cook's touchdown total to settle in the eight-to-ten range. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/ad6dae7d-05a5-45d1-996c-40e336adfcac (scored 66.67)
- 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.co/opinions/4dc05898-73fd-4fcb-92c4-a940d7e395ba (scored 3.63)
- Chris Broussard on Myles Garrett: 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. They also take the Browns to upset the Bengals and believes Myles Garrett gets at least two sacks to break the single-season record. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/5a026afc-40fe-4b1f-b209-3ce53ae205d7 (scored 91.67)
- 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.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 their weekly picks they expect the Bears to beat the Steelers in an ugly low-margin home win and Seattle to win comfortably at Tennessee. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/029b0090-8d3f-47de-9fb9-7f0a02320f3a (scored 84)
- 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. They also picked the AFC West order and said Deion Sanders is more likely than Bill Belichick to have a winning record. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/f94f8499-af74-4a8d-a688-fd08cd52bb3c (scored 56.25)

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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.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:
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