# Steven Ruiz: Ruiz said Ja'Marr Chase could put together an Offensive Player of the Year-caliber season and that Caleb Williams, if they gain consistent downfield accuracy, could be one of the five best quarterbacks in the league.

**Claimed:** Sep 1, 2026
**Pundit:** Steven Ruiz — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/steven-ruiz
**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://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/1508ddb2-0c9a-42f6-aafe-ae3300346aa9/3abc38b7-a886-4674-a3ff-b4b8012b6204/audio.mp3?in_playlist=bf391792-153e-41b3-9d3d-ae3300346ad8

2 checkable claims — 1 award pick and 1 positional finish — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.

It names 4 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 below the rest of the room.

> As long as he gets some consistent downfield accuracy, he could be one of the five best quarterbacks in the NFL.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Ja'Marr Chase to win Offensive Player of the Year**
  - Kind: Award Picks · About: Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Caleb Williams to finish top 5 at his position, by passing yards**
  - Kind: Positional Finishes · About: Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Ja'Marr Chase — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/ja-marr-chase
- Cincinnati Bengals — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bengals
- Caleb Williams — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/caleb-williams
- Chicago Bears — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bears

## What others said about the same people

- John Middlekauff on Caleb Williams: Middlekauff expects either Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson to win this year's MVP, calling them the two best players in the league. They are pessimistic on the Bears, forecasting six or seven wins and saying they'd bet Caleb Williams doesn't work out as a franchise quarterback. They also see Oklahoma's John Mattier as a first-round pick who'll be in the Heisman mix. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/deaaf3f6-e53e-4080-a0ca-d5f872b54c6a (scored 0)
- Pete Prisco on Chicago Bears: Prisco gives score predictions for every Week 9 NFL game, picking the Bengals to rout the Falcons in Madrid, the Cowboys to rebound at Indianapolis, and the Jaguars to win in Baltimore without Lamar Jackson. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/dc43909b-bc7f-47aa-b208-5cf7c95844bc (scored 100)
- Bryan DeArdo on Chicago Bears: DeArdo picks the Bears to beat the Buccaneers on Sunday night in a defensive game, predicting a 20-16 final score. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/7b882443-b481-48fb-b19b-e7f989d85e46 (scored 97.62)
- Danny Parkins on Chicago Bears: Parkins named the seven AFC teams they believe are already set as the playoff field, expects Chicago, Buffalo and Kansas City to win this week, took Green Bay over New England and Atlanta over Cincinnati outright, and kept Bills–Bears as their Super Bowl matchup with the Giants still winning the NFC East. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/272d1f8a-06f7-4b8b-8480-94d370ae5e6f (scored 100)
- “Stanford Steve” Coughlin on Chicago Bears: Stanford Steve said the Bears would beat the Buccaneers on Sunday night, and called a player they referred to as "Yakis" their Rookie of the Year. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/eb50c9d5-281b-4810-b41b-a5d6da11c438 (scored 100)
- Chris Simms on Chicago Bears: Simms gave a predicted final score for every Week 9 game, picking the Bengals, Chiefs, Broncos, Lions, Giants, Rams, Cowboys, Saints, 49ers, Patriots, Seahawks, Texans, Bears and Bills, and also said they wouldn't be shocked to see Jacksonville reach the AFC Championship Game. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/17eb747a-90b1-472f-bb6d-e71c0c69133a (scored 97.62)

## More award picks

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

- Nick Wright on Sam Darnold: Wright picks Seattle to beat New England in the Super Bowl by a 27-17 final score, describing a semi-comfortable win, and names Sam Darnold as their Super Bowl MVP pick. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/8ff42b18-5a45-40e1-b3b6-17612cfca395 (scored 0)
- Eric Mangini on Drake Maye: Mangini picked the Patriots 23-20 with Drake May as Super Bowl MVP, and earlier named Kayshon Boutte ("Kaeshawn Booty") as their dark horse MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/332dce8c-f71c-4f26-a976-8f4615a9f9bd (scored 0)
- Chris Broussard on Drake Maye: Broussard picked New England to beat Seattle 24-21, with Drake May winning Super Bowl MVP, and named Cooper Kupp as their dark horse MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1247ee30-3338-4940-8fc9-977cc215ff59 (scored 0)
- Willie Colon on Sam Darnold: Colon picked the Seahawks to win 24-14 with Sam Darnold as Super Bowl MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b6655a6f-9a44-46d4-8c76-0d96b7334211 (scored 0)
- Nick Wright on Rashid Shaheed: Nick picked Seattle to win the Super Bowl 27-17, citing Seattle's defense, coaching against young quarterbacks and schedule strength, and named Rasheed Shaheed as their dark horse Super Bowl MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1fe4abc6-28e3-412b-ab6e-d2f65f25682f (scored 0)
- Danny Parkins on Jaxon Smith-Njigba: Parkins picked Seattle to win 27-16 with Jaxon Smith-Njigba as Super Bowl MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/3667c28e-88b0-4d8e-bebd-6ef088550e4f (scored 0)

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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

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