# Derek Brown: Derek Brown built a round-by-round fantasy draft blueprint, headlined by James Cook as the best value at the back of round one and a top-three running back finish, AJ Brown as a top-five receiver in New England, Colston Loveland as a league-defining tight end, and a series of mid-to-late round values (Waddle, Montgomery, Tuten, Pollard, Washington, Johnston, Likely, Willis, Ward, Diggs, Brooks). **Claimed:** Jul 20, 2026 **Pundit:** Derek Brown — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/derek-brown **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/fantasypros-fantasy-football-podcast/the-perfect-fantasy-football-draft-strategy-for-2026-the-top-value-picks-in-every-round-ep-2092 26 checkable claims — 14 sleeper calls, 7 positional finishes and 5 depth chart calls — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 21 players and teams, each linked to their own record. None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in. Of the 11 unsettled calls enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands above the room on 3 and below it on 8. > I think James Cook is the best value on the board. Looking at eleventh overall. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Quentin Johnston to outplay his draft cost (ninth round)** - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Quentin Johnston, Los Angeles Chargers - Verdict: not settled yet - **James Cook to outplay his draft cost (eleventh overall)** - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: James Cook, Buffalo Bills - Verdict: not settled yet - **Stefon Diggs to outplay his draft cost (Round fourteen)** - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Stefon Diggs - Verdict: not settled yet - **Isaiah Likely to finish top 12 at his position, by fantasy points** - Kind: Positional Finishes · About: Isaiah Likely - Verdict: not settled yet - **A.J. Brown to outplay his draft cost (second round)** - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: A.J. Brown, New England Patriots - Verdict: not settled yet - **Jonathon Brooks to outplay his draft cost (eleventh round)** - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Jonathon Brooks - Verdict: not settled yet - **Quentin Johnston to be 1st on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Quentin Johnston, Los Angeles Chargers - Verdict: not settled yet - **Bhayshul Tuten to finish top 22 at his position, by fantasy points** - Kind: Positional Finishes · About: Bhayshul Tuten - Verdict: not settled yet - **James Cook to finish top 3 at his position, by fantasy points** - Kind: Positional Finishes · About: James Cook, Buffalo Bills - Verdict: not settled yet - **Isaiah Likely to be 2nd on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Isaiah Likely - Verdict: not settled yet - **Jaylen Waddle to outplay his draft cost (fourth round)** - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Jaylen Waddle, Denver Broncos - Verdict: not settled yet - **Tony Pollard to outplay his draft cost (seventh round)** - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Tony Pollard, Tennessee Titans - Verdict: not settled yet - **A.J. Brown to finish top 5 at his position, by fantasy points** - Kind: Positional Finishes · About: A.J. Brown, New England Patriots - Verdict: not settled yet - **Tony Pollard to finish top 24 at his position, by fantasy points** - Kind: Positional Finishes · About: Tony Pollard, Tennessee Titans - Verdict: not settled yet - **Jaylen Waddle to finish top 12 at his position, by fantasy points** - Kind: Positional Finishes · About: Jaylen Waddle, Denver Broncos - Verdict: not settled yet - **Jaylen Waddle to be 1st on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Jaylen Waddle, Denver Broncos - Verdict: not settled yet - **Isaiah Likely to outplay his draft cost (tenth round)** - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Isaiah Likely - Verdict: not settled yet - **Malik Willis to outplay his draft cost (round twelve)** - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Malik Willis, Miami Dolphins - Verdict: not settled yet - **David Montgomery to finish top 20 at his position, by fantasy points** - Kind: Positional Finishes · About: David Montgomery, Houston Texans - Verdict: not settled yet - **David Montgomery to outplay his draft cost (fifth round)** - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: David Montgomery, Houston Texans - Verdict: not settled yet - **Tony Pollard to be 1st on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Tony Pollard, Tennessee Titans - Verdict: not settled yet - **Bhayshul Tuten to outplay his draft cost (sixth round)** - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Bhayshul Tuten - Verdict: not settled yet - **Cam Ward to outplay his draft cost (thirteenth round)** - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Cam Ward - Verdict: not settled yet - **Colston Loveland to outplay his draft cost (third round)** - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Colston Loveland - Verdict: not settled yet - **Parker Washington to outplay his draft cost (eighth round)** - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Parker Washington - Verdict: not settled yet - **A.J. Brown to be 1st on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: A.J. Brown, New England Patriots - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Quentin Johnston — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/quentin-johnston - Los Angeles Chargers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/chargers - James Cook — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/james-cook - Buffalo Bills — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bills - Stefon Diggs — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/stefon-diggs - Isaiah Likely — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/isaiah-likely - A.J. Brown — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/a-j-brown - New England Patriots — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/patriots - Jonathon Brooks — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jonathon-brooks - Bhayshul Tuten — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/bhayshul-tuten - Jaylen Waddle — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jaylen-waddle - Denver Broncos — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/broncos - Tony Pollard — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/tony-pollard - Tennessee Titans — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/titans - Malik Willis — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/malik-willis - Miami Dolphins — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/dolphins - David Montgomery — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/david-montgomery - Houston Texans — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/texans - Cam Ward — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/cam-ward - Colston Loveland — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/colston-loveland - Parker Washington — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/parker-washington ## What others said about the same people - Chris Simms on Denver Broncos: 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 97.62) - Chris Long on Buffalo Bills: 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 100) - Steven Ruiz on Houston Texans: 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 0) - 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) - Nate Tice on New England Patriots: Tice picked the Bengals over the Texans in a low-scoring game, the Jaguars at Denver, the Bears over the Vikings, the Patriots over the Steelers and the Rams to edge the Giants, and his Hail Mary was the Cowboys scoring 40 on Washington. He also floated Abdul Carter as a possible All-Pro. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b6211c80-3d1c-46b8-8a0c-151fc0ba92de (scored 100) ## More sleeper calls The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Tom Strachan on Ricky Pearsall: Tom Strachan backed Xavier Worthy, Jalen Coker, Egbuka, Jalen Waddle, Darnell Mooney, Zay Flowers, George Pickens, DeVonta Smith and Travis Hunter as values at their draft costs, while avoiding Jerry Jeudy and the Cleveland receivers. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c42eacc5-eb10-4103-a94d-50545a487cbb (scored 100) - Ryan Wormeli on Ricky Pearsall: Host Ryan Warmley endorsed Ricky Pearsall as a bet worth making and put his rookie-receiver capital in Tetairoa McMillan, while fading Zay Flowers at his cost and opting out of Marvin Harrison Jr. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/192d6e67-2e0e-49b3-bc82-4c8a77bd5950 (scored 100) - Chris Welsh on Tyler Warren: Welsh drafted Christian McCaffrey, Breece Hall, RJ Harvey, Tetairoa McMillan, Travis Hunter, the Rams and Saints receivers, Justin Fields (a top-10 QB), Drake Maye (QB10-14), Travis Kelce and Tyler Warren, while passing on Joe Mixon, the Commanders backfield, Tyreek Hill, Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/9f0f2132-f3b8-4813-b2b1-374b827d86a8 (scored 100) - Pat Fitzmaurice on Rashee Rice: Pat Fitzmaurice gave draft-or-pass calls: reluctant drafts on Christian McCaffrey, RJ Harvey, Tetairoa McMillan (his WR16), Rashee Rice at a ninth-round price, Austin Ekeler, Chris Rodriguez, Chris Olave, Drake Maye (his QB8) and Tyler Warren, with passes on Breece Hall, Joe Mixon, Croskey-Merritt, Tyreek Hill, Travis Hunter, the Rams receivers and Justin Fields. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e36f1287-466c-4889-a7ea-c9d86f4b5182 (scored 0) - Joe Pisapia on Tetairoa McMillan: Joey P (Joe Pisapia) played draft-or-pass on 2025 fantasy values: he passed on Christian McCaffrey at pick 7, Breece Hall, Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, Travis Hunter and Chris Olave, while drafting RJ Harvey, Tyreek Hill, Tetairoa McMillan, Puka Nacua, Tyler Warren and a late-round Joe Mixon. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c3c95c1c-64a4-42b6-9389-58d5fb5b27d1 (scored 100) - Ryan Wormeli on Tetairoa McMillan: Hosting the segment, Warmley backed Bryce Young to finish better than his QB22 consensus ranking, endorsed Cedric Tillman as a late-round target, and said Tetairoa McMillan will be a top-15 fantasy receiver this season. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2c695b79-bc5e-4d3f-8136-6705656267a2 (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=derek-brown