# Matty Lane: Maddie gave her top 10 quarterbacks for 2026, keeping Patrick Mahomes first and Josh Allen second (with a "gap" at three), Stafford, Maye and Lamar next, and Purdy at nine, with Jordan Love 11th and Caleb Williams 12th.

**Claimed:** Jul 16, 2026
**Pundit:** Matty Lane — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/matty-lane
**Outlet:** KC Sports Network (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/kc-sports-network-podcast
**How it reached us:** said on air, transcribed by us
**Original:** https://pdrl.fm/8d7cde/mgln.ai/e/256/pscrb.fm/rss/p/clrtpod.com/m/bluewire.simplecastaudio.com/8bf45406-115f-47da-8dc8-dcc5713f4a83/episodes/eaeddf91-23ae-4cad-9ced-280f07a65bdf/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=8bf45406-115f-47da-8dc8-dcc5713f4a83&awEpisodeId=eaeddf91-23ae-4cad-9ced-280f07a65bdf&feed=BJf5DYgc

One checkable claim, graded on its own against what actually happened.

Nothing to score yet: this grades once the result is in.

> Until he does that, I will not rank him above Patrick Mahomes.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **And at number 11, I may have cheated here. We have Jordan Love. In number 10, we have Justin Herbert. ... it is a Brock Purdy at number ... This is Dak Prescott at eight and Joe Burrow at seven. ... Problem solvers like Lamar Jackson at number six, like Drake May at number five, and Matthew Stafford at number four. ... my next tier is number three. It's the gap. ... Josh Allen at number two. Sorry. Joshua Allen, number two, and Patrick Levon Mahomes, number one. ... he's also 12 for me**
  - Kind: Top Player Lists
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## More top player lists

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

- Jason Cabinda: Cabinda named the Ravens as the AFC team that has closed the gap on the Chiefs, gave a top-five list of players who play with a fullback mentality, predicted Penei Sewell will be a perennial Pro Bowler, and picked Michael Penix Jr. to break out in Atlanta. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/9861ca95-f0a3-4678-8382-6a0548b07c3b (scored 100)
- Nick Wright: Nick trusts Josh Allen over the Broncos defense, picks the Bills to win outright in Denver (Bills +1.5 as his lock), picks the Patriots to beat the Texans by more than three, likes the 49ers to keep it close but not win, and predicts the Rams blow out the Bears roughly 42-28 with Stafford throwing about five TDs. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/86bcecae-59c2-4e55-9b5f-8d47778f1f67 (scored 0)
- Mike Mayock: Mayock says Philadelphia and Baltimore are the two most talented teams in the league, predicts Ravens DT Travis Jones has a breakout year and that Baltimore scores 30-plus points a game, believes Washington is not a one-year aberration with Jayden Daniels becoming a franchise quarterback, and ranks quarterbacks into tiers. He also thinks Aaron Rodgers will land in his 'solid' third tier and help Pittsburgh have a solid year. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/6e92c8cc-6496-49e7-a19e-33fde6d8694d (scored 95)
- Jeremy Fowler: Fowler's polls of anonymous NFL executives, coaches and scouts produced a top 10 wide receiver list led by Ja'Marr Chase and a top 10 quarterback list led by Patrick Mahomes. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1ab32b8b-07f2-4ce5-b6df-ba1b716f2f4f (scored 60)
- Rich Eisen: Rich Eisen counted down his top five quarterbacks in a better situation now than last year: Caleb Williams first, followed by Jayden Daniels, Justin Fields, Drake Maye and Dak Prescott, with Justin Herbert added as a bonus. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/912346bd-a4f5-42bc-948c-72e404bdd781 (scored 40)
- Daniel Jeremiah: Jeremiah's top-150 draft board, as read out on the show, ranks Travis Hunter first, Abdul Carter second and Ashton Jeanty third, with Cam Ward eighth and Shedeur Sanders 20th. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/16e2b56a-9f57-427f-a849-29dbffd1e924 (scored 68.75)

---

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=matty-lane