# Henry McKenna: In a set of 12 bold predictions for the 2026 NFL season, McKenna forecasts A.J. Brown leading the league in receptions, Caleb Williams topping 4,000 yards with a Bears playoff berth, the Lions going worst-to-first in the NFC North, Tyler Shough cracking the top 10 in passing, Aaron Donald reaching 14 sacks, Maxx Crosby leading the league in sacks, a Seahawks rookie back winning Offensive Rookie of the Year, and Dak Prescott winning MVP as Dallas makes the playoffs. **Claimed:** Sep 1, 2026 **Pundit:** Henry McKenna — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/henry-mckenna **Outlet:** Fox Sports — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/fox-sports **How it reached us:** published in writing **Original:** https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/12-bold-nfl-predictions-who-wins-mvp-worst-first-tops-myles-garrett-sacks 12 checkable claims — 3 positional finishes, 2 award picks, 2 player season numbers, 2 playoff picks, 1 depth chart call, 1 division winner and 1 trade and signing call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 16 players and teams, each linked to their own record. None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in. Of the 3 unsettled calls enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands below the rest of the room on every one. > They’re going to make the playoffs. And when that happens, Prescott’s numbers and win totals will put him in the MVP race. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Maxx Crosby to move — “gets traded again before the deadline”** - Kind: Trade and Signing Calls · About: Maxx Crosby - Verdict: not settled yet - **Caleb Williams to record 4,000 passing yards** - Kind: Player Season Numbers · About: Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears - Verdict: not settled yet - **Detroit Lions to win the division** - Kind: Division Winners · About: Detroit Lions - Verdict: not settled yet - **Tyler Shough to finish top 10 at his position, by passing yards** - Kind: Positional Finishes · About: Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints - Verdict: not settled yet - **Javonte Williams to be 1st on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Javonte Williams, Dallas Cowboys - Verdict: not settled yet - **Maxx Crosby to finish top 1 at his position, by sacks** - Kind: Positional Finishes · About: Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders - Verdict: not settled yet - **Dak Prescott to win MVP** - Kind: Award Picks · About: Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys - Verdict: not settled yet - **Dallas Cowboys to make the playoffs** - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Dallas Cowboys - Verdict: not settled yet - **Ray Rice to win Offensive Rookie of the Year** - Kind: Award Picks · About: Ray Rice, Seattle Seahawks - Verdict: not settled yet - **Sam Darnold to record 14 sacks** - Kind: Player Season Numbers · About: Sam Darnold, Los Angeles Rams - Verdict: not settled yet - **A.J. Brown to finish top 1 at his position, by receptions** - Kind: Positional Finishes · About: A.J. Brown, New England Patriots - Verdict: not settled yet - **Chicago Bears to make the playoffs** - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Chicago Bears - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Maxx Crosby — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/maxx-crosby - Caleb Williams — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/caleb-williams - Chicago Bears — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bears - Detroit Lions — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/lions - Tyler Shough — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/tyler-shough - New Orleans Saints — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/saints - Javonte Williams — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/javonte-williams - Dallas Cowboys — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/cowboys - Las Vegas Raiders — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/raiders - Dak Prescott — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/dak-prescott - Ray Rice — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/ray-rice - Seattle Seahawks — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/seahawks - Sam Darnold — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/sam-darnold - Los Angeles Rams — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/rams - A.J. Brown — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/a-j-brown - New England Patriots — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/patriots ## What others said about the same people - Chris Simms on New Orleans Saints: 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 47.62) - Connor Rogers on Detroit Lions: Rogers picked Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle and the Giants to win their Week 3 games, saying the Chiefs win by two touchdowns and the Giants by a field goal. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/83d1e88b-95a0-45ba-83d3-f86297170c6c (scored 100) - Chris Long on Los Angeles Rams: 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 0) - Steven Ruiz on Las Vegas Raiders: 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 100) - Nate Tice on Detroit Lions: 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 Seattle Seahawks: 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) ## More positional finishes The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Chris Brockman on Jaxon Smith-Njigba: Brockman argued Jaxon Smith-Njigba is already the best receiver in the NFL and deserves to be the highest paid, called his shot that three quarterbacks (Mendoza, Ty Simpson, Carson Beck) go in the first round with Mendoza first overall, and suggested New England is headed for a 7-10 season. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c47d130c-5598-4cd0-b546-1121046b9166 (scored 100) - Ryan Tracy on Bryan Cook: Tracy argues the Chiefs should address edge rusher and defensive tackle via the draft and use free agency on running back and wide receiver; he names Brian Robinson as his target, expects Kenneth Walker III to re-sign with Seattle, thinks Nick Bolton-style veterans like Jerry Tillery, Derek Nnadi and Mike Pennel shouldn't return, believes Bryan Cook is a top-10 safety the Chiefs can't afford, and predicts a quarterback (Trinidad Chambliss) will rocket up boards so more than one QB goes in the top 10. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/18bb787c-4f93-4c95-b8c2-02daeeffe823 (scored 0) - Pat Gustavson on Bijan Robinson: Gustafson picks the Patriots, Bills, Seahawks and Bears in the divisional round with a Seahawks-Patriots Super Bowl, predicts Mike Tomlin and Matt LaFleur stay, Aaron Rodgers returns to Pittsburgh, and lays out his own coaching landing spots. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/06884586-5b21-40c8-9439-e303a3e8a806 (scored 75) - JP Acosta on Bijan Robinson: JP picked the Eagles to beat the 49ers in a low-scoring game and the Jaguars to beat the Bills, called Bijan Robinson the best running back in the league, and named his own first-team All-Pro roster. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/660e3494-2b0b-415e-beb7-9e3bf3464e30 (scored 75) - Chris Brockman on Josh Allen: Brockman opened with a series of week-one overreactions: Josh Allen repeats as MVP with Buffalo as the AFC's No. 1 seed, Bills-Ravens is both the game of the year and an AFC title game preview, Aaron Rodgers mirrors his 2021 MVP season with 40 TDs, the NFC Championship is played at Lambeau, the Colts are AFC South front runners, Cincinnati's slow start dooms them, Christian McCaffrey has a top-five MVP season, and the Chargers are the team to beat in the AFC West. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/be6a3b07-690f-47a4-ad43-e4308584eb9c (scored 16.67) - Ndamukong Suh on Nnamdi Madubuike: Asked who is the best at his position in the league today, Suh named Justin Madubuike, saying Jalen Carter is still too raw. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/0096de7a-d4fb-4d17-8b94-94802e68d456 (scored 0) --- 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=henry-mckenna