# Eric Patterson: In a bold-predictions column for the 2026 fantasy season, Patterson calls Kenneth Walker III the top-scoring RB in Kansas City, fades De'Von Achane, likes Blake Corum as a top-20 back, predicts Justin Jefferson reclaims WR1 with Kyler Murray, has Jordyn Tyson outscoring Chris Olave and Matthew Golden outscoring Christian Watson, sees Brock Bowers breaking the single-season receptions record, and pegs Brock Purdy as a top-five quarterback. **Claimed:** Aug 12, 2026 **Pundit:** Eric Patterson — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/eric-patterson **How it reached us:** published in writing **Original:** https://www.thescore.com/news/3574917/fantasy-8-bold-predictions-for-the-2026-season 25 checkable claims — 7 player season numbers, 6 sleeper calls, 5 positional finishes, 3 depth chart calls, 3 fantasy bust calls and 1 season win total — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 20 players and teams, each linked to their own record. 1 of 25 have settled so far, averaging 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess at the same calls. Of the 13 unsettled calls enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands above the room on 3 and below it on 10. > Walker is one of a few running backs with RB1 upside, but he's being picked in the second round. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Kirk Cousins to be 1st on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Kirk Cousins, Las Vegas Raiders - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - **Christian Watson to fall short of his draft cost (WR29)** - Kind: Fantasy Bust Calls · About: Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers - Verdict: not settled yet - **Blake Corum to record 1,000 rushing yards** - Kind: Player Season Numbers · About: Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams - Verdict: not settled yet - **Brock Bowers to finish top 1 at his position, by fantasy points** - Kind: Positional Finishes · About: Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders - Verdict: not settled yet - **Brock Purdy to finish top 5 at his position, by fantasy points** - Kind: Positional Finishes · About: Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers - Verdict: not settled yet - **Kenneth Walker III to record 60 receptions** - Kind: Player Season Numbers · About: Kenneth Walker III, Kansas City Chiefs - Verdict: not settled yet - **Brock Bowers to outplay his draft cost (behind Trey McBride at 20th overall)** - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders - Verdict: not settled yet - **Los Angeles Rams to finish with 10 wins** - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Los Angeles Rams - Verdict: not settled yet - **Blake Corum to record 10 rushing tds** - Kind: Player Season Numbers · About: Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams - Verdict: not settled yet - **Justin Jefferson to record 1,000 receiving yards** - Kind: Player Season Numbers · About: Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings - Verdict: not settled yet - **Brock Purdy to outplay his draft cost (the 13th quarterback off the board)** - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers - Verdict: not settled yet - **Kenneth Walker III to outplay his draft cost (RB11)** - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Kenneth Walker III, Kansas City Chiefs - Verdict: not settled yet - **Justin Jefferson to finish top 1 at his position, by fantasy points** - Kind: Positional Finishes · About: Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings - Verdict: not settled yet - **Fernando Mendoza to be 1st on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Fernando Mendoza, Las Vegas Raiders - Verdict: not settled yet - **Blake Corum to finish top 20 at his position, by fantasy points** - Kind: Positional Finishes · About: Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams - Verdict: not settled yet - **Kenneth Walker III to finish top 1 at his position, by fantasy points** - Kind: Positional Finishes · About: Kenneth Walker III, Kansas City Chiefs - Verdict: not settled yet - **Matthew Golden to outplay his draft cost (WR51)** - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Matthew Golden, Green Bay Packers - Verdict: not settled yet - **De'Von Achane to fall short of his draft cost (the seventh running back off the board)** - Kind: Fantasy Bust Calls · About: De'Von Achane, Miami Dolphins - Verdict: not settled yet - **Blake Corum to be 2nd on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams - Verdict: not settled yet - **Blake Corum to outplay his draft cost (RB36)** - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams - Verdict: not settled yet - **Brock Bowers to record 150 receptions** - Kind: Player Season Numbers · About: Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders - Verdict: not settled yet - **Kenneth Walker III to record 1,400 rushing yards** - Kind: Player Season Numbers · About: Kenneth Walker III, Kansas City Chiefs - Verdict: not settled yet - **Justin Jefferson to record 100 receptions** - Kind: Player Season Numbers · About: Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings - Verdict: not settled yet - **Chris Olave to fall short of his draft cost (WR12 in half-PPR leagues)** - Kind: Fantasy Bust Calls · About: Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints - Verdict: not settled yet - **Jordyn Tyson to outplay his draft cost (WR33)** - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Jordyn Tyson, New Orleans Saints - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Kirk Cousins — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/kirk-cousins - Las Vegas Raiders — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/raiders - Christian Watson — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/christian-watson - Green Bay Packers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/packers - Blake Corum — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/blake-corum - Los Angeles Rams — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/rams - Brock Bowers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/brock-bowers - Brock Purdy — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/brock-purdy - San Francisco 49ers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/49ers - Kenneth Walker III — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/kenneth-walker-iii - Kansas City Chiefs — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/chiefs - Justin Jefferson — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/justin-jefferson - Minnesota Vikings — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/vikings - Fernando Mendoza — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/fernando-mendoza - Matthew Golden — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/matthew-golden - De'Von Achane — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/de-von-achane - Miami Dolphins — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/dolphins - Chris Olave — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/chris-olave - New Orleans Saints — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/saints - Jordyn Tyson — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jordyn-tyson ## What others said about the same people - Chris Simms on Kansas City Chiefs: 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 100) - Connor Rogers on Kansas City Chiefs: 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 Las Vegas Raiders: 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) - Chris Simms on Green Bay Packers: Simms picked the Packers to beat the Falcons in the Thursday night game by a low score, expecting a defensive struggle. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b12420c5-837c-4a24-8a8e-c74b10cc697c (scored 9.52) ## More player season numbers The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Chris Broussard on Lamar Jackson: 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. He also takes 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 0) - 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 his weekly picks he expects 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) - Shannon Sharpe on T.J. Watt: On a Bengals-Steelers matchup, Sharpe took the over on several player props: Ja'Marr Chase over 74.5 receiving yards, Joe Flacco over 36.5 pass attempts, and T.J. Watt over 3.5 tackles+assists, adding that Watt will get two sacks. He also predicted Rico Dowdle would make the Pro Bowl this season. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1fbc5b8e-7449-41f4-a5a2-7029cc4ef65e (scored 0) - Joe Marino on Kyle Pitts: Marino argued Kyle Pitts deserves more respect after a good season and expects his touchdown total to keep rising, landing on six touchdowns next season (following the pattern of his yearly totals). — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/73dfb52d-5f75-423d-ac98-c593c1f09e76 (scored 66.67) - Tim Hasselbeck on Isaiah Likely: Hasselbeck expects Kyler Murray to be released by Arizona, believes Malik Willis will sign somewhere as the anointed opening-day starter, and thinks Isaiah Likely can be a true No. 1 tight end who would catch over 75 passes with close to seven touchdowns as a full-season starter. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/f427a6b0-2fb5-4887-90e3-a02973258757 (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=eric-patterson