# Pat Fitzmaurice: Fitzmaurice fades Rico Dowdle at their RB32/86th-overall ADP, believing Jaylen Warren will be Pittsburgh's primary back, and calls Trey McBride a landmine at their top-20 ADP due to expected target and touchdown regression.

**Claimed:** Sep 4, 2026
**Pundit:** Pat Fitzmaurice — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/pat-fitzmaurice
**Outlet:** FantasyPros — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/fantasypros
**How it reached us:** published in writing
**Original:** https://www.fantasypros.com/2026/09/7-fantasy-football-draft-landmines-experts-avoid-2026/

3 checkable claims — 2 fantasy bust calls and 1 depth chart call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.

It names 5 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.

> Warren is the better bet to serve as Pittsburgh’s primary running back, leaving Dowdle at risk of handling a smaller role than many fantasy managers expect.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Rico Dowdle to fall short of his draft cost (the RB32 and 86th overall)**
  - Kind: Fantasy Bust Calls · About: Rico Dowdle, Pittsburgh Steelers
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Trey McBride to fall short of his draft cost (a top-20 ADP)**
  - Kind: Fantasy Bust Calls · About: Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Jaylen Warren to be 1st on the depth chart**
  - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh Steelers
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Rico Dowdle — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/rico-dowdle
- Pittsburgh Steelers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/steelers
- Trey McBride — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/trey-mcbride
- Arizona Cardinals — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/cardinals
- Jaylen Warren — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jaylen-warren

## What others said about the same people

- Bryan DeArdo on Joey Porter Jr.: The piece predicts Joey Porter Jr. most likely stays with the Steelers through 2026, while listing possible trade destinations if they were moved. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a6edcb85-bcff-47cb-ba7d-e09dc7549fe1 (scored 0)
- Garrett Podell on Carson Beck: Podell argues the Cardinals have maxed out with Jacoby Brissett and that rookie Carson Beck should be ramped up to replace them as starter, targeting Week 8 at Dallas for Beck's regular-season debut. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2f499498-ebbe-41f8-8ea3-41fe96f79432 (scored 0)
- Bryan DeArdo on Pittsburgh Steelers: DeArdo picks the Steelers to beat the Browns at home in Week 8, citing Pittsburgh's quarterback edge and a running game that should exploit Cleveland's weak run defense. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/ea81598d-c498-4a5f-a479-a76cec7979e6 (scored 59.52)
- Greg Jennings on Pittsburgh Steelers: Jennings backed the Vikings to upset the Lions in Detroit, put chips on the Steelers over the Browns, and took the Chiefs to win in Denver. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/f2a33e52-9cab-46bf-a1bf-a5a8e87a5244 (scored 100)
- Chris Simms on Pittsburgh Steelers: Simms gave straight-up winners with predicted final scores for every Week 8 game, including upset calls on the Ravens in Buffalo, the Broncos over the Chiefs, the Jets over the Raiders and the Seahawks over the Bears, and they expected Josh Downs to play for the Colts despite their trade request. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/257149d0-81ab-4feb-a725-ef5bebba04b0 (scored 73.81)
- Connor Rogers on Pittsburgh Steelers: Rogers picked straight-up winners across the Week 8 slate, siding with the Bills over the Ravens, the Lions, Steelers, Jaguars, Bengals, Falcons, Raiders, Broncos, Rams, Patriots, Commanders and the Bears in Seattle. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/14b3a81b-ba4d-4270-b122-8cfe7fc959b0 (scored 100)

## More fantasy bust calls

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

- Ryan Wormeli on Zay Flowers: Host Ryan Warmley endorsed Ricky Pearsall as a bet worth making and put their rookie-receiver capital in Tetairoa McMillan, while fading Zay Flowers at their cost and opting out of Marvin Harrison Jr. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/192d6e67-2e0e-49b3-bc82-4c8a77bd5950 (scored 0)
- Derek Brown on Zay Flowers: Derek Brown ("Debro") laid out a slate of wide receiver breakouts — Ricky Pearsall, Jalen Coker, Egbuka, Jalen Waddle, Joshua Palmer, George Pickens, DeVonta Smith and Travis Hunter — while fading Xavier Worthy, Tyreek Hill and the cheap Cleveland/late-round types, and gave their own rankings well ahead of ADP for several of them. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/effe2fda-3dcb-489f-a1e1-f8fa5b11ada7 (scored 0)
- Chris Welsh on Austin Ekeler: 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)
- Joe Pisapia on Rashee Rice: Joey P (Joe Pisapia) played draft-or-pass on 2025 fantasy values: they 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 0)
- Derek Brown on Chuba Hubbard: Derek Brown ("Deebro") names three busts to avoid in 2025 fantasy drafts: Kyren Williams at an RB1 price, Chuba Hubbard as a top-20 RB, and Xavier Worthy as their ultimate bust, arguing Rashee Rice is the clear No. 1 receiver in Kansas City. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/9cc5c06e-e0c5-45bd-8b93-fa089f8673a8 (scored 100)
- Simon Hunter on Tetairoa McMillan: Simon is drafting Ashton Jeanty in the late first/early second and is comfortable taking them in the first round, is all-in on DeVonta Adams with the Rams, and calls Puka Nacua one of the most overdrafted players who should not be taken in the first round. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/15f74c4e-cd8f-455b-b84f-e4098e767a84 (scored 100)

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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.

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