Colin Cowherd#54 of 87 NFL pundits · Feb 11, 2026
Cowherd unveiled their top 10 NFL teams entering next season, with Seattle first, the Rams second and the Chiefs tenth, and separately picked the Chargers to win the AFC West.
Said on air or in an interview · The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast)Hear the original
What Colin Cowherd said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromNumber One Seattle, between Mike McDonald, John Snyder, his drafting record, Sam Donold... they're already really really good.
- Where it was said
- The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast)
- The episode
- THE HERD - Hour 2 - The early top 10 teams for 2026, NFL draft prospects, Greg Cosell
- The original
- Hear the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
The page this came from has changed since we captured it on Aug 5, 2026. The quote and evidence here are from our capture, not from what the page says today.
- SaidFeb 11
- GradedAug 7–17
- 1Los Angeles Chargers to win the division“I have the Chargers winning the division next year. Denver second Kansas City third today”
- 2Power Rankings“I'm gonna do a top ten after the coaching hires, after free agency, and after the draft... here we go number ten. I think the Chiefs... Number nine would be Buffalo... number eight the Patriots... Number seven I would say the Detroit Lions... Number six... the Jaguars... I think the Chargers are going to feel like a Super Bowl team in September... I'd put the Bears at four... Number three the Denver Broncos... Number two... the Rams... Number One Seattle”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Chargers to win the division1 | Division Winners | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| “I'm gonna do a top ten after the coaching hires, after free…”2 | Power Rankings | — | 75.15 | 18.79 | +56.36 | |
| 2 calls · 1 close call · 1 miss · all settled | 37.6 | 9.4 | ||||
How each call scored
a naive guessbetter than naive2 checkable claims — 1 division winner and 1 power ranking — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
All 2 have settled, averaging 37.6 out of 100, against 9.4 for a naive guess at the same calls.
Each call is scored 0 to 100 against what happened, on its own, by the published methodology. The naive guess is what knowing nothing would have scored on the same calls; the gap, weighted by how hard the call was, is the skill.
1Division WinnersLos Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles Chargers to win the division
VerdictMiss0Miss · naive 00this call−0a naive guess=0better than naive×1difficulty=0skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- skill:
- 0
- method:
- division winners read off the bracket: the bye teams and the wild-card hosts
- they picked:
- LAC
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- the naive pick:
- KC
- difficulty:
- 1
- the naive guess:
- last season's winner of the same division
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- won the division:
- no
“I'm gonna do a top ten after the coaching hires, after free agency, and after the draft... here we go number ten. I think the Chiefs... Number nine would be Buffalo... number eight the Patriots... Number seven I would say the Detroit Lions... Number six... the Jaguars... I think the Chargers are going to feel like a Super Bowl team in September... I'd put the Bears at four... Number three the Denver Broncos... Number two... the Rams... Number One Seattle”
VerdictClose75.15Close · naive 18.7975.15this call−18.79a naive guess=56.36better than naive×1difficulty=+56.36skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- skill:
- 56.36
- method:
- spearman
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 75.15
- baseline:
- 18.79
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- teams ranked:
- 10
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- All
The take as a whole
the average of 2 settled calls, each counted once
37.6naive 9.4
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
Nate Gosney · Trade and Signing Calls · Daiyan Henley · Miss 0
After the Broncos rescinded the trade, Gosney expects Daiyan Henley to remain with the Chargers for the rest of the 2026 season, but believes the awkward fallout has effectively killed any chance of them signing a new contract with Los Angeles after the season.Kevin Wildes · Game Outcome Picks · Los Angeles Chargers · Miss 0
Wildes used their upset alert on the winless Chargers to beat the Rams.Greg Auman · Score Predictions · Los Angeles Chargers · Miss 21
Auman predicts an all-Los Angeles Super Bowl with the Chargers beating the Rams 24-21.Nick Wright · Game Outcome Picks · Los Angeles Chargers · Miss 0
Nick Wright ran through their projected 2025 records for all 16 AFC teams, calling Baltimore a 13-win regular-season juggernaut, Houston a 12-win team with the league's best defense, and going under on the Jets, Bengals, Steelers and Chargers; they also picked the Chiefs' game-by-game schedule to 12-5 and said Buffalo wins the AFC East.Eric Mangini · Game Outcome Picks · Los Angeles Chargers · Miss 0
Mangini took the Titans to upset the Texans, and in the chips segment backed the Chargers to upset Denver, the Patriots over the Raiders, and the Rams over the Bills.
More division winners
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Daniel DiBerardinis · Division Winners · Atlanta Falcons · Miss 0
Danny D predicts Sonny Styles goes in the top ten (maybe top five), doesn't think Ty Simpson goes before late first round, says Kenyon Sadiq lands with the Rams at 13, and picks the Falcons to win the NFC South while naming the Bengals an AFC bounce-back team. They also give a Final Four of Michigan, Florida, Purdue and Arizona with Michigan winning.Rich Eisen · Division Winners · Jacksonville Jaguars · Hit 100
Eisen forecast the Week 18 results and the entire wild-card field: Buccaneers over Panthers but Carolina still gets in as the 5 seed when Atlanta beats New Orleans, 49ers over Seahawks, Ravens over Steelers, Jaguars beating Tennessee to win the AFC South, and six wild-card matchups (Seahawks-Panthers, Bills-Jaguars, Texans-Ravens, Packers-Bears, Chargers-Patriots, Rams-Eagles), with Houston upsetting Baltimore. They also tabbed Saints rookie Tyler Shough as a possible Offensive Rookie of the Year.Rich Eisen · Division Winners · Jacksonville Jaguars · Hit 100
Eisen called the 49ers-as-NFC-favorites take an overreaction, picked the Jaguars to beat the Titans and win their division, leaned Ravens over the Steelers in the Week 18 Sunday night game, expects the Bills to beat the Jets even without Josh Allen, sees the Chargers as the AFC's seventh seed, agreed Tyler Shough could win Offensive Rookie of the Year with a good Saints 2026, said Malik Willis will be a starter somewhere next season, and insisted Detroit goes into 2026 with Goff.Cynthia Frelund · Division Winners · Houston Texans · Miss 0
Freeland's model has the Chargers winning straight up in Dallas, the Texans winning big over the Raiders and going on to win the AFC South, the Lions beating the Steelers by six, the Saints beating the Jets, and the Packers beating the Bears; they also see the AFC's Super Bowl representative being either Denver or Houston.Chris Brockman · Division Winners · Chicago Bears · Hit 100
Brockman called the Broncos-Packers game the best of the day, said Denver looks poised to lock up the AFC's No. 1 seed and reach the AFC Championship Game, predicted the Bears win the NFC North and the Eagles win their division (though they think they lose to a five seed from the NFC West), and said Philip Rivers will be in the NFL in 2026.