# Eric Williams: In the first edition of FOX Sports' Awards Ballot, Williams predicts the top five finishers for each major NFL award: Jahmyr Gibbs for Offensive Player of the Year, Myles Garrett to repeat as Defensive Player of the Year, DeMeco Ryans for Coach of the Year, Jadarian Price for Offensive Rookie of the Year, Rueben Bain Jr. for Defensive Rookie of the Year, and Patrick Mahomes to win their third MVP.

**Claimed:** Sep 7, 2026
**Pundit:** Eric Williams — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/eric-williams
**Outlet:** Fox Sports — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/fox-sports
**How it reached us:** published in writing
**Original:** https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/2026-27-nfl-awards-predictions-will-matthew-stafford-patrick-mahomes-win-mvp

19 checkable claims — 5 award picks, 5 coach award picks, 5 top player lists, 2 depth chart calls and 2 player season numbers — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.

It names 12 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.

> I like him (and the Chiefs) to rebound from a poor performance last season to win his third MVP award.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Jadarian Price to be 1st on the depth chart**
  - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Jadarian Price, Seattle Seahawks
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Jahmyr Gibbs to record 2,000 rushing yards**
  - Kind: Player Season Numbers · About: Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Jahmyr Gibbs to win Offensive Player of the Year**
  - Kind: Award Picks · About: Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- “Offensive Rookie of the Year: 5. Fernando Mendoza ... 4. KC Concepcion ... 3. De'Zhaun Stribling ... 2. Jeremiyah Love ... 1. Jadarian Price”
  - Kind: Top Player Lists
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Myles Garrett to win Defensive Player of the Year**
  - Kind: Award Picks · About: Myles Garrett, Los Angeles Rams
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- “Defensive Rookie Of The Year: 5. Akheem Mesidor ... 4. Caleb Downs ... 3. Sonny Styles ... 2. David Bailey ... 1. Rueben Bain Jr.”
  - Kind: Top Player Lists
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- “Most Valuable Player: 5. Lamar Jackson ... 4. Justin Herbert ... 3. Matthew Stafford ... 2. Josh Allen ... 1. Patrick Mahomes”
  - Kind: Top Player Lists
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Ben Johnson to win Coach of the Year**
  - Kind: Coach Award Picks
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **John Harbaugh to win Coach of the Year**
  - Kind: Coach Award Picks
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Brian Schottenheimer to win Coach of the Year**
  - Kind: Coach Award Picks
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Demeco Ryans to win Coach of the Year**
  - Kind: Coach Award Picks
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Patrick Mahomes to win Most Valuable Player**
  - Kind: Award Picks · About: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Rueben Bain to record 10 sacks**
  - Kind: Player Season Numbers · About: Rueben Bain, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **A.J. Brown to be 1st on the depth chart**
  - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: A.J. Brown, New England Patriots
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Kevin O'Connell to win Coach of the Year**
  - Kind: Coach Award Picks
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- “Defensive Player Of The Year: 5. Trey Hendrickson ... 4. Devon Witherspoon ... 3. Will Anderson Jr. ... 2. Pat Surtain II ... 1. Myles Garrett”
  - Kind: Top Player Lists
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Jadarian Price to win Offensive Rookie of the Year**
  - Kind: Award Picks · About: Jadarian Price, Seattle Seahawks
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Rueben Bain to win Defensive Rookie of the Year**
  - Kind: Award Picks · About: Rueben Bain, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- “Offensive Player Of The Year: 5. A.J. Brown ... 4. Christian McCaffrey ... 3. Jaxon Smith-Njigba ... 2. Puka Nacua ... 1. Jahmyr Gibbs”
  - Kind: Top Player Lists
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Jadarian Price — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jadarian-price
- Seattle Seahawks — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/seahawks
- Jahmyr Gibbs — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jahmyr-gibbs
- Detroit Lions — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/lions
- Myles Garrett — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/myles-garrett
- Los Angeles Rams — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/rams
- Patrick Mahomes — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/patrick-mahomes
- Kansas City Chiefs — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/chiefs
- Rueben Bain — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/rueben-bain
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/buccaneers
- 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 Clark on Nikko Remigio: Clark expects the Chiefs to bring back exclusive-rights receiver Nico (Remigio) and long snapper James Winchester, to re-sign JuJu Smith-Schuster as a cheap veteran fifth receiver, and not to bring back Hollywood Brown, Josh Dobbs-type depth, Gardner Minshew, Janarius Robinson or Mike Caliendo; they also say the Chiefs will not use a franchise tag and believes Bryan Cook won't return. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/99521265-d5c0-4db1-b2a0-fe77908ea0b3 (scored 0)
- Gilberto Manzano on Josh Downs: Previewing the trade deadline, he expects Justin Herbert to stay in Los Angeles despite the Chargers' 0–7 start, thinks the Jets will keep Garrett Wilson and pair him with their young weapons, expects a receiver-hungry Kansas City to be aggressive with Josh Downs the likeliest target, and suggests expiring Eagles contracts Moro Ojomo and Riq Woolen could be dealt for mid-round picks. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/67d5af78-94ea-4ee2-a277-5e68347022de (scored 100)
- Joshua Poniatowski on Josh Downs: Poniatowski names several trade targets, predicting Malik Willis underperforms this week against New England, that Omarion Hampton could become a viable RB2 if Adam Gase takes over play-calling, that Josh Downs gets traded (ideally to Kansas City, where they'd be a top-24 WR), that Brian Thomas Jr. could be dealt to the Rams or 49ers, and that Travis Kelce remains a consistent weekly TE. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/d1752582-a799-48b9-984b-39bf7cb8b709 (scored 100)
- Andrew Erickson on Josh Downs: Erickson floated Kansas City as the landing spot for Josh Downs and said a trade there would make them at least a WR3 rest of season; they also expect Rashee Rice to leave the Chiefs after this season as a free agent. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e97e28f2-31fc-4702-915c-63c38477e97d (scored 100)
- Jordan Dajani on Josh Downs: After reporting that Colts receiver Josh Downs requested a trade, they identify five clubs as plausible landing spots for them: the Rams, Patriots, Falcons, Chiefs and Raiders, and suggests Las Vegas could also give them a long-term extension. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/f5af1657-8608-4071-a63e-0e7d6124e627 (scored 100)
- Mike Kadlick on Josh Downs: Kadlick names the Chiefs, Patriots and 49ers as the three best trade landing spots for Colts wide receiver Josh Downs ahead of the Nov. 10 deadline. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/45c94482-ef71-413f-834b-2a246271691d (scored 100)

## More coach award picks

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

- Matt Hasselbeck: Hasselbeck agreed on the Bills and Ravens as AFC division winners, picked the Colts (with Daniel Jones) to win the AFC South, the Broncos to win the AFC West, the Seahawks to win the NFC West, and tabbed Brian Flores for a Coach of the Year-type honor. They also said the Patriots would make a big jump and potentially reach the playoffs, and named Minnesota, Las Vegas, New England and Chicago as offseason winners. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/757877f8-ca0d-4888-b062-a4a6dd71d0e6 (scored 0)
- Richard Sherman: Sherman picked the Eagles, Vikings, Ravens and Bills in their wild-card games, named Lamar Jackson MVP, Patrick Surtain DPOY, Kevin O'Connell Coach of the Year, put Jared Verse in the top three of Defensive Rookie of the Year voting, and gave a Week 18 power ranking with Kansas City first. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2d7cf80e-1b0e-4129-92f3-225d97061cbe (scored 100)
- Chris Brockman: Brockman argued that Kyle Shanahan deserves Coach of the Year after the 49ers' road win in Philadelphia, a take Rich Eisen partly called an overreaction since it's a regular-season award. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/4da2fac2-7a9e-4cf2-a606-9dc6c7fd548d (scored 0)
- Pat Gustavson: Gustafson picked the Bears, Eagles, Rams, Patriots, Jaguars and Texans in the wild card round, the Rams and Bears in the NFC, the Broncos and Patriots in the AFC, and the Patriots to beat the Bears in the Super Bowl. Their awards slate included Stafford for MVP, Puka for OPOY and Liam Cohen for Coach of the Year. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/671b9c4f-1f25-4f11-ad26-16a1126ea3b8 (scored 0)
- Brandon Carney: Carney made a full playoff bracket, picking the Bears, Niners, Rams, Patriots, Jaguars and Texans in the wild card round, then Seahawks and Rams in the NFC divisional, Broncos and Patriots in the AFC, with the Rams beating the Patriots in the Super Bowl. They also gave award picks including Stafford for MVP and Vrabel for Coach of the Year. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/88101820-7344-4240-93f1-caa15fe95de9 (scored 100)
- Rich Eisen: Eisen gave their Week 13 power rankings, with the Rams first, Patriots second and the Cowboys entering at No. 10, and also named New England and Philadelphia as the first teams to clinch playoff spots, picked Seattle to beat Minnesota, and tabbed Drake Maye as an MVP finalist and Mike Vrabel as Coach of the Year. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/960141f1-11b7-4c57-9ef8-0f7b8b41bc99 (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.

Full method: https://missedtakes.co/methodology

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