# Andrew Erickson: Erickson gave their 2026 first-round board, leaning on running backs early with Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs, Ja'Marr Chase as their WR1 and Christian McCaffrey slipping to 12. They also touted Malik Nabers as a buying opportunity, projected big touchdown numbers for Burrow and Chase, and called Barkley a buy-low. **Claimed:** Jan 17, 2026 **Pundit:** Andrew Erickson — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/andrew-erickson **Outlet:** FantasyPros Fantasy Football Podcast (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/fantasypros-fantasy-football-podcast-podcast **How it reached us:** said on air or in an interview **Original:** https://omny.fm/shows/fantasypros-fantasy-football-podcast/projecting-the-first-round-the-top-12-fantasy-football-players-in-2026-ep-1939 6 checkable claims — 2 player season numbers, 1 depth chart call, 1 fantasy ranking, 1 positional finish and 1 trade and signing call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call. It names 8 players and teams, each linked to their own record. All 6 have settled, averaging 56.3 out of 100, against 50.3 for a naive guess at the same calls. > So pick nine, I'm on Ross Saint Brown. Pick ten, Devon a Chan... Pick eleven is take one Barkley... And then pick twelve, mister Christian McCaffrey. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **A.J. Brown to move** - Kind: Trade and Signing Calls · About: A.J. Brown - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - “Yes, going with Jeon Robinson... So he's my number two player [Gibbs]... My number one wide receiver is Jamar Chase... So James Cook for me is number four... I got Jackson Smith and Jig Pooka, Nakua, Jonathan Taylor, and Cede Lamb rounding out picks five through eight... So pick nine, I'm on Ross Saint Brown. Pick ten, Devon a Chan. Pick eleven is take one Barkley... And then pick twelve, mister Christian McCaffrey.” - Kind: Fantasy Rankings - Verdict: scored 56.25 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Ja'Marr Chase to record 15 receiving tds** - Kind: Player Season Numbers · About: Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals - Verdict: scored 6.67 out of 100, against 56.87 for a naive guess - **Joe Burrow to record 45 passing tds** - Kind: Player Season Numbers · About: Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 20.05 for a naive guess - **James Cook to finish top 3 at his position, by fantasy points** - Kind: Positional Finishes · About: James Cook, Buffalo Bills - Verdict: scored 83.33 out of 100, against 83.33 for a naive guess - **DeVonta Smith to be 1st on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles - Verdict: scored 91.67 out of 100, against 91.67 for a naive guess ## Who this take is about - A.J. Brown — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/a-j-brown - Ja'Marr Chase — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/ja-marr-chase - Cincinnati Bengals — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bengals - Joe Burrow — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/joe-burrow - James Cook — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/james-cook - Buffalo Bills — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bills - DeVonta Smith — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/devonta-smith - Philadelphia Eagles — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/eagles ## What others said about the same people - Pete Prisco on Buffalo Bills: Prisco picked the Bills to win 21-14 at Minnesota. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/baf85732-a389-4d56-8efe-5ce1e77fb8ae (scored 76.19) - John Breech on Buffalo Bills: Breech picked the Bills to beat the Vikings on Monday night by a score of 24-17. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/4d22cd22-c9e2-4e03-ac32-129a116a34d0 (scored 76.19) - Jordan Dajani on Buffalo Bills: Dajani picked the Bills to edge the Vikings 24-23. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/28009098-d828-4465-9c7f-f92dac661f0a (scored 61.9) - Jared Dubin on Buffalo Bills: Dubin picked Buffalo to win a low-scoring Monday night game in Minnesota, 20-14. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/4535f610-1df1-45e9-a603-fae7ef72893f (scored 73.81) - Tyler Sullivan on Buffalo Bills: Sullivan picked the Bills to beat the Vikings 24-17. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/bd29eda0-d993-4b00-af09-edb0051a4f4b (scored 76.19) - Trevor Ripley on Buffalo Bills: Ripley picks the Bills to beat the Vikings in their Week 9 Monday night matchup, predicting a 27-20 Buffalo win, and expects Carson Wentz to start for Minnesota with Kyler Murray sidelined. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/d007779f-687d-4623-87c1-8a62c6d62b06 (scored 76.19) ## More player season numbers The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Ross Jackson on Tyler Shough: Jackson projects a big sophomore jump for Saints QB Tyler Shuck, laying out a Drake May-style stat line (17 starts, 72% completions, ~4,601 passing yards, 24 TDs, 9 INTs) or a Bo Nix-style consistency line (over 4,000 yards, over 20 TDs, ~10 INTs), and says either path means a playoff season for New Orleans in 2026. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/4dc05898-73fd-4fcb-92c4-a940d7e395ba (scored 3.63) - Chris Broussard on Myles Garrett: 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. They also take 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 91.67) - 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 their weekly picks they expect 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) - Rich Eisen on Micah Parsons: Eisen made a series of picks: Micah Parsons will out-sack any two Cowboys combined (after initially leaning the other way), the NFC North is more likely to produce a Super Bowl team than the NFC East, Eagles wins will outnumber Cowboys losses, Bo Nix/Courtland Sutton will out-touchdown Cam Ward/Calvin Ridley, and Marvin Harrison Jr./James Conner will beat Kamara/Olave in yards and TDs. They also picked the AFC West order and said Deion Sanders is more likely than Bill Belichick to have a winning record. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/f94f8499-af74-4a8d-a688-fd08cd52bb3c (scored 56.25) - Daniel Jeremiah on Jihaad Campbell: Jeremiah walked through their mock draft 3.0, slotting Cam Ward first overall to Tennessee, Abdul Carter to Cleveland at two, Shedeur Sanders to the Giants at three and Travis Hunter to New England at four, plus roughly twenty other first-round pairings. They also called Matthew Golden the first receiver off the board, said Tyler Booker would climb back into the latter third of the first round, expected Kirk Cousins to be traded, thought Jaire Alexander's Packers days were numbered, and predicted Cam Robinson would start at left tackle in Houston. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c5de01a8-6e40-436d-9e04-07e1d39e54ae (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=andrew-erickson