# Mark “Magic Mark” Willard: Mark, largely guessing, picked Justin Herbert for MVP, Ja'Marr Chase for OPOY, Fernando Mendoza for Offensive Rookie of the Year, David Bailey for Defensive Rookie of the Year, the Bears' coach for Coach of the Year and Jayden Daniels for Comeback Player. **Claimed:** Aug 30, 2026 **Pundit:** Mark “Magic Mark” Willard — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/mark-magic-mark-willard **Outlet:** Fox Sports Radio (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/fox-sports-radio-podcast **How it reached us:** said on air or in an interview **Original:** https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/551c44d9-d7e8-4da3-bacd-ae2e0038717f/956be755-0b6f-4484-bc7f-b4b600d94ab5/audio.mp3?in_playlist=be0668fc-1028-4ce5-80eb-ae2e00387188 5 checkable claims — 5 award picks — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 10 players and teams, each linked to their own record. None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in. > I'm going to go with Herbert because he's a charger, and we'll see if he can get it done. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Fernando Mendoza to win Offensive Rookie of the Year** - Kind: Award Picks · About: Fernando Mendoza, Las Vegas Raiders - Verdict: not settled yet - **Justin Herbert to win MVP** - Kind: Award Picks · About: Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers - Verdict: not settled yet - **Jayden Daniels to win Comeback Player of the Year** - Kind: Award Picks · About: Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders - Verdict: not settled yet - **David Bailey to win Defensive Rookie of the Year** - Kind: Award Picks · About: David Bailey, New York Jets - Verdict: not settled yet - **Ja'Marr Chase to win Offensive Player of the Year** - Kind: Award Picks · About: Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Fernando Mendoza — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/fernando-mendoza - Las Vegas Raiders — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/raiders - Justin Herbert — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/justin-herbert - Los Angeles Chargers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/chargers - Jayden Daniels — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jayden-daniels - Washington Commanders — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/commanders - David Bailey — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/david-bailey - New York Jets — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/jets - Ja'Marr Chase — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/ja-marr-chase - Cincinnati Bengals — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bengals ## What others said about the same people - Connor Rogers on Los Angeles Chargers: Rogers made his own Week 2 calls, taking the Packers, Eagles (by at least 10), Panthers (by at least a field goal), Cowboys (by at least six), Chargers, Chiefs and Rams to win. He also noted Baltimore was his Super Bowl pick and said it wouldn't shock him if Jacksonville hosted the AFC Championship Game. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/0c2a0048-cb74-4da9-8ef4-695cc6571cdf (scored 0) - Chris Simms on Los Angeles Chargers: Simms went through every Week 2 game with predicted final scores, picking the Texans, Bears, Steelers (as an upset), Packers, Ravens, Eagles, Buccaneers, Panthers, Jaguars, Seahawks, Cowboys, 49ers, Chargers, Chiefs and Rams to win. He also reiterated that Denver was his preseason Super Bowl pick while predicting the Broncos would fall to 0-2. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/32db5f5e-13da-47e3-b280-2aa9a80d172b (scored 40.48) - Chris Simms on Cincinnati Bengals: 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 40.48) - Chris Long on Cincinnati Bengals: 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) ## More award picks The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Gregg Rosenthal on Tristan Wirfs: Rosenthal picked Patrick Mahomes for MVP, Micah Parsons for Defensive Player of the Year, Jahmyr Gibbs for Offensive Player of the Year, Aaron Glenn for Coach of the Year, Travis Hunter for both Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year, Bill Callahan for Assistant Coach of the Year and Tristan Wirfs for Protector of the Year. He also made depth-chart calls on Adam Thielen and Jalen Coker. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/88928365-78fb-4f7b-84a4-0dd7856ba9cc (scored 0) - Jourdan Rodrigue on Penei Sewell: Rodrigue picked Patrick Mahomes for MVP, Jared Verse for Defensive Player of the Year, Ja'Marr Chase for Offensive Player of the Year, Mike Vrabel for Coach of the Year, TreVeyon Henderson for Offensive Rookie of the Year and Abdul Carter for Defensive Rookie of the Year, with Jesse Minter for Assistant Coach of the Year and Penei Sewell for Protector of the Year. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/f3ba94ea-a935-4534-88e4-bb6027bf87ad (scored 0) - Brandon Sneide on Drake Maye: Snyder picks the Seahawks to beat the Patriots 31-23 in Super Bowl 60, believing Seattle pulls away late, and says Drake Maye will finish second in MVP voting behind Matthew Stafford. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1cf83e90-e59f-4c8f-941f-c732efcb4c03 (scored 0) - Nick Wright on Rashid Shaheed: Nick picked Seattle to win the Super Bowl 27-17, citing Seattle's defense, coaching against young quarterbacks and schedule strength, and named Rasheed Shaheed as his dark horse Super Bowl MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1fe4abc6-28e3-412b-ab6e-d2f65f25682f (scored 0) - Chris Broussard on Cooper Kupp: Broussard picked New England to beat Seattle 24-21, with Drake May winning Super Bowl MVP, and named Cooper Kupp as his dark horse MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1247ee30-3338-4940-8fc9-977cc215ff59 (scored 0) - Eric Mangini on Drake Maye: Mangini picked the Patriots 23-20 with Drake May as Super Bowl MVP, and earlier named Kayshon Boutte ("Kaeshawn Booty") as his dark horse MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/332dce8c-f71c-4f26-a976-8f4615a9f9bd (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=mark-magic-mark-willard