# Andrew Erickson: Erickson laid out his own early 2026 quarterback and tight end ranks — Justin Herbert QB6, Jalen Hurts QB9, Jordan Love QB13, Baker Mayfield QB14, Kyler Murray QB19, Sam Darnold QB23; Tucker Kraft TE8, Isaiah Likely TE12, Ronde Gadsden TE13 — and predicted Kyler Murray starts somewhere in 2026 and Mike Evans stays in Tampa Bay.

**Claimed:** Feb 22, 2026
**Pundit:** Andrew Erickson — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/andrew-erickson
**Outlet:** The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/the-herd-with-colin-cowherd-podcast
**How it reached us:** said on air or in an interview
**Original:** https://omny.fm/shows/fantasypros-fantasy-football-podcast/2026-fantasy-football-quarterback-and-tight-end-rankings-tiers-ep-1968

4 checkable claims — 2 fantasy rankings, 1 depth chart call and 1 trade and signing call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.

It names 3 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

3 of 4 have settled so far, averaging 83.2 out of 100, against 63.9 for a naive guess at the same calls.

> That's why I have Jalen Hurts ranked as QB nine.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **his tight end ten in the ECR, but you've got him all the way at thirteen [Gadsden]... expert concetsus asm at five. But Andrew, you got him only at eight [Kraft]... So Andrew, you've got him a tight end twelve [Likely]**
  - Kind: Fantasy Rankings
  - Verdict: scored 75 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess
- **Kyler Murray to be 1st on the depth chart**
  - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Kyler Murray
  - Verdict: scored 91.67 out of 100, against 91.67 for a naive guess
- **So that's why I have Jalen Hurts ranked as QB nine... So that's why I have him QB six [Herbert]... you've got him at QB thirteen [Love]... he is ECR of eighteen, but you've got him at fourteen [Mayfield]... you've got him at nineteen [Murray]... Andrew, you have him at twenty three [Darnold]**
  - Kind: Fantasy Rankings
  - Verdict: scored 82.86 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess
- **Mike Evans to move to Tampa Bay Buccaneers**
  - Kind: Trade and Signing Calls · About: Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Kyler Murray — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/kyler-murray
- Mike Evans — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/mike-evans
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/buccaneers

## What others said about the same people

- Marcus Ray on Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Marcus predicted a 30-13 Buccaneers win over Cleveland with three touchdowns and three field goals, and picked the Raiders to beat a Jim Harbaugh team to start 2-0. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/aa09b337-f1fa-49b0-bc4b-5e2bbaddb5df (scored 19.05)
- Ryan LaVoy on Tampa Bay Buccaneers: LaVoy predicted a 28-10 Buccaneers win over the Browns, said even the Falcons would beat Cleveland, and named Detroit, Baltimore and the Rams as teams he expects in the playoffs. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/227e256e-a31d-413d-a568-7f7250dcd161 (scored 16.67)
- Jaron Spor on Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The host predicted a comfortable Buccaneers win over Cleveland, 27-10, picked Jacksonville as an upset winner at Denver, said the Giants could win seven or eight games as a sneaky team, and expected Deshaun Watson and the Browns to part ways soon. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/7a7160b2-ca51-4fce-a478-bd9f75323548 (scored 19.05)
- Carmen Vitali on Tampa Bay Buccaneers: In the show's weekly picks segment Vitali took the Broncos over the Rams, the Ravens over the Cowboys in Rio, Tampa at home over Minnesota, the Bills over the Chargers and the Eagles on the road in Chicago. She also agreed that Caleb Williams would be out roughly two to three weeks. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/948bc684-6a05-4cb4-a5ff-72861da00102 (scored 0)
- Pat Fitzmaurice on Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Fitzmaurice gave rest-of-season positional rankings for several Chiefs and other skill players, including Mahomes as his QB10, Kenneth Walker as RB4 behind Gibbs, Bijan and McCaffrey, Kelce at TE8 and Worthy down at WR50, and he picked Tampa Bay to beat Minnesota 21-20. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/31b15133-9938-492f-a5a8-48d1dd02b911 (scored 35.71)
- Derek Brown on Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Brown laid out aggressive rest-of-season positional rankings — Mahomes QB8, Kenneth Walker RB3, Kelce up to TE7, Rashee Rice all the way down at WR31 and Worthy at WR42 — called Drake London a WR1 with Penix back, and picked Tampa Bay 21-18 over Minnesota while declaring Zay Flowers will not play in Brazil. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/889acfb2-8238-4174-89cb-a194ff0948ff (scored 40.48)

## More fantasy rankings

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

- Rich Hribar: Hribar published his post-NFL Draft top-60 rookie fantasy rankings for the 2020 season, with Clyde Edwards-Helaire vaulting to No. 1 ahead of Jonathan Taylor and J.K. Dobbins. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/12b6771e-a504-44e1-a213-c7fba69c971e (scored 76.67)
- Mike Harmon: Harmon gave his Week 18 fantasy rankings — top five quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers — plus lists of 'hot plays,' 'cold sores' (players to avoid) and 'ninjas' (sneaky plays), and said Trevor Lawrence would land around a top-four fantasy quarterback finish for the season. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e2e20c82-d482-48e6-90f3-929d0862fc0d (scored 80)
- Marcas Grant: Grant says De'Von Achane deserves to be a top-three pick in fantasy drafts next season, keeps Breece Hall as the Jets' clear RB1 over Isaiah Davis, and lists his five league winners for the fantasy semifinals with Saquon Barkley on top. He also picks Josh Allen as the week's top quarterback and Jaxon Smith-Njigba as the top wide receiver. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/982ad405-d984-4470-bf9e-fee5151562e6 (scored 25)
- Jake Ciely: Sealey gave his early 2026 quarterback ranks — Allen, Lamar, May and Daniels as his top four, Joe Burrow sixth, Daniel Jones 17th, Justin Herbert 10th, C.J. Stroud 25th and Sam Darnold 26th — plus tight ends with Isaiah Likely 13th and Dalton Kincaid down at 16. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/f0bd19b0-da37-47d6-b81f-8863be80fbe2 (scored 62.5)
- Jake Ciely: Seely gives his own early 2026 running back board — Bijan and Gibbs on top, McCaffrey third (seventh overall), Kyren Williams tenth, Jeanty 11th and Chase Brown 12th — while ranking Skattebo, Dowdle, Pollard, Hubbard and Tucker below consensus. He also insists Kyren Williams remains a top-ten back, expects Skattebo to lead the Giants backfield and expects Rico Dowdle to leave Carolina. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/11e7d74c-dd01-406b-a815-e91c9df6699e (scored 93.26)
- Joe Pisapia: Joe Pisapia's 2026 first round is receiver-heavy, starting with Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Ja'Marr Chase, insisting Amon-Ra St. Brown belongs in the top five, keeping Justin Jefferson in round one, and dropping Christian McCaffrey to 12. He also sees Omarion Hampton as a value who will be a top-10 pick a year later. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/830a3414-41f0-4e58-9f3b-b1a5f9e10c3c (scored 70.83)

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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

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