# Pat Fitzmaurice: Fitzmaurice names five quarterbacks he loves to target in the middle rounds of 2026 fantasy drafts — Justin Herbert, Trevor Lawrence, Brock Purdy, Dak Prescott and Matthew Stafford — arguing each will outproduce his mid-round cost, with Purdy specifically pegged as a low-end QB1.

**Claimed:** Aug 11, 2026
**Pundit:** Pat Fitzmaurice — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/pat-fitzmaurice
**Outlet:** FantasyPros — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/fantasypros
**How it reached us:** published in writing
**Original:** https://www.fantasypros.com/2026/08/fantasy-football-5-mid-round-quarterbacks-to-draft-2026/

6 checkable claims — 5 sleeper calls and 1 positional finishe — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.

It names 9 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in.

Of the 1 unsettled call enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands above the rest of the room.

> Consider him a low-end QB1 in 2026 fantasy drafts.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Justin Herbert to outplay his draft cost (the middle rounds)**
  - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Brock Purdy to outplay his draft cost (the middle rounds)**
  - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Matthew Stafford to outplay his draft cost (the middle rounds)**
  - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Dak Prescott to outplay his draft cost (the middle rounds)**
  - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Brock Purdy to finish top 12 at his position, by fantasy points**
  - Kind: Positional Finishes · About: Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Trevor Lawrence to outplay his draft cost (the middle rounds)**
  - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Trevor Lawrence
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Justin Herbert — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/justin-herbert
- Los Angeles Chargers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/chargers
- Brock Purdy — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/brock-purdy
- San Francisco 49ers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/49ers
- Matthew Stafford — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/matthew-stafford
- Los Angeles Rams — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/rams
- Dak Prescott — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/dak-prescott
- Dallas Cowboys — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/cowboys
- Trevor Lawrence — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/trevor-lawrence

## What others said about the same people

- Chris Simms on San Francisco 49ers: 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 88.1)
- Chris Long on Los Angeles Rams: 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)
- Sam Monson on Los Angeles Chargers: Monson picked the Chargers to beat the Bills outright (jokingly crediting Buffalo's gray 'Nickel City' jerseys), took the Vikings to win outright in Tampa, and said Seattle would destroy Washington. He also reiterated his Super Bowl pick of Denver over the Rams, called the Dolphins destined for the No. 1 overall pick, and said the Saints are a worst-to-first candidate in the NFC South. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/0b810ffd-fd93-4ea2-a208-b1353dea5fb0 (scored 0)
- Matt Harmon on Los Angeles Rams: Harmon picked the Bengals to beat the Texans in Week 2, expecting Nico Collins to miss the game with a hamstring injury, and also predicted the Titans would be shut out by the Eagles. He took the Rams over the Giants, the Bears over the Vikings, and the Jaguars at Denver. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/21a71025-ab65-4716-ac2c-e77ad5ce3348 (scored 100)
- Nate Tice on Los Angeles Rams: Tice picked the Bengals over the Texans in a low-scoring game, the Jaguars at Denver, the Bears over the Vikings, the Patriots over the Steelers and the Rams to edge the Giants, and his Hail Mary was the Cowboys scoring 40 on Washington. He also floated Abdul Carter as a possible All-Pro. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b6211c80-3d1c-46b8-8a0c-151fc0ba92de (scored 100)
- David Droegemeier on Mekhi Becton: Drogemeier says the Chargers cutting Mekhi Becton is a foregone conclusion, freeing nearly $9 million in cap space, and only a matter of when. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c5f92029-fa26-4c4f-9c27-ab127b7301a8 (scored 100)

## More sleeper calls

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

- Derek Brown on Travis Hunter: Derek Brown ("Debro") laid out a slate of wide receiver breakouts — Ricky Pearsall, Jalen Coker, Egbuka, Jalen Waddle, Joshua Palmer, George Pickens, DeVonta Smith and Travis Hunter — while fading Xavier Worthy, Tyreek Hill and the cheap Cleveland/late-round types, and gave his own rankings well ahead of ADP for several of them. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/effe2fda-3dcb-489f-a1e1-f8fa5b11ada7 (scored 100)
- Tom Strachan on Jalen Coker: Tom Strachan backed Xavier Worthy, Jalen Coker, Egbuka, Jalen Waddle, Darnell Mooney, Zay Flowers, George Pickens, DeVonta Smith and Travis Hunter as values at their draft costs, while avoiding Jerry Jeudy and the Cleveland receivers. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c42eacc5-eb10-4103-a94d-50545a487cbb (scored 100)
- Chris Welsh on Tyler Warren: Welsh drafted Christian McCaffrey, Breece Hall, RJ Harvey, Tetairoa McMillan, Travis Hunter, the Rams and Saints receivers, Justin Fields (a top-10 QB), Drake Maye (QB10-14), Travis Kelce and Tyler Warren, while passing on Joe Mixon, the Commanders backfield, Tyreek Hill, Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/9f0f2132-f3b8-4813-b2b1-374b827d86a8 (scored 100)
- Joe Pisapia on Tyreek Hill: Joey P (Joe Pisapia) played draft-or-pass on 2025 fantasy values: he passed on Christian McCaffrey at pick 7, Breece Hall, Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, Travis Hunter and Chris Olave, while drafting RJ Harvey, Tyreek Hill, Tetairoa McMillan, Puka Nacua, Tyler Warren and a late-round Joe Mixon. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c3c95c1c-64a4-42b6-9389-58d5fb5b27d1 (scored 0)
- Ryan Wormeli on Tetairoa McMillan: Hosting the segment, Warmley backed Bryce Young to finish better than his QB22 consensus ranking, endorsed Cedric Tillman as a late-round target, and said Tetairoa McMillan will be a top-15 fantasy receiver this season. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2c695b79-bc5e-4d3f-8136-6705656267a2 (scored 100)
- Jake Ciely on Braelon Allen: Counting down his top-five middle/late-round breakout candidates, Seely picked Bryce Young, Cedric Tillman, Braelon Allen, Marvin Mims and Rome Odunze, arguing Young can be a fringe QB1 with added rushing, Tillman and Mims are their teams' No. 2 receivers, and Caleb Williams will post a huge statistical season that lifts Odunze. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/6b5a40bc-e349-48a1-ad37-18ee448ebe75 (scored 0)

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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.

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