# Pat Fitzmaurice: Pat Fitzmaurice gave draft-or-pass calls: reluctant drafts on Christian McCaffrey, RJ Harvey, Tetairoa McMillan (his WR16), Rashee Rice at a ninth-round price, Austin Ekeler, Chris Rodriguez, Chris Olave, Drake Maye (his QB8) and Tyler Warren, with passes on Breece Hall, Joe Mixon, Croskey-Merritt, Tyreek Hill, Travis Hunter, the Rams receivers and Justin Fields.

**Claimed:** Aug 30, 2025
**Pundit:** Pat Fitzmaurice — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/pat-fitzmaurice
**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/draft-or-pass-on-these-fantasy-football-gambles-boom-or-bust-picks-for-2025-ep-1675

14 checkable claims — 8 sleeper calls, 3 fantasy bust calls, 2 positional finishes and 1 depth chart call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.

It names 20 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

13 of 14 have settled so far, averaging 69.2 out of 100, against 29.5 for a naive guess at the same calls.

> Drake May is my QB eight.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Rashee Rice to outplay his draft cost (the ninth round)**
  - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Rashee Rice, Kansas City Chiefs
  - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess
- **Chris Rodriguez Jr. to outplay his draft cost (an end of the draft dart throw)**
  - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Chris Rodriguez Jr., Washington Commanders
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **RJ Harvey to outplay his draft cost (the fifties second player overall RB twenty two)**
  - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: RJ Harvey, Denver Broncos
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Tetairoa McMillan to outplay his draft cost (fifty nine overall)**
  - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Tetairoa McMillan, Carolina Panthers
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Breece Hall to fall short of his draft cost (RB nineteen forty three overall)**
  - Kind: Fantasy Bust Calls · About: Breece Hall, New York Jets
  - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess
- **Austin Ekeler to outplay his draft cost (in the mid to late thirties at running back)**
  - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Austin Ekeler, Washington Commanders
  - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess
- **Tyreek Hill to fall short of his draft cost (the thirty seventh player off the board)**
  - Kind: Fantasy Bust Calls · About: Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Drake Maye to outplay his draft cost (QB thirteen)**
  - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Drake Maye, New England Patriots
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Christian McCaffrey to outplay his draft cost (the seventh player overall)**
  - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Christian McCaffrey
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Tyler Warren to outplay his draft cost (tight end eleven)**
  - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Tyler Warren, Indianapolis Colts
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Tetairoa McMillan to finish top 16 at his position, by fantasy points**
  - Kind: Positional Finishes · About: Tetairoa McMillan, Carolina Panthers
  - Verdict: scored 75 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Austin Ekeler to be 1st on the depth chart**
  - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Austin Ekeler, Washington Commanders
  - Verdict: scored 75 out of 100, against 83.33 for a naive guess
- **Drake Maye to finish top 8 at his position, by fantasy points**
  - Kind: Positional Finishes · About: Drake Maye, New England Patriots
  - Verdict: scored 50 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Joe Mixon to fall short of his draft cost (one O two overall RB thirty seven)**
  - Kind: Fantasy Bust Calls · About: Joe Mixon, Houston Texans
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Rashee Rice — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/rashee-rice
- Kansas City Chiefs — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/chiefs
- Chris Rodriguez Jr. — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/chris-rodriguez-jr
- Washington Commanders — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/commanders
- RJ Harvey — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/rj-harvey
- Denver Broncos — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/broncos
- Tetairoa McMillan — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/tetairoa-mcmillan
- Carolina Panthers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/panthers
- Breece Hall — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/breece-hall
- New York Jets — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/jets
- Austin Ekeler — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/austin-ekeler
- Tyreek Hill — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/tyreek-hill
- Miami Dolphins — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/dolphins
- Drake Maye — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/drake-maye
- New England Patriots — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/patriots
- Christian McCaffrey — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/christian-mccaffrey
- Tyler Warren — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/tyler-warren
- Indianapolis Colts — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/colts
- Joe Mixon — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/joe-mixon
- Houston Texans — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/texans

## What others said about the same people

- Chris Simms on Kansas City Chiefs: 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 100)
- Connor Rogers on Kansas City Chiefs: Rogers picked Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle and the Giants to win their Week 3 games, saying the Chiefs win by two touchdowns and the Giants by a field goal. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/83d1e88b-95a0-45ba-83d3-f86297170c6c (scored 100)
- Steven Ruiz on Houston Texans: 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 0)
- Nate Tice on Denver Broncos: 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)
- Jake Arthur on Kansas City Chiefs: Arthur expects a close Chiefs win on Sunday Night Football at Arrowhead, predicting a final score of 27-23 for Kansas City. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/ca7ab74e-ab34-4ed6-a77f-2c7e9f8c8c4d (scored 97.62)
- Zach Hicks on Kansas City Chiefs: Hicks predicts a lower-scoring, field-goal-heavy game with the Chiefs beating the Colts 23-19, citing Indianapolis' red-zone success against Kansas City historically. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/ddbaddad-c15e-4e6f-a6ac-f066de6cdc2a (scored 97.62)

## 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 Ricky Pearsall: 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)
- Ryan Wormeli on Ricky Pearsall: Host Ryan Warmley endorsed Ricky Pearsall as a bet worth making and put his rookie-receiver capital in Tetairoa McMillan, while fading Zay Flowers at his cost and opting out of Marvin Harrison Jr. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/192d6e67-2e0e-49b3-bc82-4c8a77bd5950 (scored 100)
- Chris Welsh on Travis Hunter: 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)
- Derek Brown on George Pickens: Brown's five-to-one breakout list was Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Tucker Kraft, Ricky Pearsall, George Pickens and Tetairoa McMillan; he forecasts Brian Robinson Jr. being cut or traded, Kraft finishing as a top-five/six tight end, Pickens as a top-15 receiver and McMillan spiking for double-digit touchdowns. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/9d95277c-e110-411f-8934-9a1282c3286e (scored 100)
- Ryan Wormeli on Cedric Tillman: 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 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.

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

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