# Colin Cowherd: Cowherd delivered his weekly "Herd Hierarchy" top-10 NFL power rankings, with Seattle first and Cincinnati tenth. He also predicted Seattle reaches the NFC Championship Game, argued the Chiefs can still reach a conference championship, said Caleb Williams will finish as a top-three quarterback, called the Steelers a very low-ceiling team, and floated trades involving Khalil Mack and Jonathan Taylor. **Claimed:** Oct 27, 2026 **Pundit:** Colin Cowherd — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/colin-cowherd **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://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/1508ddb2-0c9a-42f6-aafe-ae3300346aa9/34107ed2-f686-447b-9cdd-b4f00145f203/audio.mp3?in_playlist=bf391792-153e-41b3-9d3d-ae3300346ad8 8 checkable claims — 3 trade and signing calls, 1 conference champion, 1 contract call, 1 game outcome pick, 1 positional finishe and 1 power ranking — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call. 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 below the rest of the room. > No, I think Seattle is going to make the NFC championship. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Herd hierarchy countdown: "I'll put Joe Burrow and the guys at 10" ... "I put them at nine" ... "I put Denver at eight" ... "I put Detroit at seven" ... "Bills at six" ... "Kansas City's at number five" ... "I have him at four" (New England) ... "Bears at three" ... number two San Francisco ... number one Seattle** - Kind: Power Rankings - Verdict: not settled yet - **Khalil Mack to move to Chicago Bears** - Kind: Trade and Signing Calls · About: Khalil Mack, Chicago Bears - Verdict: not settled yet - **DeForest Buckner to move to San Francisco 49ers** - Kind: Trade and Signing Calls · About: DeForest Buckner, San Francisco 49ers - Verdict: not settled yet - **Seattle Seahawks to reach the Super Bowl** - Kind: Conference Champions · About: Seattle Seahawks - Verdict: not settled yet - **Caleb Williams to sign for $63M–$77M a year with Chicago Bears** - Kind: Contract Calls · About: Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears - Verdict: not settled yet - **Jonathan Taylor to move to Dallas Cowboys** - Kind: Trade and Signing Calls · About: Jonathan Taylor, Dallas Cowboys - Verdict: not settled yet - **Caleb Williams to finish top 3 at his position, by an unstated measure** - Kind: Positional Finishes · About: Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears - Verdict: not settled yet - **Denver Broncos to beat Minnesota** - Kind: Game Outcome Picks · About: Denver Broncos - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Khalil Mack — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/khalil-mack - Chicago Bears — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bears - DeForest Buckner — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/deforest-buckner - San Francisco 49ers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/49ers - Seattle Seahawks — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/seahawks - Caleb Williams — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/caleb-williams - Jonathan Taylor — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jonathan-taylor - Dallas Cowboys — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/cowboys - Denver Broncos — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/broncos ## What others said about the same people - John Middlekauff on Caleb Williams: Middlekauff expects either Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson to win this year's MVP, calling them the two best players in the league. He is pessimistic on the Bears, forecasting six or seven wins and saying he'd bet Caleb Williams doesn't work out as a franchise quarterback. He also sees Oklahoma's John Mattier as a first-round pick who'll be in the Heisman mix. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/deaaf3f6-e53e-4080-a0ca-d5f872b54c6a (scored 0) - Jeremy Brener on Seattle Seahawks: Brener picked the Seahawks to beat the Cardinals in Week 9 by a multi-score margin, giving a final score of 27-13, and expressed confidence Seattle would be fine with Drew Lock starting at quarterback. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/7eb2d245-63d0-4be0-80ba-3f60197e2b16 (scored 100) - Albert Breer on Seattle Seahawks: Breer picks the Seahawks to beat the Cardinals in their Week 9 NFC West matchup. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/4d67a8a5-0c05-4abe-b2ca-f0cef8390b1d (scored 100) - Tyler Sullivan on Seattle Seahawks: Sullivan picks the Seahawks to win in Week 9. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/dfca04b3-5c80-4a2e-b0de-8ac3a25f225b (scored 100) - Dave Richard on Seattle Seahawks: Richard picks the Seahawks over the Cardinals. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/d3db433e-52c6-42d1-a3b0-6b342aac8a9e (scored 100) - John Pluym on Seattle Seahawks: Pluym picks the Seahawks over the Cardinals. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e3897747-c55f-4340-9e82-03f9730f87ba (scored 100) ## More trade and signing calls The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Parker Hurley on Jessie Bates: Hurley argues a Jessie Bates trade to San Francisco is unrealistic because Atlanta remains in the weak NFC South race and likely won't sell, and he expects 49ers safety Ji'Ayir Brown to depart in free agency after this season. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/7e8279a5-fad4-4c61-9646-0809bdcdaf40 (scored 0) - Doug Joubert on Kendre Miller: Joubert doubts Taysom Hill will return to the Saints for financial reasons and believes Hill has retired from the NFL. He also expects CJ Donaldson to get more carries while the Saints move on from Kendre Miller. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e8976cfe-44a7-4cd2-9f23-ff513d4b4833 (scored 100) - Randy Gurzi on Taylor Rapp: Gurzi argues that, given Brandon Beane's fondness for reunions, recently released safety Taylor Rapp is a realistic option to return to Buffalo for safety depth — though only if the Bills fail to land a starting-caliber safety at the trade deadline. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/5fa74f1d-69bf-4aee-999a-17fe4b2b5175 (scored 0) - Joe Marino on Taylor Rapp: Marino argues the Bills should and almost certainly will release safety Taylor Rapp to save cap space, saying he'd be stunned if Buffalo kept him. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/6293af64-318f-43ba-b5be-7b2d42fabe29 (scored 100) - Albert Breer on Jacoby Brissett: Breer argues the Jaguars should be taken very seriously, seeing a path to 13 wins and the AFC's No. 1 seed with a first-round bye, and he expects the Jacoby Brissett trade to Baltimore to be completed within a day. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c51d9762-3ca3-4143-9372-bf508348053f (scored 100) - Nathan Jahnke on Jacoby Brissett: In a Week 9 recap, Jahnke expects Mark Andrews to remain Baltimore's lead tight end but says rookie Matt Hibner is more likely than Josh Cuevas to eventually overtake him, and he anticipates the Ravens acquiring Jacoby Brissett to start at quarterback. He also suggests Brian Thomas Jr. may have played his final game for Jacksonville ahead of the trade deadline. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/15c4c161-616c-4ed8-be6d-ad326cc50853 (scored 100) --- 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=colin-cowherd