FS1’s First Things First triumvirate Nick Wright, Kevin Wildes, and Chris Broussard returned from a two-week vacation just in time to present their annual NFL Predictions Week.
On Monday, Tom Rinaldi introduced the week-long production, and for Danny Parkins, it all went downhill after that.
Parkins hosts the show’s third hour, dubbed First Things First: OT. Broussard, Wildes, and Wright stick around for the first segment of OT, and that’s where Parkins has been declaring his official predictions for the 2026 NFL season.
On Thursday, Wright delighted in bringing to the audience’s attention that Parkins had made an egregious error: picking seven NFL playoff teams before getting to the NFC South.
There’s been an error in @DannyParkins’ NFC Playoff picks. @getnickwright confronts him about the problem live on the air 👀🤣 pic.twitter.com/L5TSLYQ4OE
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) September 3, 2026
Wright, with masterful comedic timing, walked through what happened. On Monday, Parkins picked the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants to reach the playoffs out of the NFC East. Come Tuesday, he predicted that the Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams, and San Francisco 49ers would all make it out of the NFC West. On Wednesday, he selected the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions to come out of the NFC North.
“We’ve got seven teams in, NFC South pending,” Wright said. “Note on the bottom: NFL rules prohibit eight teams making the playoffs in a conference.”
And then, Wright really aired out Parkins.
“Someone who doesn’t get shouted out enough but does a great job [is] the EP of the OT, Christina,” Wright said. “Christina, yesterday, I heard, tried to check with Danny to make sure he was all good, and Danny [said], ‘Yeah, I know the playoff rules.’ Just pooh-poohed it! And now, all of a sudden, covered in shame!”
Parkins finally got his chance to offer his rebuttal, saying, “I want to congratulate the Niners because I’m removing you from the playoffs, and you’re probably going to make the Super Bowl. I really just wanted to set up for, the NFC South doesn’t deserve a playoff participant, so I’m putting in seven other teams. My playoff field would be better than one with the NFC South.”
Given the universally understood NFL rules, however, Parkins begrudgingly replaced the 49ers with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Parkins and Wright have been best friends since their days at Syracuse University. They briefly overlapped at 610 Sports Radio in Kansas City before Wright departed for CBS Sports 610 KILT in Houston in 2012. Wright has been at Fox Sports since 2016, and after a wildly successful career in Chicago radio, Parkins followed Wright to FS1 two years ago.
Time now for a probably too sincere/heartfelt, and definitely way too long (and possibly a little cringeworthy) post about friendship, growing up, unspeakable loss & career ambitions.
2005: I’m a Junior at @SyracuseU & working at @WAERSports & meet a new student, @DannyParkins.… pic.twitter.com/E60SqobvEw
— nick wright (@getnickwright) August 23, 2024
Parkins joined First Things First last year, and his rapport with Wright has been a strong suit. Their banter and good-faith ribbing makes for an entertaining dynamic on air, especially on the OT segment “Frenemies” and during their season-long NFL picks competition. Parkins prevailed over Wright last season, but he’s off to a rocky start in defending his crown in 2026.
About Megan Armstrong
Since first getting published as a student by the Kansas City Star in 2013, Megan Armstrong has gone wherever curiosity and stories have taken her, specializing in sports, media, music, and culture coverage. She also has an extensive background in interviewing and profiling public figures. Her work has appeared in Billboard, Boardroom, Bleacher Report, Esquire, GQ, GRAMMY.com, NYLON, Newsweek, Teen Vogue, The Hollywood Reporter, UPROXX, and elsewhere.