Overview of Pardon My Take — “Jerry O’Connell’s 2026 Fantasy Preview, The Death Of The Pro Bowl And ESPN Bottom Line Plus Fyre Fest Of The Week”
This Camp Barstool finale mixed a long, chaotic, and very funny fantasy-football preview from Jerry O’Connell with a roundup of sports-media nostalgia, some Barstool book celebration, and the weekly “Fire Fest” complaints from camp life. The episode also included a Mount Rushmore of worst states, which turned into a debate about state pride, football fandom, and which places are most miserable to live in.
Jerry O’Connell’s 2026 Fantasy Football Preview
Jerry once again leaned into his role as the show’s fantasy expert, but this year he stressed that he’s “open to the universe” and wants help from the AWLs and the hosts when drafting.
Big fantasy themes from Jerry’s preview
- Quarterback value matters: he repeatedly said he’d take elite QBs if they fall far enough, especially Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Drake Maye.
- He loves breakout upside: Maye was his biggest QB breakout candidate, and he seemed excited about several young receivers and tight ends.
- He’s cautious about injuries and committee backfields: a recurring theme was avoiding guys with uncertain workloads or health concerns.
- He wants to draft players with strong roles, not just big names: several times he emphasized situation, coaching, and offensive system over raw talent.
Players he seemed especially high on
- Drake Maye as a possible breakout QB
- Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson as elite value if they fall
- De’Von Achane as a high-end running back
- Breece Hall if he’s healthy
- Jonathan Taylor
- George Pickens as a value WR
- Colston Loveland as a tight-end target
- Luther Burden
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba
- Emeka Egbuka
- Rashee Rice
- Tucker Kraft
- Tyler Warren
Team-level fantasy notes
- Patriots: Jerry was very high on Drake Maye and talked up New England as a potential fantasy source.
- Jets: he liked the roster and thought Breece Hall could be a strong pick if healthy.
- Bills / Ravens: Allen and Lamar were both in the “take them if they fall” category.
- Bears: he liked Colston Loveland, Luther Burden, and Caleb Williams as a fit in Ben Johnson’s offense.
- Cowboys: he liked George Pickens as a value and thought CeeDee Lamb is expensive at current ADP.
- Bucs: Emeka Egbuka got a strong mention, with some concern about the overall health of the receiving room.
- Seahawks / Packers / Broncos / Chiefs / Jaguars / Colts / Titans: he cycled through each team, mostly focusing on ADP value, offensive environment, and whether the offense can support fantasy production.
Jerry’s overall fantasy philosophy
- Draft with flexibility.
- Don’t overreact to injury noise, but don’t ignore it either.
- Trust elite coaching situations and proven QB play.
- Be willing to stream or pivot if the draft falls strangely.
Barstool Book, Bestsellers, and Camp Barstool Chaos
The crew celebrated the Barstool book hitting No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list and joked that they had “devalued” the award by getting there.
What stood out
- They thanked the people behind the scenes who helped produce the book.
- They joked about the book landing on the self-help list.
- There was a lot of joking about how Barstool, a podcast company, is suddenly a publishing force.
- Jerry and the hosts also joked about school, writing, and how many people no longer care where someone went to college.
The Death of the Pro Bowl and ESPN Bottom Line
A big chunk of the episode was spent on the “death” of two old-school sports institutions.
Pro Bowl
- The hosts treated the Pro Bowl as something that had already been dead for years.
- They said it had been in hospice for a long time and that the NFL finally just pulled the plug.
- The nostalgic version they prefer is the old, goofy Pro Bowl with:
- drunk players
- fun uniforms
- real-ish competition
- players not pretending the game mattered
ESPN Bottom Line
- They were more sentimental about the ESPN bottom line ticker, especially the old college football Saturday experience.
- The hosts missed:
- seeing score updates from other games
- games flipping to yellow
- big gambling sweat updates
- random breaking news on the ticker
- They acknowledged that phones have made the ticker less essential, but it still felt like the end of an era.
Tribute to Dolly Parton
The crew also paused to praise Dolly Parton as an American legend:
- beloved by nearly everyone
- incredibly generous
- culturally iconic
- a person they felt should be remembered on money or in some permanent national way
Mount Rushmore of Worst States
The Mount Rushmore segment turned into a long, funny argument about which states are actually the worst.
States that got picked
- Mississippi
- North Dakota
- California
- South Carolina
- Delaware
- New Mexico
- Ohio
- Arkansas
- Utah
- Washington
- Kansas
- South Dakota
Main arguments
- Ohio drew the biggest debate because of state pride and sports loyalty.
- California was a controversial “worst state” pick because it’s obviously beautiful, but the hosts argued that city culture, traffic, and vibe matter too.
- South Dakota got singled out partly because Mount Rushmore itself is underwhelming once you get there.
- The segment was intentionally all relative ranking, not actual hatred of any state.
Fire Fest of the Week
The “Fire Fest” segment was mostly about camp life and being exhausted.
Main complaints
- Sleep deprivation from snoring, weird overnight noises, and bunkmate chaos
- Unflattering promo photos from the book campaign
- Feeling awkward when the show’s bestseller celebration became a big public moment
- Small camp annoyances like towels, damp clothes, and uncomfortable bathroom setups
Specific recurring jokes
- The bunk situation at Camp Barstool was chaotic but funny.
- They joked about bad sleep, weird noises, and how hard it is to look good in promo photos.
- Big Cat and PFT both leaned into self-deprecating comments about not being photo-ready.
Notable Running Jokes and Bits
- Jerry repeatedly said he wants to be “open to the universe.”
- The hosts kept joking about farting, bunk life, and camp noises.
- Jerry and the hosts had a lot of back-and-forth about who was being overly sensitive versus who was just being honest.
- The whole episode had a loose, end-of-camp energy with a lot of improvisation and inside jokes.
Bottom Line
This was a classic Camp Barstool episode: a huge Jerry O’Connell fantasy preview, a few sports-media “death” announcements, a nostalgic rant about old-school TV behavior, and a very funny Mount Rushmore debate. The biggest actionable takeaway was Jerry’s fantasy philosophy: stay flexible, chase value, and don’t be afraid to trust elite QBs and role players when the draft starts to break right.