SportsLine Model Calls Nabers, Cook 2026 Fantasy Busts
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- SportsLine's model predicted Terry McLaurin's 2025 collapse — his receiving yards fell from nearly 1,100 to a career-low 582 and his touchdowns dropped from 13 to 3, a track record the outlet is leaning on to market its 2026 bust calls.
- Malik Nabers is flagged as a top bust: he's being drafted around pick No. 33 but the model ranks him outside the top 15 receivers, citing a torn ACL last season, a follow-up spring procedure, and the Giants' expected run-heavy approach under new offensive coordinator Matt Nagy.
- James Cook is the other named bust: his ADP sits around pick No. 10 (5th running back off the board), yet the model ranks him RB10 behind Derrick Henry and Chase Brown, pointing to an elevated 2025 fumble rate and Josh Allen's presence as a touchdown vulture.
- SportsLine's model is also fading one of the first five receivers drafted this summer, ranking him barely inside the top 10, though the outlet withheld the player's identity behind a SportsLine visit CTA.
- The model has a stated multi-year track record: A.J. Brown as a 2020 sleeper, Jonathan Taylor's 2021 breakout, C.J. Stroud's 2024 regression, plus earlier hits on Derrick Henry (2019), Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara (2018), and Davante Adams (2017).
- The 2026 PPR ADP top 5 (via CBS) is Jahmyr Gibbs (1.24), Bijan Robinson (1.94), Ja'Marr Chase (4.01), Puka Nacua (5.16), and Jonathan Taylor (5.20), with James Cook at No. 9 (10.45) and Malik Nabers not yet listed among the top 15.
Why it matters: Fantasy drafters reaching for Nabers in the late second or early third round are paying 2-3 rounds above where the model values him given his ACL recovery and a run-leaning scheme, while those taking Cook as the RB5 overall are similarly overpaying per the model — a draft-night reach in either spot could leave a multi-week hole in lineups before the season even opens.
Ask SkimNews
