SportsLine Model Tags Nabers, Cook as 2026 Fantasy Busts — SkimNews
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- SportsLine's model simulated the 2026 NFL season 10,000 times and flagged Malik Nabers as a bust despite an ADP around pick No. 34, ranking him outside its top-15 receivers because Nabers is still recovering from a torn ACL and faces a run-heavy Giants scheme under new OC Matt Nagy.
- James Cook is tagged as a bust at his ADP of pick No. 11 (fifth RB off the board), with the model ranking him only RB10 behind Derrick Henry and Chase Brown due to a higher fumble rate last season and Josh Allen's history of vulturing touchdowns near the goal line.
- Terry McLaurin, whom the model correctly faded in 2025, posted career lows of 582 receiving yards and 3 TDs after a 2024 season of nearly 1,100 yards and 13 TDs — the headline example used to validate the model's bust predictions.
- SportsLine's model is also fading one of the first five receivers off the board in early 2026 drafts, ranking that player barely inside the top 10 and calling him one of the league's biggest bust candidates this year, though the identity is kept behind a paywall.
- The model's track record includes flagging A.J. Brown as a 2020 sleeper, nailing Jonathan Taylor's 2021 monster season, correctly predicting C.J. Stroud's 2024 regression, plus past hits on Derrick Henry (2019), Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara (2018), and Davante Adams (2017).
- The top of 2026 Fantasy ADP (PPR, via CBS) is led by Jahmyr Gibbs (1.30), Bijan Robinson (1.92), and Ja'Marr Chase (3.98), followed by Puka Nacua, Jonathan Taylor, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Christian McCaffrey — the consensus pool from which SportsLine says drafters should avoid Nabers and Cook.
- The 2026 NFL regular season kicks off Wednesday, Sept. 9, with Week 2 of the preseason underway as fantasy draft preparations ramp up.
Why it matters: Fantasy drafters who pay top-15-pick prices for Nabers (ACL recovery + run-heavy scheme) or first-round prices for Cook (fumble regression + Allen TD vulture) are taking on asymmetric downside, and the model's history of correctly calling McLaurin's collapse gives the bust tags more weight than a typical preseason hot take — though the actual full rankings and the mystery top-5 WR bust are locked behind a SportsLine subscription.
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