SportsLine Model Flags Nabers, Cook as 2026 Fantasy Busts — SkimNews
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- Malik Nabers is flagged as a 2026 fantasy bust by SportsLine's model — drafted around pick No. 37 but ranked outside the model's top-15 WRs, with an ACL tear recovery and a run-heavy Giants scheme under OC Matt Nagy cited as risks.
- James Cook is the model's other named bust — going at ADP ~12 overall (the fifth RB off the board) but ranked RB10 behind Derrick Henry and Chase Brown, with elevated fumbles and Josh Allen's goal-line presence cited as factors.
- The model accurately predicted Terry McLaurin's 2025 collapse, as the Commanders receiver fell from a top-50 ADP to career lows of 582 receiving yards and 3 TDs after his prior ~1,100-yard, 13-TD season.
- SportsLine's model has a multi-year track record of correct calls, including A.J. Brown as a 2020 sleeper, Jonathan Taylor's 2021 monster season, C.J. Stroud's 2024 regression, Derrick Henry's 2019 sleeper status, and Christian McCaffrey/Alvin Kamara in 2018.
- The 2026 NFL season kicks off Wednesday, Sept. 9, and the model simulated the full season 10,000 times to generate its rankings and bust calls.
- The model is also fading one of the first five WRs off draft boards, ranking him barely inside the top 10 rather than top-five — identity withheld behind a SportsLine paywall.
- Top 2026 fantasy ADP (PPR, via CBS) is led by Jahmyr Gibbs (1.48), Bijan Robinson (1.80), Ja'Marr Chase (4.12), and Puka Nacua (4.28), with James Cook at No. 10 (11.72).
Why it matters: Fantasy drafters paying a late-first or early-second-round pick for Nabers or Cook are effectively buying a player whose projected output matches a third-round selection — a price gap that can sink a draft-day roster before the season even starts on Sept. 9.
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