SportsLine Model Flags Montgomery, Cook as Fantasy Busts — SkimNews
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- SportsLine's model simulated the 2026 NFL season 10,000 times and released Fantasy football rankings flagging busts, sleepers, and breakouts ahead of draft week
- David Montgomery is called a bust despite an ADP around pick No. 52; the model ranks him alongside late-round picks like Jaylen Warren and 10th-rounder Kenneth Gainwell, citing a snap split with rookie Woody Marks (900+ scrimmage yards in 2025) in Houston's offense
- James Cook is flagged despite going off the board at ADP No. 9 as the fifth running back; the model ranks him RB10 behind Derrick Henry and Chase Brown, pointing to an elevated 2025 fumble rate and Josh Allen as a touchdown vulture
- The model previously called Terry McLaurin's 2025 collapse (career lows of 582 receiving yards and 3 TDs after 1,100 yards and 13 TDs in 2024), AJ Brown as a 2020 sleeper, Jonathan Taylor's 2021 season, and CJ Stroud's 2024 step-back
- SportsLine is also fading one of the first six wide receivers off the board in early 2026 drafts, ranking him barely inside the top 10 and calling him one of the league's biggest bust risks
Why it matters: Fantasy managers reaching for Cook in the first round or Montgomery in the fourth or fifth could burn premium draft capital on backs the model projects to underdeliver relative to cost. With Cook's ADP at No. 9 and Montgomery at No. 52, missing on either caps a manager's ceiling before Week 1 kickoff, and the model's McLaurin track record gives those bust calls credibility that pure ADP-based drafters lack.
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