SportsLine model flags Nabers, Cook as 2026 Fantasy busts
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- SportsLine's model simulated the NFL season 10,000 times and released 2026 Fantasy football rankings, flagging busts, sleepers, and breakouts for draft preparation ahead of the Sept. 9 kickoff.
- Terry McLaurin finished 2025 with career lows of 582 receiving yards and 3 receiving TDs — a collapse from the prior season's ~1,100 yards and 13 TDs — exactly as the model had predicted when it warned he would fall short of his top-50 ADP.
- Malik Nabers is flagged as a bust despite an ADP around pick No. 34; the model doesn't rank him as a top-15 receiver, slotting DeVonta Smith and Nico Collins ahead of him.
- Nabers isn't a lock to be ready for Week 1 after tearing his ACL last season and a follow-up spring procedure, while the Giants are expected to lean heavily on the run game under offensive coordinator Matt Nagy.
- James Cook is flagged as another bust — going off the board at ADP ~No. 9 as the fifth RB — but the model ranks him RB No. 10, behind Derrick Henry and Chase Brown, suggesting late-second or third-round value.
- Cook fumbled at a higher rate in 2024 and isn't an elite pass-catching back, with Josh Allen posing a touchdown-vulture threat that the model says caps his ceiling.
- The model is also fading one of the first five receivers off the board in early drafts, ranking him barely inside the top 10 — a full reveal available only at SportsLine.
Why it matters: Two players going in the top 10 of consensus ADP — Cook at pick ~9 and Nabers at pick ~34 — carry specific downside risks (Nabers: ACL recovery and a run-heavy scheme under Matt Nagy; Cook: fumble regression and a goal-line vulture in Josh Allen) that could cost fantasy managers a roster spot and force them into the waiver wire before Week 1 on Sept. 9.
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