Model Flags Nabers, Cook as 2026 Fantasy Football Busts
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- SportsLine's model flagged Giants receiver Malik Nabers as a 2026 Fantasy football bust, ranking him outside the top 15 receivers despite an ADP around pick No. 35; he isn't a lock for Week 1 after tearing his ACL last season and undergoing a follow-up procedure in the spring.
- The model also flagged Bills running back James Cook as a bust, ranking him as RB No. 10 (behind Derrick Henry and Chase Brown) despite a consensus ADP around No. 12 overall and being the fifth running back taken on average in early drafts.
- The model built its credibility by predicting Terry McLaurin's 2025 decline — he finished with career lows of 582 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns after a 2024 season of nearly 1,100 yards and 13 TDs — and also called A.J. Brown as a 2020 sleeper, Jonathan Taylor's 2021 breakout, and C.J. Stroud's 2024 step-back.
- SportsLine ran 10,000 season simulations to generate its 2026 rankings and is also fading one of the first five receivers off draft boards, ranking him barely inside the top 10, though the model keeps that player's identity behind a paywall.
- Top 2026 PPR ADPs via CBS are Jahmyr Gibbs (1.48), Bijan Robinson (1.87), Ja'Marr Chase (4.04), Puka Nacua (4.59), and Jonathan Taylor (5.54), with the NFL season kicking off Wednesday, Sept. 9.
Why it matters: Drafters who take Nabers at his mid-second-round ADP risk burning a premium pick on a receiver whose Week 1 status is uncertain after an ACL tear and spring procedure, and who plays for a Giants offense expected to lean on the run under coordinator Matt Nagy; Cook drafters at the back of Round 1 face Josh Allen's goal-line vulture effect and elevated fumble rate, which is why the model ranks him behind Henry and Brown.
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