2026 Fantasy Football Busts: Top Players to Avoid in Your Draft Strategy

With the 2026 NFL regular season kicking off in less than three weeks, Fantasy football owners are gearing up for another exciting season. As the preseason comes to a close, it’s time to finalize your draft strategy and prepare for the Fantasy football draft weekend. While some players are sure to shine, others may disappoint, leaving you with a disappointing season.

Veterans like Josh Allen, Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Ja’Marr Chase are all expected to be top performers in the 2026 Fantasy football rankings. However, finding sleepers and rookies who outperform their ADP is crucial to success. But which players should you target, and which ones should you avoid?

The key to Fantasy football success is identifying the players who will underperform their ADP. Before finalizing your 2026 Fantasy football draft strategy, be sure to check out the latest Fantasy football rankings and cheat sheets from SportsLine.

Last year, a proven computer model accurately predicted that Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin would fall short of his top-50 ADP. The result: a season after piling up nearly 1,100 receiving yards and a career-high 13 touchdown catches, McLaurin had career lows in receiving yards (582) and receiving touchdowns (3). Injuries were a factor, but his per-game averages were down across the board as well, so anybody who avoided him in Fantasy drafts dodged a major headache.

The same model has a proven track record providing Fantasy football tips, identifying A.J. Brown as a sleeper in 2020, nailing Jonathan Taylor’s monstrous season in 2021, and correctly predicting C.J. Stroud would take a step back in 2024. Additionally, it’s called past Fantasy football sleepers like Derrick Henry in 2019, Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara in 2018, and Davante Adams in 2017.

Now, SportsLine has simulated the entire NFL season 10,000 times and released its latest Fantasy football rankings 2026, along with plenty of sleepers, breakouts, and busts. Head to SportsLine now to see them.

Top 2026 Fantasy football busts:

• New York Giants receiver Malik Nabers: He’s going off the board around pick No. 33, but SportsLine’s model doesn’t even have him as a top-15 receiver. In fact, it has players such as DeVonta Smith and Nico Collins above him.
• Bills running back James Cook: Cook is going off the board with an ADP around No. 11 overall and is the fifth running back being taken on average. SportsLine’s model, however, ranks him as RB No. 10, behind players such as Derrick Henry and Chase Brown, saying that he should be more of a late-second or even third round pick.

These players are just a few of the many Fantasy football busts the model is predicting. To see which other players to avoid in your 2026 Fantasy football draft strategy, head to SportsLine now.

2026 Fantasy football ADP:

(PPR, via CBS)

1. Jahmyr Gibbs (1.27)

2. Bijan Robinson (1.92)

3. Ja’Marr Chase (3.94)

4. Puka Nacua (4.98)

5. Jonathan Taylor (5.22)

6. Jaxon Smith-Njigba (6.93)

7. Christian McCaffrey (7.20)

8. Amon-Ra St. Brown (9.09)

9. James Cook (10.87)

10. De’Von Achane (11.72)

11. Chase Brown (12.82)

12. Ashton Jeanty (12.86)

How to find proven 2026 Fantasy football rankings:

SportsLine is also fading one of the first five receivers off the board in early 2026 Fantasy football drafts. The model ranks this player barely inside the top 10 and is calling for him to be one of the biggest busts in the league this year. You can only see who it is, and the 2026 Fantasy football rankings for every player, at SportsLine.