Check out some wild 2020 NFL rookie prop bets Las Vegas oddsmakers have released
Under normal circumstances, sports fans would be having a blast right now. The NBA would be knee-deep in the playoffs. The PGA would be in Dallas this weekend for the AT&T Byron Nelson. Baseball would be six weeks old and division races would be shaping up.
But normal has been pushed to the side by the coronavirus pandemic, plunging the sports world into a deep freeze.
The NBA officially was suspended on March 11 after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 and other leagues and sporting events followed, falling like dominoes. Saturday will mark 60 days since there’s been a professional sporting event in the United States.
NFL fans have stayed connected, first with a virtual draft on April 23-25, followed by Thursday night’s release of this year’s schedule (could there be a better game than the Chiefs at the Ravens on Sept. 28?)
And while social distancing is making this ghost-like sports season appear like a Kurt Vonnegut fever dream, Las Vegas is still betting that the 2020-21 NFL season will be a go come fall. Before the schedule was released Thursday, Vegas sportsbooks dropped their NFL prop bets, including those bets aimed at the 2020 rookie draft class.
Here are some of our favorites.
No. 1 pick Joe Burrow passing for more yards than any of last year’s rookies
The Cincinnati Bengals nabbed the LSU quarterback Joe Burrow with the first pick in the draft and clearly have high hopes for him. So does Caesars Sportsbook, according to NBC Sports. Caesars has the rookie’s over-under for passing yards set at 3,764.5. If Burrow hits the over, he’ll top last year’s top pick, Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray, who led all rookies with 3,722 passing yards.
What QB has thrown for the most yards in his rookie season? The Colts’ Andrew Luck, with 4,374 yards in 2012.
Tua Tagovailoa will NOT be Miami’s starting quarterback for Week 1
The Miami Dolphins don’t believe that Tua Tagovailoa, the slick-slinging QB out of Alabama, is made of glass, but Vegas still appears to be skeptical. In 2018, Tagovailoa earned a plethora of awards, including being named a finalist for the Heisman, but a dislocated hip prematurely ended his 2019 campaign.
Questions persist about whether he’ll be ready to play when/if the season begins, according to Sports Illustrated. Bodova bookmakers have Tagovailoa as a longshot to be a Week 1 starter for Miami: YES (+185) is the underdog, according to Sports Illustrated while NO (-280) is the favorite.
How do the odds work? A +185 bet means if you bet $100 and he starts, you’ll win your wager of $100 and the $185 for a total of $285.
A -280 bet means you have to bet $280 for the chance to win a $100. So if he doesn’t start, you’ll take home $380.
Chargers will throw caution into the wind and start Justin Herbert Week 1
The 2020-21 season will mark the first time we’ll see the Los Angeles Charges without former quarterback Philip Rivers since 2004, but does it mean we’ll feast our eyes on rookie Justin Herbert at the wheel come Week 1?
Looks like Vegas thinks YES (+235) while those thinking that it will be Tyrod Taylorstarting over the former Oregon Duck, you’ll have to throw down some cash at NO (-370).
Apparently, Vegas does not care about Herbert’s lack of a Nike shoe deal? Ok, then.
Will CeeDee Lamb take the over with 4.5 receiving TDs his rookie season?
The Dallas Cowboys newest wide receiver will do more than just put a murder hornet in the bonnet of some hardcore No. 88 (see Drew Pearson, Michael Irvin and Dez Bryant) fans this season — if Fanduel Sportsbook has its way.
OVER 4.5 (-152) and UNDER 4.5 (+120)
It’s clear that the bookmakers have faith in quarterback Dak Prescott, who led one of the best NFL offenses last season with Dallas landing first in total yards and sixth in points per game at 27 per contest.
Who will be Offensive Rookie of the Year?
Should it be such a surprise that Burrow has the shortest odds to win at +250 here? Probably not since he’s like a shiny new toy for early betting markets.
Here are the candidates according to FanDuel:
Joe Burrow (+250)
Clyde Edwards-Helaire (+800)
Tua Tagovailoa (+800)
D’Andre Swift (+900)
Jonathan Taylor (+950)
Jerry Jeudy (+1300)
CeeDee Lamb (+1500)
J.K. Dobbins (+1600)
Henry Ruggs III (+1800)
Cam Akers (+2000)
Justin Herbert (+2000)
Zack Moss (+2000)
Who will be Defensive Rookie of the Year?
FanDuel Sportsbook is eyeing Ohio State Buckeye great Chase Young, the defensive end for the Washington Redskins, to take the top honors when the regular season comes to a close (fun fact: a Buckeye has won three of the last four DROY awards, so they’re expecting Young to strike gold yet again.)
Here are the candidates:
Chase Young (+350)
Isaiah Simmons (+850)
A.J. Epenesa (+1300)
Patrick Queen (+1700)
Jeff Okudah (+2100)
Kenneth Murray (+2100)
Grant Delpit (+2300)
Xavier McKinney (+2300)
Akeem Davis-Gaither (+2500)
Derrick Brown (+2500)
Troy Dye (+2500)
Ashtyn Davis (+2600)
This story was originally published May 8, 2020 at 8:19 AM with the headline "Check out some wild 2020 NFL rookie prop bets Las Vegas oddsmakers have released."