With the NFL Hall of Fame game this week, let’s take a look at the betting favorites to win the NFL Offensive Player of the Year award.
Here is the current list as it stands from DraftKings:
- Tyreek Hill (+700)
- Christian McCaffrey (+750)
- CeeDee Lamb (+900)
- Ja’Marr Chase (+1200)
- Breece Hall (+1500)
- Justin Jefferson (+1500)
Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs
At the top of the list is the “Cheetah” himself Tyreek Hill. One of the fastest players in the entire NFL who just always seems to get open downfield. Hill had a career high in receiving yards last season with 1,799 yards to go along with 13 touchdowns getting him into the finalists for the award in 2023.
With Tua Tagovailoa getting his huge contract extension earlier this week he is going to want to prove to everyone that he is worth that money and is going to target his number one guy Tyreek Hill like no other to show to everyone that he is worth every penny.
Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
Next on the list is last season’s Offensive Player of the Year, Christian McCaffrey. Last year he took the award with a career-high in rushing yards with 1,459 yards, adding 14 touchdowns. While having 564 yards through the air to go along with seven receiving touchdowns. Being on a loaded 49ers team you have to expect that he is going to keep up the same level of production, the only concern that you may have is his health. Last year was the first time McCaffrey played 16 games since 2019, so as long as he can stay healthy he should be a good bet to win back-to-back.
CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys
Dallas wide receiver, CeeDee Lamb, has the third shortest odds to win the award, coming off a career-high season in yards and touchdowns with 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns. Lamb has currently not reported to camp yet in the midst of his contract negotiations, which could end up getting dicey. As the Cowboys are trying to work out contracts for both Lamb and quarterback Dak Prescott which seem to be going nowhere, things may not be going so great in Jerry’s World. My money would not be going on Lamb to win this award for this year just because of other guys on the table.
Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals
Bengals star receiver Ja’Marr Chase is fourth on NJ bookies list which could be a sleeper. With Quarterback Joe Burrow returning this season from injury and looking for a bounce back after the team finished 9-8 without him last year. With only Burrow for a part of the season, Chase still was able to put up 1,216 yards with seven touchdowns. Now that wide receiver number two Tyler Boyd is out of the picture, you can expect Chase’s numbers to go only up from last season as the clear top target in the receiving room. Chase has yet to practice with the team during camp due to contract negotiations but you can expect these to be taken care of without it turning into a real concern.
Breece Hall, New York Jets
Jets running back Breece Hall is coming in at number five for DraftKings. Hall, having his breakout season last year in his sophomore campaign, rushing for 994 yards on the ground with five touchdowns, while also having 591 yards through the air which, leading all running backs, and adding four receiving scores. To win this award, Hall will need Aaron Rodgers to stay healthy and the Jets offensive line to play at a higher level than it did in 2023. Overall, I really do not see Hall’s numbers getting him to the point of winning this award.
Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
Finally with what I believe to be the biggest dark horse on this list if you can even call him that, Justin Jefferson. Only playing in 10 games last season Jefferson still had a 1,000-yard season while pulling in five touchdowns. Last year was rocky for the Vikings in general with Jefferson missing a ton of time due to injury and Kirk Cousins missing the back half of the season due to a torn Achilles. I think this season Jefferson is going to get right back to his usual self with a new quarterback, Sam Darnold or J.J. McCarthy, and being at +1500 odds at betMGM NJ I think Jefferson could be a real steal at those numbers.
My NFL Offensive Player of the Year Pick and Predictions
I would go with Ja’Marr Chase, now with the Bengals receiving core being weaker than it was last year this opens up Chase to get more targets for this upcoming season, especially having his college teammate Joe Burrow coming back from injury looking to get Cincinnati back to the postseason. At +1200, Chase offers plenty of value for a tremendous ROI in this category.
