With the start of the NFL season closing in, there is just enough time to have a look at the various player markets for the campaign. Usually we’ve had a good look at the rising stars in the league in pre-season but without that opportunity there is a little more of an uncertain feel to proceedings.
That is not putting us off though. Markets have been priced up in all the major categories and so it would be rude of us not to take a look at the pick of them. I feel as though the defensive players should get some love but there’s a lot of good defenders on show so I’m happy to focus on the three main offensive categories.
Most Passing Yards
This is the market for the quarterbacks where Jameis Winston was the winner last year as we advised on the site but he is now the backup quarterback at the New England Patriots leaving the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott and Drew Brees as the favourites for the most passing yards. Matt Ryan should never be ruled out either although a lot of his yardage goes to Julio Jones so if you back him you wouldn’t want anything to happen to the star receiver.
I’m not so sure Winston was the leading passer last year because of ability necessarily. He clearly has a good arm and was durable but I suspect the style of Bruce Arians had a lot to do with it, as well as having some serious offensive weapons down the field. Tom Brady still has those weapons and they have been added to with the addition of Rob Gronkowski. While Leonard Fournette coming in strengthens the rushing game, I still don’t think Arians will change from what has given him the most success so I still expect Brady to be doing plenty of passing. Of course there are concerns over him at his age but that might only give him a point to prove so at 10/1 I’ll pay to see if the number one Bucs quarterback can throw for the most yards for a second season in a row.
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Most Receiving Yards
There are a lot of good receivers in the league in any season but it feels like we are going to have a year where passing the ball is very popular with backs potentially not as durable after a truncated pre-season. Michael Thomas was an overwhelming winner last year, leading the yardage by some 331 yards from Julio Jones and they form the top two in this market. It wouldn’t be a surprise if they were the 1-2 again but with injuries a threat I want a bit of value with my bets so I’m looking further down the pecking order.
Amari Cooper finished eighth in receiving yards last season in a Dallas offense that was scared to make big plays. I don’t see that being an issue here and I think Mike McCarthy will utilise the arm strength of Dak Prescott a lot more regularly. Cooper only caught 79 passes last season and only two of those above him caught fewer so if he is targeted more often this season, especially if he gets sent down the field like McCarthy likes to do with his receivers, then he is naturally going to increase his yardage. There are a few receivers with the potential to increase their output but at 33/1 I’ll back Cooper to be the one who does it best.
Most Rushing Yards
As I intimated earlier, the hardest market to bet on may well be the most rushing yards because durability of these backs is going to be a big concern, particularly early in the season. Derrick Henry was like a bowling ball last season and he looks in good shape to go well again this time around but given the potential for injuries he looks a little short. Once again I’m going to hunt a little bit of value and this time take Christian McCaffrey.
The Carolina running back was third last season but had fewer carries than the two above him so if the carries balance themselves out he is likely to fare better. Last season he had Cam Newton making plays which will have taken away some of his yardage and with Newton now in New England that isn’t a concern. The one thing you want when betting on this market is to be on the main man in an offense and McCaffrey is very much that. You would think he is naturally only going to get better both in standard and statistics so at 12/1 he looks like the one to be on to me.
Tips
Back T.Brady Most Passing Yards for a 1/10 stake at 11.00 with Betfred
Back A.Cooper Most Receiving Yards for a 1/10 stake at 34.00 with William Hill
Back him here:
Back C.McCaffrey Most Rushing Yards for a 1/10 stake at 13.00 with BetVictor
Back him here:
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