On Thursday, information broke that quarterback Jayden Daniels and huge receiver Malik Nabers — who had been LSU teammates earlier than being taken with the second and sixth picks of the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit — have made a $10,000 guess on which one them can be named the league’s offensive rookie of the 12 months.
In accordance with ESPN, there’s a query about whether or not the guess can be permitted. It’d violate the league’s coverage prohibiting gamers from making NFL wagers.
[T]right here’s a great probability the guess doesn’t occur. One supply mentioned the training for rookies on the playing coverage will happen throughout their rookie minicamp, which begins Thursday with orientation classes. The guess might find yourself being cancelled afterward.
ESPN has contacted the NFL league workplace to find out if this could violate its coverage on playing however didn’t instantly hear again. The league’s coverage states that NFL personnel are prohibited from “putting, soliciting or facilitating any guess, whether or not immediately or by a 3rd social gathering,” on any NFL recreation, apply or different league occasion, such because the draft or mix.” It contains betting on the end result of a recreation, statistics, the rating or particular person efficiency and different prop bets.
The 2022 playing coverage acknowledged that playing contains “personal wagers between teammates, household and mates, or others” however that was not included within the revised 2023 coverage.
On Friday afternoon, the Nabers introduced the guess had been referred to as off. However one other query stays in regards to the authentic wager: what if neither of them wins the award?
We ask this query as a result of Kansas Metropolis Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes will goal rookie Xavier Worthy in 2024. The previous Texas participant can be one of many league’s quickest wideouts. In three of the 4 seasons by which Mahomes has had a super-speedy huge receiver obtainable to him, that participant has gathered not less than 1,200 receiving yards — and if Tyreek Hill hadn’t missed 4 2019 video games with an damage, it might simply have been 4 of 4.
A 1,200-yard season might simply be sufficient for a rookie wideout to win. Up to now 20 seasons, 4 rookie huge receivers have been named offensive rookie of the 12 months: the New York Jets’ Garrett Wilson, the Cincinnati Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase, the New York Giants’ Odell Beckham Jr. and the Minnesota Vikings’ Percy Harvin. As rookies, they ranged between 790 and 1,455 receiving yards — and averaged 1,163.
Throughout that very same interval, 10 quarterbacks — from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger to the Houston Texans’ C.J. Stroud — have gained the award. That’s most likely why DraftKings Sportsbook lists quarterback Daniels at +650 to win OROY, whereas wideout Nabers is listed at +1,400. (The No. 1 total decide — the Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams — is available in at +175).
However Worthy nonetheless wouldn’t be prone to win OROY , would he? In spite of everything… over the identical 20 years, solely three OROY winners had been chosen outdoors the primary spherical. Of the remaining 17, solely Harvin, Beckham and Roethslisberger had been taken outdoors the highest 10. That’s most likely why DraftKings lists the San Francisco 49ers’ new wideout Ricky Pearsall — the 2024 draft’s thirty first decide — at +4,000.
Nonetheless… DraftKings lists Worthy’s OROY line at +1,600. Regardless that he was taken three spots sooner than Pearsall and 22 spots later than Nabers, they provide him the fifth-best probability to win the glory.
Such is the ability of Mahomes.
So though Daniels and Nabers suppose the race is generally between them, it isn’t — and one of many gamers vying to beat them can be sporting pink and gold.
