Jonathan Taylor had a breakout season last year, and led the NFL in rushing by a wide margin. We’re not kidding – Taylor was more than 500 yards better than the next man in line.
Despite that dominance, he did not win the Offensive Player of the Year award. The oddsmakers at FanDuel expect a different result this season after listing Taylor as their award favorite at +1000.
Will Kupp runneth over again this year?
The reason Taylor’s dominant season wasn’t award worthy is because Cooper Kupp was even more dominant. Kupp came only a few yards short of the single-season receiving record with 1,947 yards. Not surprisingly he also led the league in receptions and touchdown catches. Kupp is a +1400 underdog to repeat as OPOY at FanDuel. One interesting note, no players has repeated as OPOY since Marshall Faulk won three straight from 1999-2001.
Jefferson moving on up?
Vikings’ receiver Justin Jefferson also checks in at +1400 at FanDuel. Last season Jefferson finished fourth in the league in receiving yards while finding the end zone 10 times in just his second year in the league. Jefferson could be see an increase in targets this season if the Vikings go the air more as they’re predicted to do. The Vikings new head coach is Kevin O’Connell who was calling the plays for Kupp last season as the offensive coordinator for the Rams.
Henry ready to run it back?
Another former OPOY winner falls in behind Kupp and Jefferson with Derrick Henry listed at +1600. Henry won the award in 2020 after becoming only the eighth player in NFL history to rush for more than 2000 yards in a season. Last season he only played in eight games due to injury. If Henry can stay healthy and return to form, he could be a good value at +1600.
Other former winners worth a look?
The only other former OPOY winners on the odds list are Patrick Mahomes and Michael Thomas. Mahomes, who won in 2018, is a +2500 underdog. If Mahomes can put up a career-season after losing his best wide receiver Tyreek Hill he could garner some attention.
Thomas, won in 2019 and is a +10,000 longshot to win again. Thomas led the league in receiving in 2019 but has barely played since. He missed all last season and only appeared in seven games in 2020.
Archived Offensive Player of the Year Odds article from Sept. 7, 2020
Quarterbacks have won four of the last five NFL Offensive Player of the Year awards, but wideout Michael Thomas took home the award. This year, only three of the top eight odds favorites are QBs, an interesting turn for the league and for NFL bettors.
To nobody’s surprise, the top betting choice is Patrick Mahomes, coming in at +700 at SugarHouse Sportsbook. The 2018 MVP and 2019 Super Bowl MVP should have everything going for him this season. His entire offense returns except at running back, where first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire steps in to give this offense even more juice. I expect another gigantic season from Patrick Mahomes.
