On Thursday, information broke that quarterback Jayden Daniels and broad receiver Malik Nabers — who have 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 will likely be named the league’s offensive rookie of the 12 months.
According to ESPN, there’s a query about whether or not the guess will likely be permitted. It would violate the league’s coverage prohibiting gamers from making NFL wagers.
[T]right here’s an excellent probability the guess doesn’t occur. One supply stated the schooling for rookies on the playing coverage will happen throughout their rookie minicamp, which begins Thursday with orientation periods. The guess might find yourself being cancelled afterward.
ESPN has contacted the NFL league workplace to find out if this is able to violate its coverage on playing however didn’t instantly hear again. The league’s coverage states that NFL personnel are prohibited from “inserting, soliciting or facilitating any guess, whether or not straight or via a 3rd social gathering,” on any NFL recreation, follow 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 associates, or others” however that was not included within the revised 2023 coverage.
On Friday afternoon, the Nabers announced the bet had been called off. However one other query stays concerning the unique wager: what if neither of them wins the award?
We ask this query as a result of Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes will goal rookie Xavier Worthy in 2024. The previous Texas participant will likely be one of many league’s quickest wideouts. In three of the 4 seasons during which Mahomes has had a super-speedy broad receiver accessible to him, that player has accumulated at least 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. Previously 20 seasons, 4 rookie broad 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 received the award. That’s most likely why DraftKings Sportsbook lists quarterback Daniels at +650 to win OROY, while 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 more likely to win OROY , would he? In spite of everything… over the identical 20 years, solely three OROY winners have been chosen exterior the primary spherical. Of the remaining 17, solely Harvin, Beckham and Roethslisberger have been taken exterior 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. Though he was taken three spots earlier than Pearsall and 22 spots later than Nabers, they offer him the fifth-best probability to win the honour.
Such is the ability of Mahomes.
So although Daniels and Nabers assume the race is generally between them, it isn’t — and one of many gamers vying to beat them will likely be carrying crimson and gold.
