Watson Favored for NFL Rookie of Year
Will Texans’ signal-caller Deshaun Watson win NFL Rookie of the Year? The odds are currently in his favor.
The Favorite: DeShaun Watson
According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, Watson is the favorite to win the NFL Rookie of the Year in 2017 at 1/5 odds. The first-year starter is coming off another outstanding game in which he completed 17-of-29 passes for 225 yards with two touchdown passes and one interception in Week 6. Watson added 24 rushing yards ons ix carries and a passing two-point conversion in that game. He’s now thrown 15 touchdown passes on the season, matching the total that Houston quarterbacks posted all of 2016. Wow.
The Challenger: Kareem Hunt
Listed behind Watson in terms of the odds is Kansas City star rookie Kareem Hunt, who is 3/1 to win NFL Rookie of the Year this season. He rushed 18 times for 87 yards in the Chiefs’ Week 7 loss to the Raiders last Thursday night. He got the ball five times on the Chiefs’ opening drive but Andy Reid started working away from the outstanding rookie. Still, Hunt eclipsed the 100-yard mark from scrimmage in each of his first seven NFL games.
Also in the Mix: Leonard Fournette
Bruising rusher Leonard Fournette is 10/1 to win NFL Rookie of the Year but an ankle injury might threaten his chances of winning the award. He didn’t play last week when the Jaguars traveled to Indianapolis, a game in which Jacksonville blew Indianapolis as a major public-betting favorite. Fournette didn’t practice at all last week leading up to the game but hopefully he returns following Jacksonville’s Week 8 bye.
The Long Shots: Alvin Kamara, Evan Engram, Mitch Trubisky
Saints’ first-year back Alvin Kamara is 50/1 to win Rookie of the Year, while Giants tight end Evan Engram and Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky are also 50/1, respectively, to win the award. Kamara rushed nine times for 57 yards in the Saints’ Week 7 win over the Packers, adding five receptions for 50 additional yards. Engram, meanwhile, pulled in six-of-12 targets for 60 yards and a touchdown in the Giants’ Week 7 loss to the Seahawks. He scored the team’s only touchdown of the game. Finally, Trubisky led the Bears to victory in just his third start of his career but completed only 4-of-7 passes for 107 yards in the victory. It’s unlikely he’ll win the NFL Rookie of the Year award with those numbers.