The NFL is a receivers’ league, with the top pass catchers serving as its leading men. Two of the top targets in the NFL have changed addresses – Odell Beckham and Antonio Brown – which shakes things up in the 2019 NFL odds for most receiving yards.
PointsBet.com has a long list of talented WRs and TEs and we run down the favorites and live long shots worth a wager in the NFL prop markets.**video
WHO ARE THE FAVORITES?
Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons (+400)
If you’re paying attention, you’d notice Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is one of the three top favorites to lead the NFL in passing yards this season. So, it would only be natural to have his go-to-guy among the chalk to reel in the most receiving yards in 2019. Jones led the league in yards last year, hauling in 1,677 gains through the air – over 100 yards more than second-ranked DeAndre Hopkins – however, he did get targeted more and catch less.
Julio did have some quiet days towards the end of the season (18 yards in Week 13 and 28 in Week 16) but played in all 16 games for the third time in the past four seasons. It will be interesting to see how the emergence of second-year WR Calvin Ridley impacts Jones’ work as defenses are forced to pick their poison between the two talent targets.
DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans (+550)
Hopkins ranked second in receiving yards last season, catching 115 balls for 1,572 yards and dropped only two passes all year. Wow. Perhaps the one thing more impressive than his sure hands is the fact that Hopkins produced these numbers as often the lone downfield threat for the Texans. Fellow WRs Will Fuller and Keke Coutee were in and out all season, leaving Hopkins to deal with double and triple coverage in some games.
He tore it up at the end of the year, pushing Houston into the postseason with 421 yards on 26 catches in the final three games of the season before struggling to get off in the playoff loss to Indianapolis. If you read our NFL props predictions for most passing yards, you’ll see we’re very high on Hopkins’ QB Desean Watson (+4,000) and expect even bigger things from this duo in 2019.
Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints/Odell Beckham Jr., Cleveland Browns (+900)
Thomas topped the NFL with 125 catches in 2018, which equated to 1,405 yards receiving. He’s a versatile target with a big enough body to muscle through the middle of the field, and the wheels to leave defensive backs in the dust down the sideline. He did all that in an offense that ran the ball almost 46 percent of the time (fifth most in the NFL).
As for Beckham, he gets an upgrade in quarterback and playbook with Baker Mayfield and Freddie Kitchens (who is reportedly having issues with new OC Todd Monken) in Cleveland. The highlight-reel regular has played in just 14 games over the past two seasons, including 12 in 2018 which produced 1,052 yards on 77 catches. He does have a complementary WR on the other sideline in Jarvis Landry, so coverage won’t be as crowded as it was in New York.
UNDERDOGS WORTH A WAGER
T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts (+1,200)
Hilton and quarterback Andrew Luck didn’t skip a beat in 2018, even after Luck missed the entire 2017 season. The Colts dreadlocked roadster is a home-run hitter, averaging 16.7 yards per catch and breaking off 22 receptions of 20 or more yards.
Due to a thin receiving corps, Hilton drew the ire of opposing secondaries but has some help on the way in 2019, with the addition of WR Devin Funchess from Carolina and rookie wideout Parris Campbell out of Ohio State. Hilton overcame some injuries early into 2018 and put together one hell of an effort in the final seven weeks of the regular season.
Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers (+1,600)
You know Aaron Rodgers is going to be chucking it in 2019. And who's going to catch all those passes? Adams is the top target in Green Bay, where Matt LaFleur takes over the offensive playbook. Adams has been hyping up the Packers’ big-play potential this offseason and a fully-motivated Rodgers (fueled a little bit by pride) is up to the task.
Adams was targeted 169 times – second most in the NFL – and caught 111 of those passes for 1,386 yards in 2018. He had 18 plays of 20-plus yards and five catches for 40 or more. The Packers have some promising options at WR but none will challenge Adams for his work load in an offense that ran the ball only 32 percent of the time in 2018 – dead last in the NFL.
Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs (+3,000)
There was a vacuum created when Rob Gronkowski hung up his pads when it comes to the “best tight end in the NFL”, and Kelce seems to be the front runner. Last year, he was targeted 150 times (eighth) and roped in 103 catches (10th) for a total of 1,336 receiving yards (also 10th). Only San Francisco TE George Kittle had more receiving yards and that’s because he went ape shit with 210 yards in Week 14.
Kelce, often a safety blanket for Patrick Mahomes, will be thrust into the role of No. 1 option with Kansas City dropping RB Kareem Hunt and possibly being without top WR Tyreek Hill for a while, pending his child abuse investigation. Outside of the towering tight end, the Chiefs are left with Sammy Watkins as their other downfield threat.
ODDS TO LEAD NFL IN RECEIVING YARDS
Julio Jones +400
DeAndre Hopkins +550
Michael Thomas +900
Odell Beckham Jr. +900
JuJu Smith-Schuster +1,000
Antonio Brown +1,200
TY Hilton +1,200
Mike Evans +1,400
Davante Adams +1,600
Adam Thielen +1,800
AJ Green +2,000
Keenan Allen +2,000
Amari Cooper +2,800
George Kittle +3,000
Travis Kelce +3,000
Brandin Cooks +3,300
Robert Woods +3,300
Kenny Golladay +4,000
Stefon Diggs +4,000
Zach Ertz +4,000
Julian Edelman +4,000
Chris Godwin +4,000
Tyler Boyd +5,000
D.J. Moore +6,600
Tyler Lockett +6,600
Demaryius Thomas +6,600
Robby Anderson +8,000
Sterling Shepard +8,000
Nkeal Harry +8,000
Cooper Kupp +10,000
Courtland Sutton +10,000
Alshon Jeffery +10,000
Jarvis Landry +10,000
Christian Kirk +10,000
Calvin Ridley +10,000
D.K. Metcalf +10,000
Marquise Brown +10,000
Corey Davis +10,000
Allen Robinson +12,500
Emmanuel Sanders +15,000
Larry Fitzgerald +15,000
Mohamed Sanu +15,000
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