Peter van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports

King of Props: Youngster has earned trust

For some viewers, the recent Thursday night games may be causing flashbacks to youth football. The last two weeks have seen the winning team score all of 12 points and the losing team finish in single digits. That trend figures to end tonight when a pair of 2-4 squads, the Cardinals and Saints, clash in Arizona. Each offense is getting a game-changing receiver back, and we’re counting on the less experienced one to deliver our top prop:

The bet: Over 59½ receiving yards for Saints wide receiver Chris Olave (DraftKings)

Whereas veteran Cardinals wideout DeAndre Hopkins is making his season debut after serving a six-game suspension, the rookie Olave is returning from a concussion sustained in Week 5. It happened on an 18-yard touchdown catch early in the third quarter of New Orleans’ eventual win over Seattle.

Had he not suffered the head injury, Olave would very likely have exceeded this number in four straight games. He got to 54 yards before being forced from the action, but his totals in the previous three were 80, 147, and 67. He also catches a lot of deep balls, leading all receivers in air yards.

The Saints are playing without several of their other pass catchers, including Pro Bowlers Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry, and it’s still unclear whether the quarterback will be Jameis Winston or Andy Dalton. But one known is Olave, who should pile up yardage against Arizona’s 20th-ranked pass defense.

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