NFL futures bets: Offensive Player of the Year odds and pick

NFL Offensive Player of the Year odds

The top 10 on the board to win the 2023-24 Offensive Player of the Year award, odds courtesy of DraftKings.

1. Justin Jefferson, Minnesota (+1000)
2. Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco (+1000)
3. Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati (+1000)
4. Austin Ekeler, LA Chargers (+1500)
5. Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis (+2000)
6. Stefon Diggs, Buffalo (+2000)
7. Cooper Kupp, LA Rams (+2000)
8. Derrick Henry, Tennessee (+2000)
9. Tyreek Hill, Miami (+2000)
10. Deebo Samuel, San Francisco (+2000)

After being an award dominated by quarterbacks and running backs, the tides have turned to favor the wide receiver position of late.

From 1994-2018, only RBs and QBs took home OPOY honors. In the four years since, three winners have been wide receivers: Michael Thomas, Cooper Kupp and Justin Jefferson, and Derrick Henry took home the win in 2020.

It's for that reason that it may not be a surprise to see the board steeped with wide outs, with six of the top 10 being WRs. Jefferson brought home the award most recently off a 128/1809/8 season, following up Kupp's remarkable 145/1947/16 year in 2021.

For the most part, gaudy statistics aren't enough; you need to be the engine behind one of the NFL's best offenses and best teams. With that established, we're rolling with two early selections in this market.

Betting two WRs to bring home the win in 2023

Ja'Marr Chase: +1000

Cincinnati has been to two straight AFC Championship Games, one trip resulting in a Super Bowl loss, and they figure to once again be among the AFC elite in Joe Burrow's fourth year and Ja'Marr Chase's third.

Chase has wasted no time becoming one of the best wide receivers in football. The Bengals WR won Rookie of the Year in 2021 thanks to a 81/1455/13 season, sporting an absurd 18.0 yards per catch average that opened the Cincinnati offense up.

Despite missing five games last year, Chase caught more balls (87), and still crossed the 1,000 yard threshold, finishing with 1,046 yards and catching nine touchdowns. Extrapolate those averages out to a full season played, and Chase is looking at around a 1,481 yard season to go along with 12-13 touchdowns.

Chase would not to find another gear and get closer to the 1,800-yard precendent set by both Jefferson and Kupp the past two seasons, but he no doubt has the explosiveness to make that happen.

One factor worth monitoring is the status of WR Tee Higgins on the team. As a Super Bowl contender, it may be unlikely for Cincinnati to move such a pivotal piece, but Higgins is also in the last year of his rookie contract, and with massive contracts looming for Burrow and Chase, it's hard to foresee Cincinnati being able to retain Higgins.

Should they look to maximize his worth with a long-term view, that would open up a lot more volume and opportunity for Chase, giving him the role needed to put up the stats needed here.

Stefon Diggs: +2000

We and everyone else are enamored by the AFC's potential, with sleeper teams like the Chargers, Jaguars, Jets, Dolphins and Ravens lurking behind the established powers from the past few seasons. All the buzz of those teams has us excited for the year's potential parity, but don't be surprised if it's more of the same in the AFC, with the Chiefs, Bengals and Bills the most likely Super Bowl participants out of the conference.

With that, we come to Stefon Diggs of Buffalo. We thought the Bills would address the WR position in the draft, and perhaps they still do via trade, but as it stands, the receiver room is looking to be dominated by Diggs. Gabe Davis had flashes but lacked consistency, and beyond that, there isn't yet a reliable outside receiver to feel good about.

Diggs has averaged 161.3 targets per season since joining the Bills three years ago, yielding averages of 112.6 catches, 1396.3 yards and 9.7 touchdowns per year. The 29-year old Diggs remains one of the league's best wide receivers, and with elite volume surely coming his way again, it's not out of the picture for us to see Diggs's best statistical season yet.

Josh Allen and Buffalo need to get over the hump. Anything other than a Super Bowl berth at minimum has to be viewed as a disappointment at this point, and if the offense clicks on all cylinders, thanks in no small part to the contributions of Diggs, one has to consider him a front-runner for the award come December.

Tomorrow, we'll touch on the the Defensive Player of the Year odds.