Best early bets for NFL Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2022 | NFL and NCAA Betting Picks

•At +850, Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens currently has the highest odds for OROY.

•Defensively, Detroit Lions EDGE Aidan Hutchinson has the highest odds at +450.

•All odds are provided by BetMGM.

We’ve seen enough in two preseason games to know which rookies are well-prepared to impress in Week 1 and which ones could take a little longer. That means it’s a perfect time to take advantage of the imperfect NFL Rookie of the Year odds. These are the best bets on either side of the ball.

OFFENSIVE ROOKE OF THE YEAR ODDS

best bets

RB BREECE HALL, NEW YORK JETS (+1000)

Yes, Hall is still not “technically” the starter in New York. In my mind, that’s a formality since only Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll gets drafted that high as backup running backs. Hall will receive the bulk of the Jets’ carries on offense, with Michael Carter serving as a receiving-down/change-of-pace back.

Hall ran after a poor offensive line at Iowa State that set him up well for what NFL-sized wrinkles look like, and the elusive ability we saw of him in college has already manifested itself in the league (albeit in a small sample size). He led the draft class with 196 career broken tackles and broke two more on five carries on his debut preseason.

WR DRAKE LONDON, ATLANTA FALCONS (+1200)

London is the Falcons’ definite WR1 on offense (albeit with Kyle Pitts as the primary offensive target), but he has better odds than some rookies who aren’t even guaranteed WR1 or WR2 on their respective offenses (George Pickens, Chris Olave, and Skyy moors).

London can clearly handle a high workload – he led the Power Five with 11 receptions per game last season. His ability to run a complete route tree was the reason he was so high in the world rankings PFF draft committee. Running a full route tree is also a quick way for a player to curl up for a large target percentage early in their NFL career. Atlanta’s quarterback situation is really the only thing keeping London from being the clear favorite here.

RB DAMEON PIERCE, HOUSTON TEXANS (+1600)

Prepare for those odds to keep falling. In early August, Pierce was one of many in the Texans backfield, earning Offensive Rookie of the Year at +4000. Now he is the clear favorite for a heavy workload.

And for a good reason.

Pierce shone on his lone preseason outing, piling up 49 yards on five carries with two broken tackles. The reason you can be confident that Pierce sees the field is because he was the best pass protector in the class and looked the part even preseason. That will do any coach good.

Longshot: WR KHALIL SHAKIR, BUFFALO BILLS (+12500)

If you want to sprinkle someone with some cheddar that comes out of nowhere to take home the prize, Shakir would be my pick. That’s because we know Josh Allen will put up numbers no matter who he throws. And Shakir is just one injury away from making the back three and he could even snap Isaiah McKenzie’s shots sometime this season.

Shakir was already the preseason toast with eight catches on eight targets for 151 yards. Anyone watching their tape at Boise State saw an NFL-eligible route runner out of the slot. That’s a very defined offensive role for the Bills, which Cole Beasley streaked nearly 1,000 yards from a few years ago. If Shakir grabs that, he might sneak into the conversation.

DEFENSIVE ROOKIEE OF THE YEAR

best bets

EDGE AIDAN HUTCHINSON, DETROIT LIONS (+450)

While +450 is a pretty short odds before Hutchinson has even played a regular season game, flip over the 11 snaps he played against the Falcons’ starting offense and you’ll agree he’s still a good bet. Hutchinson earned an overall score of 88.0 in Week 1 of this pre-season competition as he was already the best player on the pitch. His NFL willingness combined with a stat-generating position like defensive end makes him a runaway favorite.

CB AHMAD “SAUCE” GARDNERNEW YORK JETS (+1200)

In the debate between Derek Stingley Jr. and Gardner over who might take home that honor at the cornerback position, Gardner has an X factor: publicity. A cornerback nicknamed “Sauce” playing in New York City will talk about it endlessly if he plays well. A cornerback named Derek, who plays for the Texans, isn’t.

After Hutchinson in the 2022 class, the two cornerbacks were the only ones PFF draft committee defensively viewed as blue-chip guys by early contributors. This is clearly not reflected in the betting markets as projects like Kayvon Thibodeaux and Travon Walker have much lower odds.

LB NAKOBE DEAN, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (+2000)

Dean is another player you can count on to play a sizeable role in his defense – something that can’t be said of a number of players with better odds than Dean. Georgia coaches said he has memorized the playbook he installed in freshman year and teaches his classmates. That means Dean shouldn’t be worried at all about getting acquainted with an NFL playbook.

Dean was Georgia’s top-rated defenseman last season and dropped in the draft because of his size and injury history, not his performance on the field. He’s already been in the running game in two preseason games with an 84.5 in that regard.

Long Shot: EDGE BOYE MAFE, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (+6600)

Mafe is a long shot for a reason. He was far from the slickest rusher from Minnesota and isn’t even scheduled for a starting role with the Seahawks. Still, many teams’ third defensive end is a 600+ snap roll, which is more than enough for Mafe to rack up some stats.

The reason I single out Mafe as my favorite longshot is because he’s a pure edge bender pass rusher. Of all the different “types” of pass rushers, edge bender accumulate sacks and forced fumbles at the highest rate. That’s because quarterbacks don’t see the pressure coming. In two preseason games, Mafe already has two sacks and a 77.4 pass rushing grade. He may not be an all-round impact player in Year 1, but with his size and explosiveness he could have a healthy sack total.