2022 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds: Falcons first-round receiver Drake London new betting favorite
Atlanta receiver Drake London is the betting favorite for 2022 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Before last week's NFL Draft, some books put out Offensive Rookie of the Year odds even though we obviously didn't know which teams that guys would be playing with. Liberty quarterback Malik Willis was the favorite but then he shockingly slipped to No. 86 overall and chosen by Tennessee. Willis most likely won't see the field as a rookie unless Ryan Tannehill gets injured. Willis is now a +1200 eighth favorite for OROY and the new leader at +500 is Falcons receiver Drake London.
In a very deep receiving class, London was the first one off the board at No. 8 overall. The Falcons had arguably the worst group of receivers entering the draft -- Olamide Zaccheaus was probably the top guy with Calvin Ridley suspended the 2022 season – so London immediately becomes the No. 1 wideout for new QB Marcus Mariota; although stellar young tight end Kyle Pitts obviously will also see plenty of targets.
Last season at Southern Cal, the 6-foot-5, 210-pound London caught 88 passes for 1,084 yards and seven scores before going down with a fractured ankle. He might have won the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top receiver if he didn't get hurt. USC hadn't had a receiver go in the first round since Nelson Agholor in 2015.
Atlanta hasn't had an Offensive Rookie of the Year since quarterback Matt Ryan in 2008. Of course, he was traded this offseason to Indianapolis. The Falcons did take University of Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder in the third round, and he's +1600 on this prop.
Titans receiver Treylon Burks (Arkansas), chosen at No. 18 overall after the team traded away top wideout AJ Brown to Philadelphia, is the second favorite at +700 along with Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett (Pitt). At 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, Burks has a similar build to Brown.
Pickett probably won't be Pittsburgh's Week 1 starter, although Coach Mike Tomlin said he "certainly has a chance" to be. We'd imagine it's Mitchell Trubisky. Mason Rudolph is in the mix as well. Ben Roethlisberger started as a rookie in 2004 for the Steelers and won Offensive Rookie of the Year. Pickett was chosen No. 20 overall and was the only quarterback taken before the third round of the draft.
"It was two things that really attracted us to him from a floor standpoint," Tomlin said of Pickett. "We thought he had pro-level anticipation. We thought he had pro-level accuracy. Oftentimes, those are two variables that really require a lot of adjustment from a quarterbacking standpoint. We felt he came ready-made in those ways. Hopefully, that's an asset to him in terms of being able to compete and being ready, if his performance dictates it."
Jets receiver Garrett Wilson (No. 10 overall out of Ohio State) and running back Breece Hall (No. 36 out of Iowa State) are each +800 third-favorites.
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