NFL Prop: Who will lead the league in passing yards?

The NFL caters to the quarterback, but it's also an aging, injury-prone position.

Drew Brees has stayed remarkably healthy while averaging 4,964 passing yards the past eight seasons. He's missed two games in that span. After putting up a league-high 4,870 last year, Brees enters 2016 as the +550 favorite to lead the NFL again.

Brees knows Sean Payton's system intuitively and has an up-and-coming group of targets. But will he finally succumb to injury at age 37?

Let's break down this fun prop, with odds from 5dimes.

Value play: Matt Ryan +1000

Perhaps no quarterback took as much heat as Matt Ryan last season. His arm strength showed regression and he showed a propensity for errant throws.

That led to 16 interceptions and the unraveling of a season that started 5-0. He did fight off skepticism with a strong Week 16 performance to hand Carolina its only regular-season loss.

Ryan finished fifth with 4,591 passing yards. In the offseason, the Falcons bolstered the depth behind stud wideout Julio Jones, adding Mohamed Sanu and Aldrick Robinson.

Don't forget the sneaky yardage Devonta Freeman can rack up catching passes out of the backfield. Last year, he caught 73 balls for 578 yards, a meager average of 7.9 yards per reception.

The upside is there for Freeman to better those numbers.

And when you consider the Falcons' unimposing defense, Ryan will be playing in a lot of shootouts. He's my value play at 10/1.

Long shot play: Joe Flacco +2600

Throughout Joe Flacco's career, he has displayed a cannon arm as one of the NFL's best deep passers. He's never been elite in terms of passing yardage, yet his numbers went up each year since 2011 until last season's injury-shortened campaign.

The arrival of offensive coordinator Marc Trestman in January 2015 put Flacco on pace for his first 4,000-yard season. But he tore his ACL last November. 

In his first five games last season, Flacco was held to 210 or fewer passing yards three times. Over the next five games he averaged 305.8 passing yards.

Even coming off a serious injury, there is reason to believe Flacco will pick up where he left off. If his receivers, including newly-signed deep threat Mike Wallace, stay healthy too, Flacco will go over 4,000 yards and possibly challenge for this crown.

Pick: Matthew Stafford +2100

The Lions have never been a strong rushing team, so the offensive burden consistently falls on Stafford. But his passing yards have declined steadily since he threw for 5,038 in 2011.

Now Calvin Johnson has retired, so Stafford shouldn't even be in consideration, right? Wrong.

Last year Johnson went over 100 yards only twice, both versus the Bears, as he had lost a step. It's counter-intuitive, but his retirement opens up the passing game.

With Johnson gone, Stafford will see less disguised coverage and more one-on-one matchups he can exploit. Marvin Jones is an explosive weapon who arrived via free agency, joining Golden Tate, Eric Ebron, Anquan Boldin and Theo Riddick among Stafford's targets.

Stafford is entering the prime of his career at 28. He showed a lot of progress in the second half of last season, leading Detroit to a 6-2 record.

Stafford's youth is key. In a league with a majority of quarterbacks over 30, Stafford is severely undervalued on this odds board.