The Rookie of the Year is given to the best freshman player in a particular sports league. In the NBA, there is only one Rookie of the Year winner. In Major League Baseball, there are two winners, one for each league. When it comes to the NFL, there are also two winners but they aren’t picked by the conference. Rather, the winners are picked by position: Offense and Defense.
For this article, we will take a look at the Offensive Rookie of the Year Winner for 2019. Saquon Barkley of the NY Giants won the award. This year, the #1 overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft, Kyler Murray, is the betting favorite to take home the trophy.
Here are the odds from Mybookie.ag to win the 2019 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award:
Player | Odds |
---|---|
KYLER MURRAY | +150 |
DWAYNE HASKINS | +800 |
JOSH JACOBS | +650 |
MARQUISE BROWN | +2000 |
TJ HOCKENSON | +2500 |
DREW LOCK | +3000 |
MECOLE HARDMAN | +1500 |
AJ BROWN | +2500 |
N KEAL HARRY | +1600 |
PARRIS CAMPBELL | +2500 |
DANIEL JONES | +2000 |
JJ ARCEGA WHITESIDE | +3300 |
NOAH FANT | +3000 |
DK METCALF | +3000 |
DARRELL HENDERSON | +3000 |
HAKEEM BUTLER | +4000 |
MILES SANDERS | +2000 |
DAMIEN HARRIS | +5000 |
DAVID MONTGOMERY | +1400 |
IRV SMITH JR | +5000 |
JUSTICE HILL | +2500 |
WILL GRIER | +5000 |
BRYCE LOVE | +2500 |
RYAN FINLEY | +2500 |
FIELD | +800 |
NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Trends
- Among the 52 winners of the Offensive Rookie of the Year award, 45 of them were drafted in the first two rounds of the NFL draft, including 37 first-rounders.
- 34 winners were running backs, 9 were quarterbacks and 9 were wide receivers. Seven of the nine quarterback winners were first-round draft picks while 24 of the running backs were also first-rounders. Six out of the nine wide receiver winners were first-round draft picks.
- Running backs have won the award in the last two seasons and four in the last six years. Only Dak Prescott is the quarterback to win the award in the last six years.
- When the Offensive Rookie of the Year award was won consecutively by Running backs, they won it at least more than two consecutive times.
- The Offensive Rookie of the Year award has been awarded to a player from the NFC in the last dozen seasons. The last player from the AFC to win it was Vince Young in 2006.
- Nine NFL teams have never had a winner of this award. These are: Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, and Seattle Seahawks
- No Offensive Lineman or Tight End has ever won this award.
Who Wins the Award?
The top two NFL betting favorites to win the award. These are Kyler Murray and Dwayne Haskins who went 1 and 15 in the draft, respectively. Between the two, Murray is a sure-fire starter who will get every opportunity he needs to deliver the numbers in Arizona. Meanwhile, Haskins will battle veterans Case Keenum and Colt McCoy for the right to start for the Washington Redskins. Although he has a good shot at it, it’s not a given. Murray meanwhile was handpicked by new Cardinals’ head coach Kliff Kingsbury so you have to like his odds.
The third man on the odds board is running back Josh Jacobs. Now Jacobs was the only running back selected in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft and he is the only running back on the odds board who looks to have a big role in his team. Given the success of RBs in this award, you have to like Jacobs’ chances here.
The fourth man on the list is Marquise Brown and he’s the highest wide receiver on the list. Brown’s team, the Baltimore Ravens, have never had an Offensive Rookie of the Year winner ever. TJ Hockenson is next on the list but no Tight End has ever won the award as well.
When I look at the list and compare the names with the trends, I like Kyler Murray and Josh Jacobs. Not only do they align with the trends but they are also expected to play a big role in their respective teams this coming season. Because of that, the ability to produce big numbers is there. In as much as I would like to go with the Kyler Murray and Kliff Kingsbury connection in Arizona, I’m a bit hesitant with Murray because he is undersized as a QB in the NFL. I’m not underestimating him but between Murray’s size disadvantage and Josh Jacobs’ abilities, I like the latter. Jacobs looked good in Week 2 of the preseason. The coaching staff also has high hopes on Jacobs and with the way they are talking, he might even be considered as a wideout option during the regular season.
Given the role the Raiders are planning for him, I think Josh Jacobs has the best shot of winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year award in the NFL next season. Prediction: Josh Jacobs