NFL MVP and Rookie of the Year Race is Heating Up!
The fields for the MVP and rookie of the year awards are starting to get very crowded. Why? Because the stand-outs aren’t on what many would consider unbelievable teams. The rookie of the year is okay for that. But the MVP award usually goes to a person on a team that has separated itself from the rest of the NFL.
Neither the Tennessee Titans nor the New York Giants have a single player deserving of the MVP award. Sports betting fans will have to do more digging in order to find the best online wager on the MVP.
We’ll start with fair online NFL betting odds for the players with the best chances of winning the Rookie of the Year Award. Then, we will concentrate on the best NFL betting interests to win the MVP.
Let’s get to it!
Best Online Wagering Interests for Rookie of Year
There are only six rookies with any sort of shot at winning this award. In fact from an online sportsbook betting point-of-view, this award is already securely in the hands of Matt Ryan. He’s putting together one of the best years a rookie quarterback has ever had in the NFL.
1. Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons, fair online betting odds 3/5 – – Okay, so I dropped my own online betting odds on Ryan from 7 to 5 to 3 to 5. Well, there’s a reason. No other rookie this season in the NFL has had as great of an impact on his team than Matt Ryan with the Atlanta Falcon. He decimated the Saints’ pass defense two weeks ago and almost drove his team to a victory against the Denver Broncos last Sunday. The Falcons are in the midst of the playoff chase. Ryan is the reason why.
2. Chris Johnson, RB, Tennessee Titans, fair online betting odds 10 to 1 – – Johnson leads all rookies in rushing with 787 yards going into this weekend. He also has 5 touchdowns and has caught 30 passes and he plays on arguably the best team in football. He’d be a shoe-in if a fella named Matt Ryan wasn’t his competition.
3. Matt Forte, RB, Chicago Bears, fair online betting odds 15 to 1 – – He’s caught 43 passes and has over 700 yards rushing. His average of 3.8 isn’t very good but it’s plenty good for a rookie. He’s a long shot at best but it’s obvious that Chicago plans on relying on this guy for a long time to come.
4. Steve Slaton, RB, Houston Texans, fair online betting odds 15 to 1 – – 32 catches to go along with 701 yards on the ground and 6 touchdowns. The best thing about Slaton is his 5.1 per average carry. This guy can fly and he’s got a shot at the award should Ryan go down with injury.
5. Tim Hightower, RB, Arizona Cardinals, fair online betting odds 20 to 1 – – He’s been getting a lot of press lately after moving into the starting line-up but he’s got a long way to go to catch Slaton, Forte and Johnson. Hightower only has 299 yards on the ground, but the fact that the Cardinals are hot right now, and they love to use Hightower, means that it’s not impossible for him to jump ahead of the other running backs on this list.
6. Eddie Royal, WR, Denver Broncos, fair online betting odds 50 to 1 – – Royal doesn’t have much of a shot of winning this award because the brilliant Brandon Marshall plays on the other side of him. Still, he’s easily the best rookie wide receiver in the NFL this season. That means he gets on the list.
Best Online Wagering Interests for MVP
There are ten players with the potential of winning the MVP this season in the NFL. All ten have some serious knocks against them. So, online NFL betting fans need to make sure they get value, hence the fair online odds, before making an online bet.
1. Kurt Warner, QB, Arizona Cardinals, fair online betting odds 7 to 1 – – Warner has put together four straight 300 yard passing games. Not only that but his team is 7 and 3 and he’s now the unquestioned leader. He’s made Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin both better and that had to have been difficult to do since both guy were awesome to begin with. Warner gets the nod because the rest of this group has bigger knocks against them.
2. Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings, fair online betting odds 12 to 1 – – Yes, Peterson is finally leading the league in rushing but his team might not make the playoffs and can you win MVP if your team doesn’t make the playoffs? I’m not sure you can. He’s going to be a short price in the BetUS Sportsbook. Demand value if you like A.P.
3. Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints, fair online betting odds 15 to 1 – – Brees was my top choice until the Saints decided to stop winning games. If the Saints make the playoffs then Brees, who is going to break the record for passing yards in a season, could be the number one guy. He’s a gifted leader that only needs his defense to step up in order to get closer to that MVP.
4. Clinton Portis, RB, Washington Redskins, fair online betting odds 15 to 1 – – Portis is a great player and he might catch Adrian Peterson for the rushing title. Not only that but I truly believe that Redskins will make the playoffs. If they do, then it will be because of Portis. He could be a nice overlay online bet in this category.
5. Ben Rothelisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers, fair online betting odds 17 to 1 – – Ben is the reason that the Steelers keep winning. His stats aren’t all that great but he’s the most important player to his team in the league. As long as the Steelers continue to win, Big Ben will be in the top five on this list.
6. Michael Turner, RB, Atlanta Falcons, fair online betting odds 20 to 1 – – What you ask? Could a Falcon win rookie of the year and the MVP? Yes. Name another player that has impacted his team on offense as much as Michael Turner with the Atlanta Falcons. He ranks third in the NFL in rushing yards and the Falcons are winning. He could pull it off.
7. Donovan McNabb, QB, Philadelphia Eagles, fair online betting odds 30 to 1 – – Donovan looked like an idiot last Sunday because he didn’t realize that you could end a game on a tie in the NFL. Whatever. The guy can play. The problem, like it has been for a while now is that the Eagles as a team tend to start losing around this time of the year. I like Philly and I like Donovan, but both need to turn things around for the Eagles to make the playoffs and Donovan to win the MVP.
8. Thomas Jones, RB, New York Jets, fair online betting odds 50 to 1 – – Jones leads the AFC in rushing and the Jets are winning. The problem is that the Jets also have Brett Favre on the team. Are MVP voters going to look past Brett and give Jones his due? I doubt it which is why his fair online betting odds are so dang high.
9. Peyton Manning, QB, Indianapolis Colts, fair online betting odds 60 to 1 – – Manning is slowly becoming the Manning of old. It might be too late for him to win the MVP this season, but the Colts sure are starting to play well. If they continue to win and Manning gets crazy back there, then he could pull off a shocker but the rest of this field would probably have to implode.
10. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals, fair online betting odds 75 to 1 – – Fitzgerald is the second Cardinal to appear on this least. He’s the most consistent wide receiver in the NFL and I’ve never, ever, seen him drop the football. Still, it’s a tall order to even consider an online wager on Fitzgerald at odds of less than 75 to 1. There’s too much talent in the right situation ahead of him.
