Cooper Kupp Given +800 Odds to Lead NFL in Receiving, Keenan Allen Still Favored

• The odds to lead the NFL in receiving yards has been updated after Week 4
• Cooper Kupp is now second in the NFL in receiving yards after 121-yard performance on Sunday
• Keenan Allen currently leads the NFL in receiving yards (452), targets (48) and receptions (34)

As we move into Week 5 of the NFL season, the race to lead the NFL in receiving yards is heating up. While Keenan Allen (Chargers), who is currently leading the NFL in receiving yards, is favored, Cooper Kupp (Rams) is now on the board.

Is Kupp or anyone else a good bet to finish the year atop this category or is Allen the way to go?

Odds to Lead 2019 NFL Season in Receiving Yards

*Odds taken on 10/02/19.

Kupp Vaults To Second Place After Big Week

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff threw for 517 passing yards last week, so it’s safe to say there were a number of beneficiaries. Kupp was one of them, collecting nine catches for 121 yards and a touchdown. He wasn’t even on the board for this prop last week. Now he’s at +800, second only to Allen (+500).

Importantly, Kupp – as usual – is getting a ton of targets. He’s now up to 46 on the season, which is just two shy of Allen. Kupp has now surpassed 100 receiving yards in three straight games.

My concern with betting Kupp is that he’s more of a safety valve in the slot. He had 62 catches as a rookie but had just 869 yards. He had 40 catches and 566 yards in an injury-shortened, eight-game season last year.

He’s obviously on pace to set new personal bests this year with 388 receiving yards so far but I don’t think he keeps up this torrid pace.

Thomas Is Slipping

There’s no question that New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas’ success is closely linked to having Drew Brees under center. The problem is that the Saints star quarterback is out and Teddy Bridgewater is the man throwing the ball.

Thomas has been OK the last couple of weeks — 95 receiving yards in Week 4 and 54 in Week 3 — but that’s a far cry from the 123 he had in Week 1 with a healthy Brees running the New Orleans offense. With Brees expected to miss a total of six weeks, it’s tough to bet on Thomas in this spot. He’ll likely fall too far off the pace in the next four weeks.

Adams Toe Injury Could Linger

Green Bay Packers wideout Davante Adams is on the shortlist to win this prop, but I’m not interested in investing. To start, he’s dealing with a toe injury and we’re not sure how serious it is. Toe injuries tend to linger.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocm1ogtnr1E

Secondly, Adams exploded for 180 receiving yards in Week 4, but he had been sparsely used in the offense prior to that. He had just 198 receiving yards in the first three weeks of the season. There is something off with this offense right now and that’s going to lead me to pass on Adams.

Is Odell Beckham Jr. Going To Get Going?

It’s been a bizarre first quarter of the season for Odell Beckham Jr. He has an underwhelming 308 receiving yards so far. Remember that 89 of that came on one play, so he has 20 catches for the other 219 yards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avXeVOtLZHY

It feels like you have to pass on him with this prop as we simply haven’t seen him fit into this offense just yet. The Browns offense did have their best game of the season in Week 4 but much of that was because of Nick Chubb’s efforts on the ground.

Beckham just hasn’t been the explosive weapon we’ve known him to be in this offense yet.

Take A Shot With Julio Jones

It’s been a mostly inconspicuous start to the season for Julio Jones, and his Atlanta Falcons are having their own issues on offense. However, this team has no running game and their defense isn’t very good, so they’re going to have to air it out regularly the rest of the way.

Jones only has 317 receiving yards so far but he’s still seeing a healthy number of targets (just over nine per game). Eventually, he’s going to start getting loose and piling up the yards. I like the payout here at +1200 for a guy that had 1,677 yards last season and has surpassed 1,400 three seasons in a row.

Keenan Allen is a stud and I wouldn’t blame you for betting him, but the Chargers just got Melvin Gordon back and should be more run/pass balanced. On top of that, wideout Mike Williams should return to the lineup soon.

I see Allen finishing in the 1,200 to 1,300-yard range, which will keep him just shy of the top spot.