Josh Jacobs Listed as Odds-On Favorite to Lead Rookie RBs in Touchdowns in 2019, DK Metcalf Favored to Lead Rookie WRs
- Sportsbooks are offering a package of prop wagers on scoring by 2019 NFL rookies
- Josh Jacobs of the Oakland Raiders is favored to lead all rookie running backs in TDs
- Seattle Seahawks wideout DK Metcalf is the chalk to lead all rookie wide receivers in TDs
How often will DK Metcalf go deep? Is Josh Jacobs well positioned to carry the rock?
Now that the NFL Draft is done, there’s a new speculation market in which you can invest your time and money. Store those mock drafts in the circular file. It’s time to figure out who among the NFL’s class of 2019 will come to play right away.
Sportsbooks are offering a series of prop wagers on which running backs and wide receivers will find the end zone the most during the upcoming NFL season.
Last year, the sensational Saquon Barkley dominated the rookie rushing stats, including a leading 11 touchdowns. As for receivers. Calvin Ridley of the Atlanta Falcons was no. 1 with 10 TD receptions.
Which 2019 NFL Rookie RB Will Score the Most TDs?
| Player | 2019 NFL Rookie RB TD Leader Odds |
|---|---|
| Josh Jacobs | -130 |
| David Montgomery | -110 |
| Miles Sanders | +200 |
| Devin Singletary | +300 |
| Damien Harris | +500 |
*Odds taken 05/02/19
Jacobs Isn’t Joshing Around
Alabama’s Jacobs was the first running back off the board, going 24th overall to the Raiders. Things certainly look to be falling neatly into place, setting up the path to a huge year for him.
"I'm ready to be part of it."
The first voice do-it-all RB @IAM_JoshJacobs heard as a Raider was Coach Gruden. pic.twitter.com/YWwXV6tFU6
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) April 26, 2019
Marshawn Lynch is gone from the Raiders backfield. Isaiah Crowell is done for the year with a torn Achilles tendon. Although the Raiders signed veteran Doug Martin as insurance, they can no longer ease Jacobs into the position slowly.
A source no less than former Raiders Hall of Fame RB Marcus Allen is already touting Jacobs for big things.
Excited to watch Josh Jacobs run the ball for the @Raiders this season. A truly inspiring young man who has come a very long way. Well-deserved @iAM_JoshJacobs, you are destined for greatness! #RaiderNation
— Marcus Allen (@MarcusAllenHOF) May 1, 2019
Jacobs scored 14 TDs last season for the Crimson Tide while splitting time with Damien Harris. He accomplished this on just 140 plays from scrimmage. That’s one TD for every 10 times he touched the football.
The Full Monty
As much as opportunity is knocking for Jacobs, there’s another rookie who also dropped into a ideal situation to shine, and with a much better NFL team.
The Chicago Bears desperately needed a running back after allowing Jordan Howard to leave for the Philadelphia Eagles. So they traded to move up from the 87th pick to no. 73 and grabbed Iowa State’s David Montgomery.
David Montgomery owns the PFF College record for most missed tackles forced in a season (in 2017) and his 2018 numbers are 2nd-best. #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/5FOUeURfb6
— PFF (@PFF) April 27, 2019
Suddenly, Montgomery is the no. 1 back on the depth chart of the defending NFC North champions. The Bears rushed the ball 468 times last season, tied for sixth in the NFL.
Early projections for the newest Chicago Bear, David Montgomery pic.twitter.com/hQaHi4wUhZ
— Jason Moore (@jasonffl) April 27, 2019
Montgomery, who ran for 24 TDs his last two years at Iowa State, has fallen into a perfect storm. He’s our choice to lead all rookie running backs in TDs.
Pick: David Montgomery (-110)
Which 2019 NFL Rookie WR Will Score the Most TDs?
| Player | 2019 NFL Rookie WR TD Leader Odds |
|---|---|
| DK Metcalf | +130 |
| Marquise Brown | +150 |
| N’Keal Harry | +200 |
| Mecole Hardman | +300 |
| Deebo Samuel | +400 |
| AJ Brown | +700 |
| Parris Campbell | +700 |
DK Metcalf is More Than OK
Even though he didn’t go until the 64th overall pick to the Seattle Seahawks, the NFL Network rated Metcalf the best player chosen in the draft by an NFC West team.
He’s 6-foot-4 and 229 pounds and ran a 4.33 40 at the NFL Combine. At Ole Miss, Metcalf caught five TD passes last season and 12 over the past two years.
The son of former Bears offensive lineman Terrence Metcalf, DK has been compared to Calvin Johnson and Julio Jones.
Russell Wilson gets a BIG new target
Ole Miss WR DK Metcalf is the newest Seahawk pic.twitter.com/X5rdq4CSpT
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 27, 2019
But teams worried that Metcalf’s chiseled physique – he has just 1.9% body fat and looks more like a linebacker than a wideout with his shirt off – will inhibit his ability to be elusive and to make precise cuts. His agility scores at the Combine were poor.
Roll with Mecole
Tyreek Hill’s immediate future looks to be somewhere between NFL suspension and a prison cell. Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes needs someone to find on the other end when he airs out the ball. With Hill likely gone, that guy should be Mecole Hardman.
What could have been:
Jets tried to position themselves to trade up into 2nd round for Georgia WR Mecole Hardman, per sources… but Chiefs traded up 1 spot ahead (No. 56 overall) to get him to be a potential replacement for Tyreek Hill.
Hardman is going to be game-changer
— Manish Mehta (@MMehtaNYDN) April 29, 2019
Chiefs TE Travis Kelce will still draw the most attention from a defense, leaving Hardman, who scored seven TDs last season for Georgia, an enticing deep threat.
Hill caught 12 TD passes last season. We like Hardman to lead all rookies in TD catches this season.
Pick: Mecole Hardman (+300)
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
