Patrick Mahomes Heavily Favored in Opening NFL Offensive Player of the Year Odds

• Patrick Mahomes has opened as a +550 favorite to win 2020 NFL Offensive Player of the Year 
• Lamar Jackson, runner-up in 2019, is second on the odds board of a loaded field
• Get all the odds and insight on this strange award below

A familiar face was at the top of the list for the 2020 NFL Offensive Player of the Year. Patrick Mahomes, just about everybody’s favorite including your mother, is also getting the shortest odds for this oft overlooked award.

As it turns out, the OPOY isn’t always a duplicate for the league’s MVP,  meaning there’s some nice value for betting this honor if you know what to look for.

AP Offensive Player of the Year Odds

Odds taken March 27.

History of the OPOY

Of course Patrick Mahomes is the favorite to win the award — he’s the best offensive player in football! He would’ve won the damn thing last year had he not gotten injured! Instead, Lamar Jackson… wait, what? Jackson didn’t win?

Who did?

Michael Thomas beats out Lamar Jackson for OPOY by two voteshttps://t.co/wb4JHwwUKA pic.twitter.com/WER5qPd8rg

— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) February 1, 2020

Turns out the OPOY isn’t just a side dish for the MVP. Half of the time, the award is given to outstanding skill position players or MVP runner-ups that voters wanted to acknowledge in some way (see Drew Brees).

MVP and OPOY Winners

While MVP has historically gone only to quarterbacks, running backs have a real shot at the OPOY, winning 11 of the last 20. However, that halfback dominance came earlier in the century: as the NFL transitioned to more of a passing league, the path for RBs to win the award has become more murky.

For example, viewed side by side, Gurley’s 2017 season and Christian McCaffrey’s 2019 season are nearly identical. But because of the strength of the field this year, McCaffrey came third with 12 votes, while Gurley netted 37 votes and the win two years ago.

Is Mahomes a Worthwhile Favorite?

The favorite for MVP, it’s only natural that Mahomes also top this oddsboard. But given how vast the field for this honor is and how unpredictable voters can be, I’m less enthusiastic of his chances to put up the stats needed to win this in 2020.

With Demarcus Robinson hitting free agency and Sammy Watkins likely to leave soon too, the Chiefs’ receiver depth is sure to be worse heading into next year. The team will also be looking to stave off a Super Bowl hangover, while 30-year-old Travis Kelce might still be battling regular hangovers.

https://twitter.com/tinarasade/status/1225154668814381056

Mahomes is the best in the biz and should have an efficient year for a Chiefs team that figures to be at the top of the AFC, but I don’t foresee the kind of statistical season that demands both awards. I’d stick to betting him for MVP.

Are WRs a Good Play?

Even though Thomas is the current holder, this is not an honor that favors pass catchers. He is the first receiver to win since Jerry Rice in 1993. (That season didn’t even end up ranking in the top-3 for Rice’s best years.)

Since then, voters have snubbed the likes of Calvin Johnson (who set the single-season receiving yards record in 2012), Randy Moss (set the single-season receiving TD record in 2007) and Marvin Harrison (whose 143 catches in 2002 stood as a record until Thomas broke it).

OPOY @Cantguardmike had one of the greatest receiving seasons ever.

◻️ No. 1 in rec. yards
◻️ No. 1 in 1st downs
◻️ No. 1 in targets
◻️ No. 1 in catch % (among WR)
◻️ No. 3 in rec. TDs
◻️ Nine games with 10+ catches
◻️ Broke Marvin Harrison’s single-season catch record pic.twitter.com/zC5bR7z1eA

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 1, 2020

It’s not just that Thomas had a record season, he was also historically efficient, catching over 80% of his targets in 2019. And he still only won the award by two votes.

So if you think DeAndre Hopkins or Chris Godwin (+5000) could have sexy stats catching balls from new QBs, just know that raw receiving numbers aren’t enough to win this.

Wilson’s Time for a Win?

Though he’s been a consensus top-five QB in the NFL for years now, Russell Wilson still has never won a major individual award. He lost out on Rookie of the Year to Robert Griffin III in 2012 and has been shutout of accolades ever since. Last year, another outstanding season ended with just one vote for OPOY.

The Seahawks are trying to bolster that offensive line for Wilson this offseason, but even if there’s no improvement, he’s consistently shown he can still be one of the NFL’s best back there.

Heading into his ninth season, I’m expecting a groundswell of “he’s due for a win” support for Wilson to come. There’s a decent chance he gets one of those Brees-esque OPOY wins if he falls short of MVP again.

Throw in the uncertainty COVID-19 casts over offseason activities and there looks to be a real advantage to backing players that are staying in the same offense. There’s a lot of great options to bet for OPOY in 2020, but I would be sure to include Wilson at +1200 as one of them.