Bryce Young and Bijan Robinson Lead the Way Among the 2023 NFL Offensive Rookies

Plenty of QBs Could Work Their Way into the 2023 NFL Rookie of the Year Race

The 2023 NFL Draft is now in the rear-view mirror with quarterbacks going in three of the top four picks and a pair of running backs landing in the top 15.

That should make for an intriguing race when it comes to the 2023 NFL Offensive Rookies of the Year odds.

Naturally, the top quarterback (Bryce Young), running back (Bijan Robinson) and receiver (Jaxon Smith-Njigba) are getting plenty of love in the early NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds.

Receivers earned the award from the Associated Press in each of the last two seasons. No running back has won the award since Saquon Barkley in 2018.

Here’s a breakdown of the top rookie of the year candidates and some betting odds to keep an eye on.

Hitting the Ground Running

There was a stretch when running backs were named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated 12 times in 13 years with Tony Dorsett, Earl Campbell, Billy Sims, Marcus Allen and Eric Dickerson among the honorees.

More recently, runners won the award just four times over the last 15 years.

Todd Gurley and Saquon Barkley, both top 10 picks, earned that award. Will Bijan Robinson join this group?

Rookie Tyler Allgeier ran for more than 1,000 yards as a rookie and the entire offensive line will be returning led by All-Pro guard Chris Lindstrom and tackle Jake Matthews. There could be opportunities for Robinson to put up some big numbers so it makes sense that he is the front-runner at +300 to win the award when it comes to the 2023 NFL Offensive Rookies of the Year odds.

New Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (+900) is tied for fifth in the Offensive Rookie of the Year odds.

He figures to be more of an all-purpose back like Alvin Kamara of the New Orleans Saints than a guy who will get 20-25 carries per game.

According to the NFL team stats, Atlanta was third and Detroit 11th in rushing yards per game during the 2022 NFL season.

Is Young the One?

When looking at past Offensive Rookie of the Year winners, only quarterbacks Sam Bradford, Cam Newton and Kyler Murray have won the award after being the No. 1 overall draft pick dating back to 1982.

Will Bryce Young join that list? The other quarterbacks on the roster include Andy Dalton, Matt Corral and Jacob Eason. The Panthers could play it safe by going with Andy Dalton when the season starts.

D.J. Chark and Adam Thielen were brought in at receiver. Still, this is not a talented offensive team so will that impact Young’s stats?

It is a similar story with C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans and Anthony Richardson with the Indianapolis Colts.

Young (+475) leads the rookie quarterbacks in the 2023 NFL Offensive Rookies of the Year odds followed by Stroud (+700), and Richardson (+900). Hendon Hooker, a third-round pick by Detroit is priced at +2000 with Will Levis, picked early in the second round by Tennessee, coming in at +2500. Detroit’s Jared Goff and Tennessee’s Ryan Tannehill could be beaten out for the No. 1 job so those odds could move if the rookie put pressure on the incumbent starter.

Three of the four teams in the AFC South Division added prominent rookie quarterbacks with Houston’s Young, Richardson of Indianapolis and Levis of Tennessee and it will be interesting when looking at the 2023 NFL schedule if they will be squaring off as rookies.

More Love For the Buckeyes?

Former Ohio State receiver Garrett Wilson was the winner of the 2022 Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba had more catches and receiving yards than Wilson when they were teammates at Ohio State in 2021.

Smith-Njigba was the first receiver picked in the draft and he started a run on receivers with TCU’s Quentin Johnson, Boston College’s Zay Flowers and Southern California’s Jordan Addison who went with the next three selections.

Despite being on a Seattle Seahawks offense that includes receivers DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and running back Kenneth Walker, Smith-Njigba (+700) tops all pass catchers in the rookie of the year odds.

It is a similar story with Johnson, who will have to fight it out with Keenan Allen and Mike Williams for catches with the Los Angeles Chargers. Baltimore receivers don’t always put up gaudy numbers with the amount of running done by quarterback Lamar Jackson so that could hurt Flowers’ numbers as a rookie. Addison is an interesting option with Thielen now with Carolina.

Addison (+1700) is just ahead of Flowers (+1800) and Johnson (+2000) followed by Jaylin Hyatt of the New York Giants (+2500), Josh Downs of the Colts (+2500) and Cedric Tillman (+3500) of the Browns.

Tight end Dalton Kincaid went in the first round. However, landing in Buffalo, where Dawson Knox is already a top receiving option at the tight end position, could cut into Kincaid’s impact as a rookie. Like Tillman, he comes in at +3500 in the rookie of the year odds. SMU’s Rashee Rice, now with the Kansas City Chiefs, is also priced at +3500.

There’s not much love for tight ends Sam LaPorta and Michael Mayer even though they went to tight end needy teams (the Detroit Lions and Las Vegas Raiders) early in the second round.

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