Chargers QB Justin Herbert is the odds-on favorite, with Josh Allen and Tom Brady not far behind. But there's another quarterback to keep an eye on.
Josh Allen might want to consider making some room on his trophy shelf.
The Buffalo Bills quarterback is considered by many – experts and sportsbooks alike – to be the frontrunner for the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award, one of many praiseful prognostications involving the fifth-year QB out of Wyoming.
And for good reason.
Allen threw for 4,407 yards during the regular season last year to go along with 36 touchdowns. In the playoffs, he was even better – historically better. He threw for nine touchdowns and only 12 incompletions during the Bills’ playoff run last season, totaling a passer rating of 149.0, which is the highest in NFL playoff history.
This season, Allen is +700 odds, according to DraftKings to take home the MVP, just in front of Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+800), who has won the award three times in his Hall of Fame career.
Allen is also the second favorite to lead the league in passing touchdowns at +600, right behind Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers (+550).
The Bills’ quarterback is currently +1200 to lead the NFL in passing yards, behind Herbert (+650), Brady (+800), Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs (+800), Derek Carr of the Las Vegas Raiders (+1000) and Matthew Stafford of the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams (+1000).
And then there’s the ultimate prize: the Super Bowl. The Bills are favorite to win Super Bowl 57, sitting at +600, according to DraftKings.
The lofty expectations increase each day, as we’re just over three weeks away from the opener between the Bills and Rams on Sept. 8.
For Allen to achieve any of these things, he obviously must take care of business each game, one snap, one throw, one series at a time.
Which leads us to the wager of Allen’s regular-season, passing-yardage total, which sits at Over/Under, 4,400.5 yards – right at where he finished last season. His odds are -120 for the Under; and +100 for the Over.
While a lot of it comes down to the 6-foot-5, 230-pound 26-year-old, there are other factors at play to reaching these milestones, namely Allen’s supporting cast. FrontPageBets takes a look.
The frontrunners for most receiving yards by a wideout this year are Justin Jefferson of the Vikings and Cooper Kupp of the Rams.
The Bills’ offense was one of the best in the NFL last season; and with Allen at the helm – plus some offseason additions – the sky is the limit.
Buffalo was third in the NFL in scoring offense (28.4 points per game) in 2021 to go along with Allen’s ninth-best passing-yardage total.
FrontPageBets takes a look at the odds-on favorites to throw the most regular-season TD passes in the NFL.
Stefon Diggs is Allen’s go-to guy, hands down. Diggs became the second receiver in Buffalo franchise history to record consecutive 1,000-yards season, as he grabbed 103 passes last year for 1,225 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Opposite of Diggs, the Bills are looking for Gabriel Davis to step up as the No. 2 receiver. So far in training camp, Davis, a fourth round pick out of UCF in 2020, has been impressive, hoping to build off of that 201-yard, NFL playoff record, four-touchdown-catch performance in the Bills’ playoff loss to Kansas City last year.
Read more on the Bills at The Buffalo News.
In the offseason, Buffalo added more weapons. Tight end O.J. Howard was picked up from the Buccaneers. Howard, a 6-foot-6, 250-pound athlete out of Alabama, enters his sixth year in the league, averaging 14.6 yards per catch.
Then there’s veteran Jamison Crowder, who came over from the New York Jets, where he caught 51 passes for 447 yards and two TDs. In the draft, the Bills picked up Khalil Shakir, who caught 77 passes for 1,117 yards and seven touchdowns last year at Boise State.
The running backs are involved in Buffalo’s passing offense as well, as four running backs contributed 73 receptions, 520 yards and four touchdowns. Devin Singletary, who led the team in rushing with 870 yards and seven touchdowns, was also the top pass-catching back, snagging 40 catches for 228 yards and a score.
Add all that up, and it’s hard to argue Allen won’t hit the over this season, among other milestones.
FrontPageBets sizes up each NFL division with training camp on the horizon.
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Mike Szvetitz is the General Manager and Content Director for FrontPageBets.com. Szvetitz is a 22-year veteran reporter and editor, including serving 17 years as a sports editor in Florida, Alabama and Virginia, covering everything from preps to pros. His "View From The Lazy Boy" column won multiple state and national awards. He can be reached at mszvetitz@timesdispatch.com.
