Want to bet Deebo Samuel wins NFL Rookie of the Year? He’s among 10 with best odds
Deebo Samuel might be in better position to compete for NFL Rookie of the Year than his draft spot might indicate.
He didn’t have to wait long on the second day of the NFL draft to be taken No. 36 overall by the San Francisco 49ers. According to oddsmaker BetOnline.AG, he’ll be among the 10 players with the best chance at the award.
He’s tied for 8th with 16/1 odds. The top two are quarterbacks Kyler Murray (5/2) and Dwayne Haskins (7/1). Samuel also has the third-best odds to lead rookies in receiver behind Marquise Brown and N’Keal Harry
Samuel steps into a favorable spot as San Francisco didn’t have a wide receiver with more than 500 yards last season. They do have a tight end that went to the Pro Bowl with more than 1,370 yards.
“You just turn this guy’s game tape on and you see, I think one of the elite competitors in college football this year,” San Francisco general manager John Lynch said. “You’re going to have to fight him. He’s going to fight for yards. I think that type of play, we’ve talked about it before, is contagious.”
In his career, Samuel caught 148 passes for 2,076 yards and 16 touchdowns, capped by a 62-catch, 882-yard, 11-touchdown senior season. He started that last campaign slowly, following a junior year undercut by several injuries, but rallied into form late in the year.
He also ran for seven touchdowns, scored another recovering a fumble on a punt and averaged 29 yard per kick return for his career, scoring four times.
The last wide receiver to win Rookie of the Year was Odell Beckham Jr. with the New York Giants after he had 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns on 91 receptions. Running backs have won the award three of the past four years, and only nine receivers have even won it.
The top group by the odds (from BetOnline.AG):
Kyler Murray 5/2
Dwayne Haskins 7/1
Josh Jacobs 9/1
Marquise “Hollywood” Brown 10/1
Mecole Hardman 10/1
Drew Lock 12/1
T.J. Hockenson 12/1
Deebo Samuel 16/1
N’Keal Harry 16/1
Daniel Jones 18/1
A.J. Brown 20/1
D.K. Metcalf 20/1
Miles Sanders 20/1
Noah Fant 20/1
Parris Campbell 20/1
JJ Arcega-Whiteside 25/1
Damien Harris 33/1
Darrell Henderson 33/1
Irv Smith Jr. 33/1
Will Grier 50/1