NFL futures bets: Offensive Player of the Year odds and pick

One factor worth monitoring is the status of WR Tee Higgins on the team. As a Super Bowl contender, it may be unlikely for Cincinnati to move such a pivotal piece, but Higgins is also in the last year of his rookie contract, and with massive contracts looming for Burrow and Chase, it’s hard to foresee Cincinnati being able to retain Higgins.

Should they look to maximize his worth with a long-term view, that would open up a lot more volume and opportunity for Chase, giving him the role needed to put up the stats needed here.

Stefon Diggs: +2000

We and everyone else are enamored by the AFC’s potential, with sleeper teams like the Chargers, Jaguars, Jets, Dolphins and Ravens lurking behind the established powers from the past few seasons. All the buzz of those teams has us excited for the year’s potential parity, but don’t be surprised if it’s more of the same in the AFC, with the Chiefs, Bengals and Bills the most likely Super Bowl participants out of the conference.

With that, we come to Stefon Diggs of Buffalo. We thought the Bills would address the WR position in the draft, and perhaps they still do via trade, but as it stands, the receiver room is looking to be dominated by Diggs. Gabe Davis had flashes but lacked consistency, and beyond that, there isn’t yet a reliable outside receiver to feel good about.

Diggs has averaged 161.3 targets per season since joining the Bills three years ago, yielding averages of 112.6 catches, 1396.3 yards and 9.7 touchdowns per year. The 29-year old Diggs remains one of the league’s best wide receivers, and with elite volume surely coming his way again, it’s not out of the picture for us to see Diggs’s best statistical season yet.

Josh Allen and Buffalo need to get over the hump. Anything other than a Super Bowl berth at minimum has to be viewed as a disappointment at this point, and if the offense clicks on all cylinders, thanks in no small part to the contributions of Diggs, one has to consider him a front-runner for the award come December.

Tomorrow, we’ll touch on the the Defensive Player of the Year odds.