Odds Makers Like Antonio Brown to Lead NFL Wide Receivers in Yardage

The NFL season is just over two weeks away from its September 6 opening kickoff. Sportsbooks are updating futures boards for who will lead the league in receiving yards during the 2018 regular season. The favorite is Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown currently at +225 on most sportsbooks.

The next four to round out the top five are Julio Jones (+400), DeAndre Hopkins (+900), Odell Beckham Jr. (+1000) and Michael Thomas (+1400).

Brown led the NFL last season despite missing two games due to injury. The Pittsburgh standout has been one of the most consistent and dangerous wide receivers in the league over the past five seasons averaging 1,569.5 yards per season and finishing twice as the leading receiver in yardage.

Only twice in his NFL career has Antonio Brown not reached 1,000 yards in a season. The first was his rookie season and the second was his third year due to suffering an injury to an ankle. This season his total may not be as high due to the Steelers second wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster emerging as one of the young talents in the league.

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Last season in 14 games, Smith-Schuster accumulated 917 receiving yards, despite starting just seven of the 14 game he played in.

Julio Jones has the second best odds but the Atlanta Falcons’ wide out is prone to injuries. The injuries he suffers do not always keep him from playing each week, but tend to slow the talented wide receiver down.

DeAndre Hopkins has a healthy quarterback in Deshaun Watson to throw him the ball this season which makes him a popular choice amongst bettors. Last season in 15 games Hopkins had 1,378 yards despite Watson going down with a knee injury early in the season and a handful of different quarterbacks filling in.

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New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is expected to have another strong season as long as he can avoid injury. The Giants offense is expected to be much better with the addition of running back Saquon Barkley. If Barkley is able to establish a strong running game, much the way Le’Veon Bell does with the Steelers, it could help the Giants passing game by giving Eli Manning more time to find Beckham Jr. downfield.

Michael Thomas will be New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees’ favorite target in 2018. The Saints offense has become more than just Brees with the addition of running backs Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara, but Thomas will be an important piece of that offense in 2018. Last season Thomas finished with 1,245 receiving yards.