The race is still pretty tight
The New England Patriots may have lost their Week 1 contest against the Miami Dolphins, but rookie quarterback Mac Jones made quite the impression. First, it was fans on Twitter. Then, it was teammates in press conferences and NFL executives in anonymous interviews.
Now that the dust has settled following the first week of the NFL season, it’s sportsbooks.
Jones is a +400 favorite to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, via DraftKings. A $100 bet would win $400 if Jones comes away with the hardware.
The Alabama product has just been climbing up betting boards, which absolutely was to be expected after the Patriots cut Cam Newton. Jones was at 10-to-1 prior to the move that made him the starter, and he subsequently was taken off the board at virtually every major sportsbook.
However, Circa Sports kept him on the books at +350, making him co-favorites with Jacksonville Jaguars rookie and No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence.
DraftKings currently has Lawrence right behind Jones at 5-to-1.
That checks out after Week 1. Jones connected on 29 of his 39 passes on Sunday, collecting 281 yards with one touchdown and zero interceptions. Lawrence, meanwhile, was 28-of-51 with 332 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions as the Jaguars were defeated by the Houston Texans, 37-21.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, as there’s still plenty of football left to play. But this seems like it could get interesting down the stretch.