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NFL over/under predictions: 32 picks for fantasy and win totals
Will the defending Super Bowl champs New England Patriots eclipse 11 wins in 2019? Or, will Arizona Cardinals rookie quarterback Kyler Murray pass for more than 2,940 yards in coach Kliff Kingsbury's offense?
Caesars Sportsbook supplied ESPN with odds for 32 over/unders for the 2019 season. We then had NFL Nation reporters provide their insights and pick a side. These hypothetical over/unders have been updated as of June 15, 2019.
NFC EAST
Dallas Cowboys - Over/under 6.5 touchdowns for wide receiver Amari Cooper?
New York Giants - Over/under 5.5 starts for rookie quarterback Daniel Jones?
Philadelphia Eagles - Over/under 3,520 passing yards for quarterback Carson Wentz?
Washington Redskins - Over/under 8.5 starts for rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins?
NFC NORTH
Chicago Bears - Over/under 9.5 sacks for Khalil Mack?
Detroit Lions - Over/under 908.5 rushing yards for Kerryon Johnson?
Green Bay Packers - Over/under nine wins for the Packers?
Minnesota Vikings - Over/under 15.5 total turnovers for quarterback Kirk Cousins?
NFC SOUTH
Atlanta Falcons - Over/under 8.5 interceptions for quarterback Matt Ryan?
Carolina Panthers - Over/under 1,720 rushing and receiving yards for Christian McCaffrey?
New Orleans Saints - Over/under 3,840 passing yards for quarterback Drew Brees?
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Over/under 14.5 starts for quarterback Jameis Winston?
NFC WEST
Arizona Cardinals - Over/under 2,940 passing yards for rookie quarterback Kyler Murray?
Los Angeles Rams - Over/under 10.5 wins for the Rams?
San Francisco 49ers - Over/under eight wins for the 49ers?
Seattle Seahawks - Over/under 880.5 receiving yards for the Seahawks' leading receiver?
NFL over/under predictions: 32 picks for fantasy and win totals
Will the defending Super Bowl champs New England Patriots eclipse 11 wins in 2019? Or, will Arizona Cardinals rookie quarterback Kyler Murray pass for more than 2,940 yards in coach Kliff Kingsbury's offense?
Caesars Sportsbook supplied ESPN with odds for 32 over/unders for the 2019 season. We then had NFL Nation reporters provide their insights and pick a side. These hypothetical over/unders have been updated as of June 15, 2019.
NFC EAST
Dallas Cowboys - Over/under 6.5 touchdowns for wide receiver Amari Cooper?
Over. Cooper led the Cowboys in touchdown catches last season with six and played in only nine games. He will be the focal point of the offense and his connection with a full offseason of work with quarterback Dak Prescott appears to have grown even more. He is moving all over the formation and is going in motion more. The Cowboys plan to get him the ball a ton of different ways. He might not be as dynamic in terms of touchdowns as Dez Bryant was from 2012 through 2014, but he will have more than 6.5 touchdowns in 2019. If he doesn't, then something went badly for the Cowboys. -- Todd Archer
New York Giants - Over/under 5.5 starts for rookie quarterback Daniel Jones?
Under. It's hard to imagine the Giants making the switch from veteran Eli Manning to Jones unless they are out of the playoff picture. And this year the early season schedule isn't anywhere near as daunting, so Jones probably will pick up more from the sideline in Year 1. -- Jordan Raanan
Philadelphia Eagles - Over/under 3,520 passing yards for quarterback Carson Wentz?
Over. Wentz was on pace for over 4,000 yards in each of the past two seasons before being sidelined by injuries. Really, this is a question about whether he's going to stay on the field for 13-plus games this season. The bet here is that he does. He looks as healthy as we've seen him since 2017, has made adjustments to his diet and workout regimen, and appears wiser in terms of play approach after suffering season-ending injuries in back-to-back seasons. -- Tim McManus
Washington Redskins - Over/under 8.5 starts for rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins?
Over. Barely. In an ideal world, the Redskins would take the under -- mainly because, while they see the talent, they also see the big steps he still must take. However, he's not playing behind a proven starter in Alex Smith. Rather, the Redskins have Colt McCoy, who hasn't started more than four games in a season since 2011 (he has been hurt multiple times in five seasons with Washington). They also have Case Keenum, who has started 30 games the past two years combined but is with his third team in three years. He's also learning a new offense. These factors, plus a difficult early schedule could put the Redskins in an early hole -- and produce pressure to play the more-talented youngster. -- John Keim
NFC NORTH
Chicago Bears - Over/under 9.5 sacks for Khalil Mack?
Over. Mack will always earn the most attention from opposing offenses, but he's borderline unstoppable. Plus, Mack has the luxury of having an entire offseason and training camp with the Bears. Last season, Mack literally showed up Week 1 and still dominated. Mack's second year in a Bears' uniform is expected to be even better. -- Jeff Dickerson
Detroit Lions - Over/under 908.5 rushing yards for Kerryon Johnson?
Over. There are two concerns here when it comes to Johnson hitting that number and they have nothing to do with his talent. The first is how the Lions are going to use their running backs. Detroit's coaches have already shown they don't necessarily want to make Johnson a 25-to-30 carry per game back, which means he'll be splitting carries with someone -- probably C.J. Anderson or Zach Zenner. He also figures to come off the field on some third downs in favor of Theo Riddick. He would need 250 carries (a little over 15 per game) and average 4.0 yards per carry to hit 1,000 yards this season. It's possible, but the Lions' running back usage along with Johnson being available for 16 games would be the two concerns. He should have a good season, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him around 1,500-1,600 total yards from scrimmage. -- Michael Rothstein
Green Bay Packers - Over/under nine wins for the Packers?
Push. Mike McCarthy won eight games in his first season as head coach (2006) and had to win his last four to do it. Ray Rhodes won eight games in his first (and only) season (1999). Mike Holmgren (1992) and Mike Sherman (2000) each won nine. All four had Brett Favre as their quarterback. Yes, Matt LaFleur has Aaron Rodgers, but his is a completely new offensive system and it's going to take time for things to come together. This has 9-7 written all over it. -- Rob Demovsky
Minnesota Vikings - Over/under 15.5 total turnovers for quarterback Kirk Cousins?
Over. Cousins led all QBs in 2018 in fumbles lost (seven) and threw 10 interceptions in his first season as a Viking, a figure he has hovered around each season as a full-time starter since 2015. Year 2 should yield better results for Cousins in Minnesota with his familiarity in a system tailored to his strengths, along with a reworked offensive line to protect him. But timing, pocket presence and sensing the pass rush are things the QB is solely responsible for -- things that have often resulted in him turning the ball over. Eight years into his NFL career, it might be difficult for Cousins to break some of the habits that have haunted him. Hopefully he can make up for some of these flaws with other areas of his game. -- Courtney Cronin
NFC SOUTH
Atlanta Falcons - Over/under 8.5 interceptions for quarterback Matt Ryan?
Over. This is not a knock on Ryan, either. He's likely to have more pass attempts with Dirk Koetter back as his offensive coordinator, which means more chances to get picked. When Koetter was the O-coordinator from 2012 to 2014, Ryan averaged 631 pass attempts and 15 interceptions per season. Ryan still could throw under 10 interceptions coming off a season where he threw only seven in 608 attempts. -- Vaughn McClure
Carolina Panthers - Over/under 1,720 rushing and receiving yards for Christian McCaffrey?
Over. The Panthers would like to get McCaffrey a break from taking 91.3% of the snaps as he did last season. In the same breath, they believe he can become the third player in NFL history to have 1,000 yards receiving and rushing in the same season. McCaffrey says he believes he can do that, too. He has worked to get stronger and faster during the offseason to improve yards after contact and inside running. He's integral to everything the Panthers do offensively. -- David Newton
New Orleans Saints - Over/under 3,840 passing yards for quarterback Drew Brees?
Over. This bet really depends on whether you're confident Brees will start at least 15 games at age 40. But if he plays a full season, he should hit this mark. The NFL's all-time passing yardage leader no longer throws for 5,000 yards every season (especially since the Saints have been playing with leads over the past two seasons instead of playing catch-up). But even though his yardage numbers have dropped considerably, he still threw for 4,334 yards in 2017 and 3,992 in only 15 games played in 2018. -- Mike Triplett
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Over/under 14.5 starts for quarterback Jameis Winston?
Over. Before last season's three-game suspension and the three games he missed because of an injury in 2017, Winston started 45 consecutive games (2014 at Florida State, 2015-2016 in the NFL). The one issue he could run into is the fact the Bucs didn't make any significant upgrades to their offensive line and coach Bruce Arians is known for utilizing an empty backfield and attacking deep downfield, meaning there's no running back to pick up an extra blitzer, often subjecting the quarterback to more hits. -- Jenna Laine
NFC WEST
Arizona Cardinals - Over/under 2,940 passing yards for rookie quarterback Kyler Murray?
Over. If Kliff Kingsbury's offense is even half of what we expect it to be, then Murray should light up the stat sheet. The one benefit Murray will have over his predecessor, Josh Rosen, is that Murray enters a stable offensive philosophy whereas Rosen, well, didn't. Murray's arm strength has been undervalued, running back David Johnson said, so the expectation is that Murray, who will fit seamlessly into Kingsbury's Air Raid scheme, will take advantage of the spread passing system that he has played in since he was in eighth grade, which will lead to a lot of passing yards. -- Josh Weinfuss
Los Angeles Rams - Over/under 10.5 wins for the Rams?
Under. The Rams remain a Super Bowl contender and can clinch a division title for a third consecutive season. However, their win total could be down as they play in an improved NFC West and they will travel to the East Coast three times. Also, the Rams play a game in London, quarterback Jared Goff will operate behind an offensive line that will feature two first-time starters, and questions remain about the status of running back Todd Gurley and his left knee. -- Lindsey Thiry
San Francisco 49ers - Over/under eight wins for the 49ers?
Push. The Niners have so many questions, be it key players returning from injury, secondary issues, wide receiver production and more, that it makes predicting an outcome to this season exceedingly difficult. If quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo bounces back and plays to his potential, it could offset anything else that might not come through, and if San Francisco gets more positive answers than expected, it could hit the over. The same is true if it gets more negative responses and the under. For now, at least, somewhere in the middle feels right and it doesn't get any more in the middle than a .500 record. -- Nick Wagoner
Seattle Seahawks - Over/under 880.5 receiving yards for the Seahawks' leading receiver?
Over. But it could be close. Because the Seahawks are one of the most run-heavy offenses in the NFL, the only way Tyler Lockett will sniff 1,000 receiving yards is if he makes hay on deep play-action passes the way he did in 2018 while averaging a career-best 16.9 yards per catch. He'll have to do that without Doug Baldwin commanding attention from the defense. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer will need to move Lockett around to create favorable matchups, and Lockett will need others such as rookie DK Metcalf to give opposing defenses someone else to worry about. -- Brady Henderson