The 5 Frontrunners to Win Offensive Rookie of the Year | Week 1

The NFL regular season kicks off in eight days with a showdown between the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.

The 5 Frontrunners to Win Offensive Rookie of the Year | Week 1

Overall in 2024, the Chiefs are favored to win the Super Bowl (+550), which would make that franchise the first in NFL history to win a chip thrice consecutively. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, several other awards will be up for grabs, and heading into Week 1, these are the league’s frontrunners to win Offensive Rookie of the Year (OROY), according to sportsbooks, ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = leader to win OROY)

5. Drake Maye (QB)

Team: New England Patriots
Odds to Win OROY: +1300

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo has talked slyly about his starting quarterback decision, a choice between veteran Jacoby Brissett and the rookie Maye. That Mayo is even entertaining Maye for Week 1 is an accomplishment for the North Carolina alumnus. Per draft pundits ‘ scouting reports, he was supposed to watch and learn for a year. Maye said naw.

Maye’s supporting cast — offensive line and pass catchers — are pretty awful by comparative NFL standards, so his battle for OROY is uphill.

4. Bo Nix (QB)

Team: Denver Broncos
Odds to Win OROY: +1000

Don’t look now, but Nix won the QB1 job outright, outlasting Jarrett Stidham and Zack Wilson. His skillset may be perfect for Sean Payton’s fun-size offense, and the scouting intel that questioned Nix’s ability to fling the ball downfield may be moot. Who cares if Nix can’t launch the ball downfield if his head coach doesn’t call for it?

Nix’s ascension up the OROY odds list is already pretty nifty.

3. Marvin Harrison (WR)

Team: Arizona Cardinals
Odds to Win OROY: +650

The only non-quarterback on the list, Harrison Jr. is guaranteed to be productive in the NFL, if not a sure-fire star right away. Kyler Murray should have no problem delivering the rock, and Harrison Jr. is an advantageous spot in that offense.

He’s also Arizona’s bellcow WR1 by default, meaning when Murray’s passing yards go somewhere, well, they’ll have to land in Harrison Jr.’s breadbasket. Award voters, though, don’t love nominating non-quarterbacks for OROY; Justin Jefferson can attest.

 

2. Jayden Daniels (QB)

Team: Washington Commanders
Odds to Win OROY: +500

The Commanders quietly surrounded Daniels with the offensive and defensive tools to win now, and not many national pundits acknowledge it. Unlike Maye, for example, Daniels was considered game-ready during the draft’s build-up, and Daniels hasn’t disappointed. He’s the Commanders’ QB1.

Terry McLaurin, Luke McCaffrey, Noah Brown, Dyami Brown, and Zach Ertz will help Daniels out. It’s a decent, good-not-great group.

1. Caleb Williams (QB)

Team: Chicago Bears
Odds to Win OROY: +135

The Bears are decades overdue for an organically drafted quarterback to pan out, and Chicago fans wholeheartedly believe Williams can be “the guy.” He looked the part in the preseason, dazzling onlookers with a few sweet highlight transactions.

And Williams has even better weaponry than Daniels — Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, D.J. Moore, and Cole Kmet can tell you all about it.

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Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His NFL obsession dates back to 1989. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL. 

All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.