The 5 Frontrunners to Win Offensive Rookie of the Year | Week 12

The NFL’s 2024 regular season has seven weeks remaining, and the Detroit Lions + Kansas City Chiefs lead the way per Super Bowl projections.

The 5 Frontrunners to Win Offensive Rookie of the Year | Week 12

Lamar Jackson is the frontrunner to win MVP — again — and men like Ja’Marr Chase and Derrick Henry are battling to win Offensive Player of the Year award, for example.

And then there are the rookies. Several other awards, of course, are up for grabs, and heading into Week 12, 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. Caleb Williams (QB)

Team: Chicago Bears
Odds to Win OROY: +4000
2024 PFF Score to Date: 65.0

Here’s the Caleb Williams statistic to know:

Caleb Williams,
EPA+CPOE,
NFL Ranking:

Week 1-4: 28th
Week 5-6: 1st
Week 7-11: 29th

This is the definition of a rookie rollercoaster. My, oh my.

4. Brock Bowers (TE)

Team: Las Vegas Raiders
Odds to Win OROY: +3000
2024 PFF Score to Date: 88.3

If voters didn’t lean so heavily on awards as quarterback trophies, Bowers would earn more attention.

Bower is on pace for 119 receptions, 1,200 receiving yards, and 5 touchdowns — with Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell flinging the rock. The guy is just incredible, and all the fancy scouting reports about his upside and immediate impact have been vindicated.

Acquire Bowers in Dynasty fantasy leagues if you can. He’s the real deal.

3. Drake Maye (QB)

Team: New England Patriots
Odds to Win OROY: +2500
2024 PFF Score to Date: 71.5

Drake Maye took over for Jacoby Brissett about a month ago, and optimism surrounding the Patriots skyrocketed with the snap of two fingers.

New England probably played it right by letting Brissett take the reins to start the season, but Maye has played quite competently out of the gate. He’ll continue to take his lumps on a losing team, but Patriots fans should be elated about the future.

2. Bo Nix (QB)

Team: Denver Broncos
Odds to Win OROY: +300
2024 PFF Score to Date: 71.0

Have a look at this progression:

Bo Nix,
EPA+CPOE,
NFL Ranking:

Week 1-6: 31st
Week 7-11: 9th

It doesn’t always look pretty by traditional quarterbacks’ standards, but Nix is growing inside Sean Payton’s system. And for now, that’s all that really matters.

1. Jayden Daniels (QB)

Team: Washington Commanders
Odds to Win OROY: -400
2024 PFF Score to Date: 85.8

Daniels is on pace for 3,613 passing yards, 744 rushing yards, and 21 touchdowns.

He and head coach Dan Quinn have dragged the Commanders out of decades of doldrums, installing a formula that will probably have Washington football on Wildcard Weekend.

Daniels is the runaway frontrunner to win OROY.

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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.