Kenny Pickett Rookie of the Year Odds: Why You Should Consider Betting Him as a Longshot
By Josh Yourish
An NFL Draft with just one quarterback taken in the first round isn’t just an anomaly in the modern NFL, but it also makes for a wide open Offensive Rookie of the Year race.
Kenny Pickett has never been the favorite and is currently seventh in betting odds, but the 5-7 Pittsburgh Steelers still have a roadmap to the postseason. If Pickett can lead his team to 10-7 or 9-8 with a strong close to the season, he could end up with a spot in the postseason and the Rookie of the Year trophy on his mantle.
Offensive Rookie of the Year Odds
The six players ahead of Pickett are all running backs and wide receivers, but if a rookie quarterback leads his team to the playoffs, then he will always be near the top of the OROY voting at the end of the year.
There are only 13 quarterbacks in league history to start double-digit games and lead their team to the postseason in their rookie year. Mac Jones did it last year, but finished second in OROY voting to Ja'Marr Chase. Dak Prescott was the other most recent quarterback to accomplish the feat and he took home the award in 2016.
The current favorite, Kenneth Walker III, injured his ankle last week and could end up missing games for Seattle. He could fall back in the race while the three wide receivers and two other running backs with shorter odds than Pickett struggle to separate themselves. This is all leaving the door for the longshot quarterback who has thrown for 1,797, 4 touchdowns and 8 interceptions in his nine NFL games. He also has three rushing touchdowns and has not turned the ball over in four straight games, the Steelers have won three of them.
Pickett’s stats will need to improve for him to be in consideration, but he has played much better the past few weeks and the schedule is continuing to soften for Pittsburgh. The Steelers play Baltimore - the Tyler Huntley version - this week, then Carolina, Las Vegas, Baltimore again and Cleveland. It’ll be difficult for the Steelers to run the table, but with that schedule and a hurt Lamar Jackson, it’s possible.
If they sneak into the playoffs or end with a winning record Pickett is a good bet to win ROY in an otherwise unremarkable rookie class.
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