Week 1 of the NFL Preseason OFFICIALLY gets underway tonight! It’s hard to believe that we’re only 28 days from the Chiefs and Ravens kicking off the season at Arrowhead Stadium. That means it’s time to look at more Futures action, and to determine what players and teams we can bet on to profit ahead of the season!
In prior articles, we discussed season win totals that we believe are ripe for the taking. Now, we’re going to look at a singular player that may be poised for a truly breakout season!
George Pickens Over 925.5 Total Receiving Yards (FanDuel -112)
There are a few reasons to think Pickens is poised for his best season yet.
George Pickens enters his 3rd NFL season after coming off a season where he totaled over 1,100 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns. He did this despite playing with perhaps the worst quarterback room in the entire sport. Now, after the Steelers traded away former 1st round pick Kenny Pickett, they added both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. While it’s still to be determined which of those QBs is under center for Week 1, both of them are upgrades over Kenny Pickett, Mitchell Trubisky.
What’s even better is that Pickens showed a consistent ability to make big plays in an offense that often struggled to move the ball. He averaged over 18 yards per catch last year! That is important for a team that’s still likely to be a run first operation and may not have elite passing numbers. He also has shown himself to be a durable player, playing 17 games in each of hid first two seasons. In order to go Over this number and finish with 926 receiving yards, he only needs to average 55 yards receiving per game! With his big play ability that’s not a lot to ask for.
Of course, health is going to play an outsized role in this bet. A risk with playing the Over in season long Futures is that injuries don’t void the bet, so if he misses even a few games it’ll be a challenge for Pickens to hit this number. However, if he can stay on the field, he’s proven he can be an elite playmaker. The Steelers don’t have a ton of options on the outside, so the new quarterbacks may often turn back to the best of the bunch to try and generate that offense!