
Cam Ward, Ashton Jeanty have best odds for offensive ROY
With the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft complete, sportsbooks released their initial Rookie of the Year odds on the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward and Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty are consensus co-favorites to win AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, showing identical odds at Caesars (+300) and DraftKings (+200); FanDuel gives Ward a slight advantage over Jeanty, with +330 and +340 odds, respectively.
Next comes two-way superstar Travis Hunter, who ended up with the Jacksonville Jaguars following a blockbuster trade on Thursday night. Some initial media reports indicate that Hunter may play more wide receiver than cornerback, at least to begin his pro career, so sportsbooks are handicapping him anywhere between +600 and +750 to win OROY, just ahead of fellow receiver Tetairoa McMillan of the Carolina Panthers.
Hunter is also lurking near the top of the odds board for Defensive Rookie of the Year, though there’s less consensus there, as he ranks third at DraftKings (+850), but fifth at both Caesars and FanDuel (+1000). Were he to win both awards, it would be a first in NFL history and the fifth time since 1967 that a player — or more usually, players — from the same team won both Rookies of the Year in the same season.
New York Giants edge Abdul Carter, the draft’s No. 3 overall selection, is the consensus favorite to win DROY, clocking in between +225 and +250 across the sportsbook marketplace. Atlanta Falcons linebacker Jalon Walker is the consensus second-favorite with a range of +550 to +650 odds.
Neither of 2024’s consensus opening favorites went on to win their respective awards: Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels (+500) took OROY over Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams (+130), while Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jared Verse (+800) won over both Minnesota Vikings LB Dallas Turner and Indianapolis Colts defensive end Laiatu Latu (both +400).
Daniels and Verse were both first round picks, but there could ultimately be value to be found in the market as the draft enters its second day. Since 2009, the longest odds winner of Offensive Rookie of the year was New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara, a third-round pick, who was a +5000 underdog ahead of the 2017 season. Over the same time period, 2016 fourth-rounder Dak Prescott and 2018 second-rounder Shaquille Leonard were the latest-drafted players to win the awards.
It also remains to be seen when Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders will hear his name called, but his odds to win OROY are slim now that he’s falling in the draft, showing anywhere between +2000 and +2800 on odds boards; FanDuel had initially listed him at +1100 on Thursday night, but lengthened as teams continued to pass on selecting him.