Hometown Boy Pickett Drafted by Steelers at 20th Overall; Is +550 Favorite in NFL OROY Odds

• Pitt QB Kenny Pickett, selected 20th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Thursday, April 28 NFL Draft, is the +550 chalk in the NFL OROY odds
• USC wide Receiver Drake London was the first offensive player off the board, going eighth overall to the Atlanta Falcons
• Both London and Ohio State’s Garrett Wilson, who went 10th to the New York Jets, are at +700 in the NFL OROY odds

The last two NFL Draft classes were dominated by quarterbacks. It took 20 picks for a QB to come off the board at this year’s draft but it instantly made Kenny Pickett the betting favorite in the 2022 NFL OROY odds.

Pitt QB Pickett went to the hometown Pittsburgh Steelers, where he’ll compete with Mason Rudolph and Mitch Trubisky to replace the retired Ben Roethlisberger as the team’s starting QB. Both of Pittsburgh’s Super Bowl-winning QBs – Roethlisberger and Terry Bradshaw – were first-round draft picks.

Overall though in the 2022 NFL Draft odds in terms of skill players on the offensive side of ball, this is the year of the wide receiver.

The first six offensive skill players off the board were wideouts. USC’s Drake London went eighth overall to the Atlanta Falcons. Two picks later, the New York Jets tabbed Ohio State’s Garrett Wilson.

Both players are currently at +700  to win the NFL OROY. QBs Pickett and Malik Willis of Liberty were the top players in this betting market entering the draft. Willis remains the second betting choice  at +600.

2022 NFL OROY of the Year Odds

Odds as of April 28th at FanDuel Sportsbook

Alabama’s Jameson Williams, who went 12th overall to the Detroit Lions and Arkansas WR Tryelon Burks, selected 18th by the Tennessee Titans, are also at +700. Iowa State’s Breece Hall and Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker III are the running backs with the shortest odds at +1000.

Running backs have won NFL OROY twice over the past six seasons. However, it was a wide receiver, Ja’Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals, who ran off with the honor in 2021.

Receiving Plenty of Attention

There’  was plenty of speculation that NFL teams were looking to trade up in the draft order to get their hands on one of the top wide receiver prospects available in this year’s class. the Lions did just that. they dealt with NFC North rivals the Minnesota Vikings, moving up 20 spots to tab Williams.

Drake curse who???

Drake cashes his $100K bet on Drake London 🔥 pic.twitter.com/IOHAw29W8L

— br_betting (@br_betting) April 29, 2022

Ohio State’s Chris Olave, who went 11th overall to the New Orleans Saints, is at +1000.

Wideouts a Bigger Factor Than In Past Years

Prior to Chase, Odell Beckham Jr with the 2014 New York Giants was the previous wideout to win NFL OROY. Chase was the third wide receiver to earn the honor since 2009 and only the fifth since 1993.

Only once have wide receivers been named NFL OROY in successive seasons. That was Louis Lipps of the Pittsburgh Steelers (1984) and Eddie Brown of the Bengals (1985).

Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave and Jameson Williams – former teammates at Ohio State – just went 10th, 11th and 12th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft.

A LOADED WR room. pic.twitter.com/a5Zm7QauQR

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) April 29, 2022

However, changes in the game that are opening up more and more to the passing game are putting young receivers into roles of prominence once almost exclusively reserved for rookie running backs.

Though they didn’t win the award, Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings and Chase Claypool of the Pittsburgh Steelers were prominent contenders for NFL OROY in 2020.

NFL ROY Betting Trends

Each of the last four winners of the NFL OROY were selected among the top six choices on draft day.

The first QB is off the board. The Steelers select QB Kenny Pickett 20th overall, keeping him in Pittsburgh. #HereWeGo #FPC #NFL #NFLTwitter #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/s9xkcgVM2M

— Full Press NFL (@FullPressNFL) April 29, 2022

Two of them finished among the top four in the Heisman Trophy voting and one was part of a national championship squad during their final year of college ball.