Ja’Marr Chase no longer oddsmakers favorite to win OROTY
A few weeks ago it felt like a foregone conclusion that Ja’Marr Chase would be the Offensive Rookie of the Year. After all, he started the season off on a tear for the Cincinnati Bengals and was doing things we typically don’t see rookie receivers do.
After three quiet games, however, and the resurgence of Mac Jones and the Patriots, the Bengals receiver has seen his odds fall to second-best.
WynnBET has given Jones +104 odds to win Offensive Rookie of the Year while Chase is sitting with +125 odds. This is ridiculous and Bengals fans have every reason to be frustrated. At the same time, however, it’s not totally surprising that Jones has currently passed Chase in the race.
First and foremost, Jones is a quarterback while Chase is a wide receiver. Jones benefits from playing the most important position in football. Quarterbacks are going to get awards over wide receiver 10 times out of 10.
Take last year for example. Justin Jefferson had a sensational rookie season, hauling in 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns. He looked to be the obvious OROTY when the season was all said and done but Justin Herbert swept in and won the title despite not playing in all 16 games.
Ja’Marr Chase has been passed by Mac Jones in OROTY sweepstakes
Another reason Jones is now the favorite is that the Patriots have turned things around and currently lead their division with a 7-4 record. Boston is also a bigger market and while that shouldn’t factor in, it does, unfortunately.
Chase has also had three quiet games (at least for him). After his explosive game in Baltimore in Week 7 when he went for over 200 yards receiving, Chase has yet to record more than 50 yards in a game. He has found the end zone in two of those three games, however, so it’s not like he isn’t contributing to the offense.
While this seems unfair, quarterbacks win awards over wide receivers when push comes to shove. Jones hasn’t been the reason for the Patriots’ turnaround but he plays the most important position and at the end of the day, that’s all the NFL cares about.
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Hopefully Chase balls out for the rest of the season and Jones has some rough games down the stretch because we all know who the frontrunner for OROTY should be and it isn’t Mac Jones.