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Game Of Throws: Will Hunter Win OROY, DROY, neither, or both?
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There are 32 teams in the National Football League.
31 of them are more popular bets to win the Super Bowl than the Jacksonville Jaguars at FanDuel.
Nobody is buying Jacksonville at +7000 to win it all.
However, the Jaguars play in the AFC South division.
So, when it comes to their odds to make the playoffs, Jacksonville is currently +168 to make it to the dance.
That number would be longer if they weren’t the second choice to win the AFC South at +290.
The Jaguars are projected to have one of the easier schedules in the NFL once again this season, which shouldn’t be a surprise considering their division.
They also have a new head coach in Liam Coen, who was brought in to develop quarterback Trevor Lawrence and an offence that has flashed but lacked consistency.
Coen is considered one of the rising stars in the coaching ranks after shining in one season as the offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Ben Johnson of the Chicago Bears (+650) and Mike Vrabel of the New England Patriots (+750) are the only head coaches with shorter odds to win AP NFL Coach of the Year than Coen at +1000.
Jacksonville’s regular season win total is 7.5.
That’s a significant jump for a team that went 4-13 last season, including a 2-8 record in 10 starts with Lawrence, who missed a good chunk of time due to injury.
However, the combination of the Lawrence injury and the fact that they went 3-10 in one-score games suggest that on its own a little more luck might be enough for this team to improve.
In fact, Jacksonville’s 13 one-score games were tied for the second-most in the NFL over the last decade.
Flip half of those 10 losses to wins and they go 9-8.
How much better will the offence be under Coen?
Lawrence is healthy, second-year wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. is special, and the Jaguars used the second overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft on Travis Hunter.
Hunter is one of the most unique players ever drafted.
The 22-year-old thrived as both a wide receiver and a cornerback during his Heisman-winning 2024 season at Colorado.
Hunter is the fourth choice to win AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year at +1000.
He’s also the fifth choice to win AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honours at +1300.
In addition to the individual awards markets, FanDuel has a long list of specials focused on Hunter.
For example, Hunter to win either OROY or DROY could be found at +450 at FanDuel right now.
Hunter to win both awards is +8000.
So, will Hunter win the OROY, DROY, both, or neither?
I lean towards neither, but if I had to pick one it would be the OROY, as Hunter has the potential to shine from the jump the way that Thomas did in his rookie season.
Thomas became just the sixth player in NFL history to record at least 1,200 receiving yards and 10 touchdown receptions in their rookie season.
FanDuel set Hunter’s regular season player props at over/under 750.5 receiving yards and over/under 4.5 touchdown receptions.
Fantasy Points projects Hunter to finish with 924 receiving yards and 5.8 touchdowns on 75 receptions.
I’ll jump on Hunter over 750.5 receiving yards as my FanDuel Best Bet for the Jaguars.
With Thomas, Hunter, free agent addition Dyami Brown, as well as running backs Travis Etienne Jr., Tank Bigsby, and rookie fourth-round pick Bhayshul Tuten, plus tight end Brenton Strange, Lawrence has plenty of weapons.
Now it’s on Coen to put all the puzzle pieces together.
Considering defensive coordinator Anthony Campinile has been tasked with turning around a defence that ranked 31st in the NFL in EPA allowed per dropback, it will be up Coen’s offence to do most of the heavy lifting.
If everything goes right, the Jaguars could contend for a playoff spot and perhaps even the AFC South title.