The wait is finally over. The 2025 NFL season is here, allowing bettors to dive into one of the most exciting player prop markets: Who will lead the league in receiving yards in Week 1?
Most Week 1 Receiving Yards Prediction (Sunday): Mike Evans (+1800)
In the fantasy football streets, one might have had to look to see if Mike Evans retired given first-round rookie Emeka Egbuka has garnered the most hype this offseason.
I assume Egbuka will go on to have a successful career, but selecting a first ballot Hall of Famer to overachieve is an easier bet than a 22-year-old playing in his first NFL game.
Evans was dominant last season, ranking first in ESPN’s open score, and his splits without Chris Godwin were outstanding.
He was targeted on 31% of his routes and averaged 3.27 yards per route without Godwin last season.
Baker Mayfield had success against this Falcons defense last season, putting up 6 passing touchdowns in two games including a 330-yard performance without either Godwin or Evans in the lineup.
For Evans to cash this bet, the Falcons will need to push back on offense despite losing two significant pieces of their offensive line to injury in August.
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Most Week 1 Tight End Receiving Yards Prediction (Sunday): Brenton Strange (+5000)
Coming out swinging in Week 1 with a 50-1 longshot on former Penn State tight end Brenton Strange.
Strange is a candidate for making a year three leap at the tight end position.
The Jaguars moved on from Evan Engram this offseason, leaving Strange the top option on the tight end depth chart.
Strange finished his sophomore season running a route on 45% of the Jaguars' dropbacks, but that number could double this season.
Last season, Strange had four games in which he ran a route on more than 74% of the team's dropbacks.
He finished with more than 60 receiving yards in three of those games and scored a touchdown in the other game.
Trying to get ahead of the market on Strange in Week 1, he is a good target for prop bets also.
In the preseason, although it was a small sample size, Strange was on the field 70% of Trevor Lawrence’s dropbacks and averaged 2.75 yards per route.
Strange is potentially the second passing option to open the season since Travis Hunter was dealing with an injury late in the preseason and is about to play in his first NFL game.
Week 1 Receiving Yards Longshot Bet: Stefon Diggs 100+ Receiving Yards (+820)
After making headlines in late May for non-football-related matters, Stefon Diggs has not garnered a lot of attention.
This is probably a bit aggressive for a player 10 months removed from an ACL injury, but Diggs should immediately become Drake Maye’s top receiving option.
What needs to be remembered is that the Buffalo Bills didn’t send Diggs packing because of his receiving ability.
Diggs had success until his injury last season, earning a target on more than 21% of his routes in six straight games.
Diggs can move around the field, but he produced better yardage per route in Houston when he was lined up outside.
With DeMario Douglas likely to play the majority of the snaps in the slot, New England is a great fit for Diggs.