Caleb Williams early favorite for OROTY honors

Caleb Williams was taken first overall by the Chicago Bears and there's a ton of buzz about him and that offense going into the new season. Williams appears to have the perfect blend of talent combined with the best landing spot to make an immediate splash, so it's not a huge surprise when you see him listed as the clear favorite for the Offensive Rookie of the Year award at basically every single one of the online sportsbooks for offshore betting that we looked at.

Despite that, we've yet to see him in meaningful, competitive action, so is this a complete lock or are there contenders to upset his seemingly inevitable coronation?

QB's dominate the favorite list

While Caleb Williams is the clear favorite, it appears that the most likely challenge will come from another QB and the number 2 overall selection in Jayden Daniels who was taken by the Washington Commanders. Part of the intrigue around Daniels comes from not really knowing what Washington are going to get from him at this stage. He's a Heisman winner and a genuinely electric threat when it comes to running with the ball, but scouting reports have also urged caution over his "reckless abandon" as a runner. To put it simply, it's not known if he can stand up to the big hits that will come his way, and if he's not on the field then he's not going to be a contender for the ward.

Daniels does have an elite weapon in Terry McLaurin so the potential is there for an impressive rookie season, but Williams is widely regarded as being the complete prospect and there are other things going in his favor. The Bears have a torrid history of QB play and have yet to find a signal caller who has thrown for over 4000 yards in a season and they haven't had a winning season since 2018, so if he can break down both of those barriers then that only feeds into the OROTY narrative that could build.

Elsewhere Drake Maye is very well thought of as the third overall selection but the early indications from Foxborough suggest that he's going to sit behind Jacoby Brissett unless he really lights it up in training camp, while Bo Nix and JJ McCarthy should see plenty of playing time, will they show enough individually to take the award? It's reasonable to imagine that the Bears may not be the best team that fields a rookie QB, but Williams is likely going to show enough highlight-reel-worthy plays to take the award.

But What about the Wide Receivers?

The NFL has been, is, and will always be a league that holds their QB's in the highest regard and individual awards are always centered around the position. Despite that, you do get the feeling that there's a growing clamour for other positions to start getting the recognition they deserve, so if the QB play isn't at a high level and a WR lights it up then maybe the award could go somewhere else.

It will surprise nobody to see that Marvin Harrison Jr is the receiver listed third in the betting list and the only one given a real shot of winning the award. He was regarded by many as the best overall prospect in the whole draft class and expectation of having a Larry Fitzgerald-esque impact in Arizona shouldn't phase him, but Kylar Murray has a history of injury and if he goes down it's going to be hard to stand out.

Malik Nabers does not give the vibe of a man who was delighted to be selected by the New York Giants and it's easy to see why if Daniel Jones is going to be the one to feed him the rock, while it's likely that NY favor the running game and Nabers won't see enough action. The most interesting name further down the list is Xavier Worthy who's already looking impressive in Chiefs camp and could be Mahomes' main receiving threat this year after Travis Kelce. Worthy also has the prospect of connecting on many a deep throw and he'll be featured regularly in prime time, so although he's seen as a heavy outsider, it's easy to see him playing well enough to be considered.