Pennsylvanians have been able to bet on NFL futures for statistical leaders over the course of a season. DraftKings Sportsbook is taking that a step further, however, with NFL NextGen Stats bets.
Among the available wagers based on Amazon Web Services‘ and Genius Sports‘ tracking of NFL players are the fastest offensive ballcarrier and the player to record the fastest sack over the course of the 2021 regular season.
What are NFL NextGen Stats bets?
Integrating AWS technology, Genius Sports provides its customers with data covering every movement every player on the field makes during every game. Earlier this month, DraftKings became the first PA sportsbook to close a deal for access to that data.
Mark Locke, CEO of Genius Sports, commented:
“Genius is proud and delighted to partner exclusively with the NFL to establish a new era of digital fan engagement for professional sports leagues everywhere. Our technology leads the world in the convergence of official data, betting, streaming, and digital media and we are excited to bring our unique capabilities to the world’s preeminent sports league.”
Betting on fastest ball carrier and fastest sack
DraftKings has wasted no time in coming up with a way to recoup some of its investment. Bettors in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey can bet on players in two NextGen markets right now.
In the DraftKings Sportsbook app, click on “NFL,” “Player Futures” then scroll to “Regular Season Fastest Offensive Player” or “Regular Season Fastest Defensive Player.”
For offensive players, the betting market is for “Regular Season Fastest Offensive Ball Carrier.” Which offensive player hits the top speed in the league while carrying the ball throughout all 544 regular-season games in the upcoming season will determine wagers in this market.
Regular Season Fastest Offensive Ball Carrier odds:
- Tyreek Hill: +500
- Raheem Mostert: +650
- Jonathan Taylor: +1200
- Full odds listed on app
Philadelphia Eagles wide receivers DeVonta Smith and Greg Ward are both listed at +6500. Running Back Boston Scott is +8000.
Pittsburgh Steelers include Chase Claypool (+10000), Anthony McFarland (+10000), Diontae Johnson (+25000), and JuJu Smith-Schuster (+25000)
On the defensive side, the market is “Regular Season Fastest Individual Recorded Sack.” The relevant measurement here is which defensive player gets the opposing quarterback to the ground after a snap over the same games.
Regular Season Fastest Individual Recorded Sack odds
- Montez Sweat: +750
- Chase Young: +900
- Myles Garrett: +900
- Full odds listed on app
Philadelphia Eagles with odds to record fastest sack are Brandon Graham (+3500) and Alex Singleton (+5000),
Pittsburgh Steelers odds include TJ Watt (+1200), Devin Bush (+1600), Steph0n Tuitt (+7500), Cameron Heyward (+10000), and Joe Schobert (+10000).
NFL NextGen stats data
The NFL makes some of this data available to the public online. For example, the fastest offensive ballcarrier table for regular-season games will be updated weekly.
Mostert recorded both of the fastest two speeds last season. The top recorded pace was 23.09 miles per hour. Hill came in at number five on that list at 21.19 mph.
Indianapolis Colts linebacker Darius Leonard took just two seconds flat to record a sack last season. As this is the first time regulated sportsbooks are offering betting markets of this type, handicapping data isn’t available on the same level as more traditional wagers.
What might be easier to do is weed out data that isn’t relevant. Conventional wisdom might point bettors to which teams blitz on defense the most for players recording fastest sack times.
However, that actually might be fools’ gold. For example, Indianapolis ranked 31st in the NFL last season in terms of blitz frequency. Despite that, Leonard still recorded the fastest sack.
These season-highs can be as much the result of opponents badly missing an assignment as a clever play design or any tendencies. Still, these bets provide another way to wager on NFL games on DraftKings PA.
Lead image c/o Associated Press