NFL Week 9 FTN Staff Bets
FTN Staff
We are now into Week 2 of the college football season, and the prop market has been good to us so far. With so much of my time invested into both CFB DFS and PrizePicks, it only makes sense for me to tackle player props as well on the various sites.
We may not find a more favorable spot than our Week 0 call of Nick Nash anytime TD, which provided us with odds of +450. That worked out beautifully as he scored three times against USC. That was followed up with a Keon Coleman anytime TD bet that once again yielded a multiple TD game.
Obviously, I can’t guarantee that will be the case each week, but I’m going to definitely do my best to unearth advantageous spots that we can attack when it comes to the prop market. Whether that’s an anytime TD or a yardage prop, it’ll be something I feel compelled about and will provide you with plenty of reasons for that confidence. Let’s take a look at the Week 2 featured prop picks.
Devin Neal Anytime Touchdown Scorer (Kansas vs. Illinois, Friday night)
(-170, DraftKings Sportsbook)
We aren’t getting a +450 number here but at -170, there is enough value to feel good about it. Neal is an integral part of the Jayhawks offense, and he was able to pick up right where he left after an extremely productive 2022. He scored twice against Missouri State in Week 1 — once on the ground and once as a receiver. Neal played almost 60% of the snaps, which was highest among all running backs on the team while also leading them in touches with 16. With a much more competitive game expected against Illinois and a ton of uncertainty at the quarterback position with Jalon Daniels’ injury status up in the air, we can be assured that the Jayhawks coaching staff will lean heavily on the unflappable Neal. Furthermore, Neal scored multiple touchdowns in three different games during the 2022 campaign and had double-digit touches in 12 of the 13 games he made an appearance in.
Deion Burks Over 50.5 Receiving Yards (Purdue vs. Virginia Tech, Saturday)
(-125, DraftKings Sportsbook)
There have been some truly fantastic receivers come through Purdue the last few years. Brycen Hopkins, Rondale Moore and David Bell are all inside the top 15 in receiving yards in the Purdue record books. Next up is Deion Burks, an electric pass-catcher who is donning the No. 4, a number made famous by Rondale Moore during his time as a Boilermaker. Burks broke out in week 1 with a performance of 4-152-2 which broke his previous career high of 149 receiving yards for a season. The super sophomore was targeted 9 times and looks to be new QB Hudson Card’s favorite option already. It’s worth noting that Burks got 84 of those yards on one catch, which resulted in a touchdown that you simply have to see for yourself after he made several defenders look foolish in that moment.
The matchup between Purdue and Virginia Tech has sneaky shootout potential with both squads looking evenly matched across the board. Additionally, the Purdue secondary is going to be on their heels a lot this season which is going to lead to a lot of points being scored in their games typically. This is an added bonus for Burks as the team will be forced to throw a lot in order to keep up which was something we saw Purdue do all season in 2022. This number is between 52.5 and 53 on other sites, so make sure you’re price shopping to get the best possible value but I’m ridiculously confident in Burks smashing this number and he could even have it in before halftime if the game plays out the way we expect.
Michael Pratt Over 230.5 Passing Yards (Tulane vs. Ole Miss, Saturday)
(-115, DraftKings Sportsbook)
I’ve noticed that the industry has sort of overlooked Tulane coming into the year after star RB Tyjae Spears moved onto the NFL. While it makes sense for the offense to take a step back after losing a talent like Spears, it’s a mistake to think it won’t still be relatively potent overall. Pratt proved that he has masterful control of this offense after efficiently completing 14 of his 15 pass attempts for 294 yards/4 TDs. Another part of his game that defenses have to account for is the fact that Pratt can use his legs so as a dual-threat, passing lanes are going to naturally open up for him. The coaching staff also built the playbook around his strengths, and they aren’t afraid to get a little fancy when calling plays. Check out this little bit of trickery as Pratt etched his name in the Tulane record books.
This matchup against Ole Miss has offensive explosion written all over it for both teams, and Pratt will likely be throwing far more than he had to last week against South Alabama. With a myriad of talented receivers, Pratt will have no shortage of weapons to throw the ball to and he will be a weekly threat to eclipse 300 yards through the air.
