One Futures Bet A Day For NFL Countdown: Ladd McConkey Receiving Yards

The NFL countdown is on! We have our first preseason action today, and it gives us all a taste of the NFL action we’ve been waiting for. Through August I’ll be releasing one NFL Futures bet a day. Some of these will be on your sports books like DraftKings or FanDuel. Others will be somewhere like Underdog Fantasy. Let’s get ready for the season by loading up on future bets! Here is the NFL futures bet for day sixteen!

CHECK OUT THE SPORTS GAMBLING PODCAST’S DAILY BEST BETS

One Futures Bet A Day For NFL Countdown: Ladd McConkey Receiving Yards

Ladd McConkey HIGHER than 725.5 receiving yards (Underdog Fantasy)

This NFL futures bet focuses on rookie Ladd McConkey. I like him to go HIGHER than 725.5 receiving yards. Last year was Justin Herbert’s worst statistical career. However, he was still on pace to throw for over 4,000 yards. Now that he’s healthy and all his top receivers are gone, Herbert will look to find a new favorite target. Enter Ladd McConkey.

Chargers WR1?

McConkey didn’t have a super productive career at Georgia. Partially due to some injuries and partially due to how Georgia’s offense works. However, in 2022, he had 762 receiving yards. He should be able to immediately jump into the Charger’s number-one receiver spot. McConkey will likely lead the team in targets; therefore, I think the yards will follow.

The main argument against this is that Jim Harbaugh’s offense runs the ball early and often. While I agree with that, he doesn’t completely abandon the passing game. It could be argued that he’s never had a quarterback of Justin Herbert’s talent, either.

In Harbaugh’s four years as head coach, he’s had six players have higher than 725.5 yards. The top receiver in his offense has always exceeded this number.

Therefore, while the Chargers are going to look completely different than last year, McConkey should benefit from this. Obtaining the 725.5 yards is purely a volume play for me. He’s listed as a starter, along with Joshua Palmer and DJ Chark.

Chark is rarely able to stay healthy for a full season, and Palmer hasn’t shown what it takes to be a wide receiver one. The other competition includes Quentin Johnston, who is getting hyped in the offseason but showed his struggles last year.