With NFL training camp getting underway this week, the 2021 NFL season is just around the corner. While there’s still more than a month to go until the season opener, it’s never too early to start making bets on the upcoming campaign.
Raiders Prop Bets 2021: Best Las Vegas Odds + Betting Picks
Raiders Prop Bets 2021: Team Bet Picks
Las Vegas Raiders Over 7 Wins (-110)
Wager: 1.10 units
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Last season, the Raiders went 8-8 and some analysts believed the Raiders under-performed. Fast forward to this season and the Raiders are projected to win around the same amount of games as last year with an extra game on the schedule. The Raiders were one of the few teams that gave the Kansas City Chiefs a scare last season, and on paper, Las Vegas still looks better than their other divisional rivals in the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos.
Quarterback Derek Carr has his work cut out for him. It’s basically a boom or bust year for Carr. If he doesn’t perform and lead the Raiders to the playoffs, the Raiders could move onto someone else. Still, he was a solid passer according to PFF and finished 11th in ratings. The Raiders really didn’t give Carr much of a chance as he had just 517 passing attempts last season, which was the second-lowest of the top 11 quarterbacks last season behind Lamar Jackson, who runs plenty more.
The Raiders are a run-first offense but should start to utilize some of their passing threats like Darren Waller more this season. The reality with Las Vegas is that they’ll come out strong and then struggle late. In 2019, they started 6-4 and lost five of their last six. Again, last year, they started 6-3 and lost five of their last seven.
Therefore, if the Raiders win six of their first 10 games, you’ll be feeling good needing one more win for a push and two more to win the bet.
Bears Prop Bets 2021: Player Bet Picks
Derek Carr Regular Season Passing Touchdowns: Over 25.5 (-115)
Wager: 1.15 units
The Raiders really didn’t give Carr many passing attempts, but he still threw for 27 touchdowns in a 16-game season last year. While Carr did leave one game early due to an injury in Week 15, he has only fully missed two games since starting for the Raiders in 2014. When you’re choosing props like this and taking the over, it’s good to know Carr can stay on the field.
The Raiders haven’t changed much offensively. They’ll have three young wide receivers starting in Henry Ruggs III, Bryan Edwards, and Hunter Renfrow. They also brought in Willie Snead IV as the fourth receiver and have Zay Jones as a backup to Ruggs.
Of course, the biggest threat for the Raiders and a big target in the end zone will be Darren Waller. Waller caught nine touchdowns and had 107 receptions on the season last year. He has now had back-to-back seasons with over 1,100 yards and is becoming a serious touchdown catching threat around the goal line thanks to his height and build.
The only difference for the offense this year is that it seems like Marcus Mariota will be used a little bit more, whether that’s with trick plays or in one or two-yard conversion situations. But when Mariota’s touching the ball around the goal line, he’s basically taking rushing touchdowns away from running backs.
The Raiders defense was abysmal last year, and I don’t think that changes this year. If the Raiders continue to struggle defensively, Carr will have to throw the ball around in the fourth quarter anyway. So who’s to say he can’t throw eight touchdowns in two games against the Kansas City Chiefs?
Darren Waller Over 1,050.5 Receiving Yards (-115)
Wager: 1.15 unit
If Carr is going to throw well this season, it’s going to be because of Darren Waller. Last year, Henry Ruggs only had 26 receptions for 452 yards, while Bryan Edwards had just 11 catches for 193 yards.
Waller had a career-high 145 targets and averaged 11.2 yards per catch last season. With those targets, he caught 107 passes for 1,196 yards, despite averaging 1.5 yards less per catch in 2020 compared to the 2019 campaign.
Head Coach Jon Gruden is expecting Waller to continue to improve at the pace he’s already improving. What does that mean? Gruden is literally expecting more out of Waller going into this season compared to last year.
Waller is a versatile and complete player. The Raiders want to build around Waller, meaning Gruden believes Waller is their number one player. He’ll want to get him involved as much as possible. Reaching 1,300 yards this season isn’t out of the picture.
