NFL Rookie of the Year Odds & Favorites 2025-26: AI Predictions for OROY and DROY Awards
The NFL Rookie of the Year odds are solidifying with the first three rounds of the 2025 draft in the books. Ashton Jeanty as the slight favorite over Cam Ward to be the Offensive Rookie of the Year. Abdul Carter is the +250 betting favorite to be the Defensive Rookie of the Year.
The fall of Shedeur Sanders out of the first three rounds has been one of the biggest stories of the draft so far. Five quarterbacks have been selected ahead of Sanders with Day 3 set to begin. His Offensive Rookie of the Year odds have lengthened to +3500.
Two-way star Travis Hunter owns +750 odds to be the Offensive Rookie of the Year, while also holding NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year odds of +750 after the Jacksonville Jaguars traded up to take him with the second overall pick.
See the full Round 1 draft results here.
📊 Offensive Rookie of the Year odds 2025-26
Our Offensive Rookie of the Year odds are via DraftKings as of Saturday, April 26. See our best NFL betting sites for the latest and best odds.
- Ashton Jeanty, RB, Raiders: +200
- Cam Ward, QB, Titans: +225
- Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Jaguars: +750
- Tyler Shough, QB, Saints: +1200
- Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Panthers: +1400
- Omarion Hampton, RB, Chargers: +1600
- Dillon Gabriel, QB, Browns: +1600
- Quinshon Judkins, RB, Browns: +1800
- TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Patriots: +2000
- Colston Loveland, TE, Bears: +2200
- Matthew Golden, WR, Packers: +2500
- Jaxson Dart, QB, Giants: +2800
- Tyler Warren, TE, Colts: +3000
- Kaleb Johnson, RB, Steelers: +3000
- Jalen Milroe, QB, Seahawks: +3000
- Emeka Egbuka, WR, Buccaneers: +3000
- Shedeur Sanders, QB, N/A: +3500
- Luther Burden III, WR, Bears: +3500
2025 Offensive Rookie of the Year favorites
Ashton Jeanty and Cam Ward: Jeanty (+200) moved ahead of Ward (+225) as the solo favorite to be the Offensive Rookie of the Year for the 2025-26 NFL season. The first running back should have a massive workload in his first year on Pete Carroll's Las Vegas Raiders, and he'll take pressure off of QB Geno Smith. Ward has a taller task as signal-caller of the Tennessee Titans.
Travis Hunter: Hunter's +750 odds to be the Offensive Rookie of the Year are inflated because of lingering questions regarding his usage both in the NFL and in Jacksonville. He was allowed to shine as a two-way star in college, but splitting his time between offense and defense could hurt Hunter's candidacy for either the offensive or defensive award.
Tyler Shough: Landing with the New Orleans Saints gives Shough the best shot of any rookie QB other than Ward to be a Day 1 starter in the NFL. That had him fly up this oddsboard after being selected with the 40th overall pick.
Tetairoa McMillan: McMillan will immediately slot into the No. 1 receiver role for a Carolina Panthers team with renewed faith in QB Bryce Young. Carolina should be much more competitive this year, and McMillan won't face much competition for targets from the likes of Xavier Legette, Jalen Coker, and veteran Adam Thielen.
📊 Defensive Rookie of the Year odds 2025-26
Our Defensive Rookie of the Year odds are via DraftKings.
- Abdul Carter, EDGE, Giants: +250
- Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Jaguars: +750
- Mykel Williams, EDGE, 49ers: +900
- Jalon Walker, LB, Falcons: +900
- Jihaad Campbell, LB, Eagles: +1800
- Mason Graham, DT, Browns: +1400
- Shemar Stewart, EDGE, Bengals: +1600
- Mike Green, EDGE, Ravens: +1600
- Malaki Starks, S, Ravens: +1600
- James Pearce Jr., EDGE, Falcons: +1600
- Walter Nolen, DT, Cardinals: +1800
- Jahdae Barron, CB, Broncos: +2000
2025 Defensive Rookie of the Year favorites
Abdul Carter: Carter was the third overall pick while going to the New York Giants, and the first true defensive player selected Thursday night. The edge rusher will play opposite Brian Burns in a solidified Big Blue defense. These early odds favor him too much, and I'll be looking elsewhere for my early predictions.
Travis Hunter: Hunter's Defensive Rookie of the Year odds shortened slightly to match his odds to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. That should indicate expectations of his usage on both sides of the ball for a team that sorely needs help in multiple areas. I prefer his chances of making a more significant impact on offense for a club that scored just 18.8 points per game last year.
Mykel Williams: Williams was a bit of a surprise selection by the San Francisco 49ers at No. 11 on Thursday. Improving a defense that took a gigantic step backward last season will draw plenty of voter attention, especially while the Niners remain among the Super Bowl odds favorites.
Jalon Walker: Walker was a consensus top-10 talent entering Thursday's first round, but the Georgia product landed in the Atlanta Falcons' lap at No. 15 overall. He was paired up with James Pearce Jr. (+1600 Defensive Rookie of the Year odds), and the two will draw plenty of attention if they're able to turn around a Falcons defense that ranked 31st with just 31 sacks last year.
🦄 Travis Hunter's Rookie of the Year odds
Offensive Rookie of the Year: +750 ($10 pays $75) | Defensive Rookie of the Year: +750
I expect Hunter to quickly become the most popular bet for both the Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year awards.
He won the Heisman Trophy during his final collegiate season under the tutelage of Deion Sanders at Colorado while playing nearly every snap on offense and defense. That shouldn't be the case in the NFL, and these odds will soon swing heavily toward the position he's expected to play more often. I prefer his Offensive Rookie of the Year odds (+750).
Hunter will join a passing corps that last year's Offensive Rookie of the Year contender Brian Thomas Jr. leads, but not much else is there. If the two are able to finally tap into QB Trevor Lawrence's full potential, Hunter's presence will be recognized.
The Titans and Jaguars both representing the AFC South will give Ward and Hunter two games to go head-to-head, plus there's the season-long battle in the standings. Hunter can help his candidacy for either Rookie of the Year award with a couple of statement defensive plays against the draft's No. 1 pick.
🤖 NFL Rookie of the Year AI predictions
I asked ChatGPT, a popular large language model chatbot from OpenAI to study the 2025 NFL Draft and provide predictions for the Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year awards:
🏈 Offensive Rookie of the Year pick: Ashton Jeanty, RB, Raiders
- Odds: +350 at FanDuel
- Confidence: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5 stars)
- Projected probability: ~22%
Why Jeanty?
- Landing spot: The Raiders desperately needed a bell-cow running back after Josh Jacobs' departure last summer. Jeanty walks into immediate volume as their RB1 behind a solid run-blocking offensive line
- Play skill: Jeanty is a complete back - great vision, balance, and excellent pass-catching ability - important for racking up yards from scrimmage and touchdowns, which voters notice.
- Value: +350 offers nice value compared to quarterbacks like Cam Ward, who might have growing pains. RBs often have clearer rookie paths to statistical dominance
🛡️ Defensive Rookie of the Year pick: Abdul Carter, EDGE, Giants
- Odds: +230 at FanDuel
- Confidence: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5 stars)
- Projected probability: ~30%
Why Carter?
- Landing spot: The Giants will plug Carter right into a premium pass-rushing role alongside Brian Burns. He'll get tons of one-on-one matchups
- Play skill: Carter is an explosive, relentless edge rusher who dominated at Penn State. His sack potential (8–12 sacks possible) is exactly what voters gravitate toward for DROY
- Value: While +230 is a little short, it’s justified given how productive first-year edge rushers have been recently
🏈 NFL betting odds pages
💵 Here are our best NFL betting sites:
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