Bird Bets: 5 Eagles player props that are locks heading into 2022 season
Football season is right around the corner, which means all of our wallets are about to get a whole lot lighter. Not only because game tickets and all the expenses that go into a stadium trip have risen (again), but because the little gambling addict in all of us gets an extra pep in his step once football season is underway.
As Eagles fans, betting on your own team can be taboo for some. Others (like myself), live for it. There’s nothing quite as exhilarating as watching the Eagles take home a victory while also seeing your bank account get some extra cash.
With the NFL season just over a month away, various betting outlets have released their player totals prop bets for the 2022 campaign. Let’s take a look at five favorable Eagles’ player prop bets for the upcoming season.
All props are provided by FanDuel Sportsbook
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Dallas Goedert Regular Season Receiving Yards: OVER 700.5 (-110)
For the first time in his career, Dallas Goedert will enter a season as the unquestioned starter at tight end for the Eagles. In 2021, Goedert racked up 56 receptions for 830 yards and he wasn’t the TE1 until Zach Ertz was dealt following a Week 6 loss to Tampa Bay. In the 10 games that Goedert started after Ertz’s departure, he totaled 41 receptions for 614 yards and two touchdowns. Over the course of a 17-game season, that’s an 1,000-yard pace.
On their surface, Goedert’s numbers last season don’t seem like anything special, but his output actually reached historic territory. Since the NFL started tracking targets in 1992, no other tight end aside from Goedert has put up at least 800 receiving yards on 76 or fewer targets. Only five wide receivers have done it during that 30-year span. He finished the year with the 17th-most targets among tight end and still ended the year top-five in yardage for the position.
If Goedert can approach that same kind of average in production this season, along with getting a usage rate boost as the bonafide TE1, eclipsing 700 yards will be a cake walk for the veteran tight end.
Miles Sanders Regular Season Rushing Yards: UNDER 850.5 (-115)
Despite Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni naming Miles Sanders his starting running back during camp this year, it’s no secret that the Eagles offense will utilize a backfield rotation once again in 2022.
When healthy, Sanders has proven to be one of the most explosive backs in football. He posted a career-best 5.5 yards per carry average last season while leading the team in explosive runs with 20.
The only issue is, Sanders can’t be counted on to start a full 17 games. Since becoming the lead back in 2020, Sanders has appeared in 24 of a possible 33 games, about 72 percent. His questionable injury history coupled with a not-so-heavy workload makes fading Sanders on his rushing yardage total a pretty easy decision.
Jalen Hurts Regular Season Passing Touchdowns: UNDER 22.5 (-110)
With the big offseason addition of A.J. Brown and the natural development of DeVonta Smith, Quez Watkins, and Dallas Goedert, the Eagles passing attack should be more productive in 2022. The heights this new-look passing game reaches is still to be determined, but believing Jalen Hurts will increase his passing touchdown total from 16 in 2021 to at least 23 this year feels a little far fetched.
He’d have to add eight passing touchdowns to his total, which means he’d essentially have to increase his passing touchdown production by 50 percent. It’s not impossible by any means; we’ve seen plenty of quarterbacks take huge leaps during their early years. But at the end of the day, the strength of the Eagles offense is their offensive line and running game. Sirianni and Co. will likely rely on it as much as they can once again this season, which means Hurts’ overall passing production probably won’t be as great as some hope.
Jalen Hurts Regular Season Passing Yards: UNDER 3,650.5 (-110)
A lot of the same logic used in taking the under for Hurts’ passing touchdowns total can be applied here as well.
In 2021, Hurts just barely got over the 3,000-yard mark, totaling 3,144 passing yards by season’s end. As a team, the Eagles offense racked up 3,404 passing yards on the season, good for 25th in the NFL. Adding over 500 yards to his passing yardage total from last season would be an outstanding leap for Hurts in 2022, but it’s far from a safe bet.
James Bradberry Regular Season Interceptions: OVER 2.5
One of the newest faces in the Eagles secondary, James Bradberry is primed for a bounce back year in 2022 in his new role as the CB2. The former New York Giant had a down year in coverage last season, allowing a completion percentage of 61.7 percent and a passer rating of 93.0 when targeted; not to mention surrendering eight touchdowns on the year.
Nevertheless, Bradberry still caused his fair share of turnovers in 2021. He posted a career-best four interceptions on the season and has had three consecutive seasons with at least three interceptions. The only season in which Bradberry didn’t have at least two interceptions was in 2018 with Carolina.
Opposing offenses will likely steer clear from throwing towards Darius Slay in 2022 thanks to the stellar season he put forth last year, which should give Bradberry ample opportunities to continue causing turnovers. He’s a proven playmaker and it may only be amplified now that he won’t be the top corner on his defensive unit.
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Mandatory Credit: Associated Press
