The start of the 2021 NFL season is less than a month away and most sportsbooks are already looking ahead to individual award odds. BetOnline has released its odds for the 2021 NFL Comeback Player of the Year award and is currently favoring Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott to win it at +150 odds.
Through the majority of the first five games last season, Prescott looked like one of the top gunslingers in the NFL. He averaged a career-high 371.2 passing yards per game and had already racked up nine touchdowns in the process. Suddenly, disaster struck as Prescott fractured and dislocated his right ankle in a Week 5 matchup against the New York Giants. The Cowboys QB would then miss the rest of the season, setting him up in the perfect position to win the 2021 NFL Comeback Player of the Year award.
Recent reports suggest that Prescott may not be fully healed from his ankle injury or a shoulder issue he’s dealt with recently. Nevertheless, that doesn’t lessen his chances of being named Comeback Player of the Year. After all, few players suffered an injury as serious as his last year. If Prescott can pick up from where he left off last year or even lead the Cowboys to an NFC East title, it’d be hard not to hand him the award immediately.
Fortunately for him, Dallas still boasts one of the best offenses in the league (on paper for the time being). Pass-catchers like Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup will make life a lot easier for Prescott as he returns to the field. The same goes for running back Ezekiel Elliott if he can rebound too. All in all, it looks like this award is Prescott’s to lose.
2021 NFL Comeback Player of the Year Odds
Odds via BetOnline as of Wednesday, August 25
- Dak Prescott (+150)
- Jameis Winston (+500)
- Joe Burrow (+550)
- Carson Wentz (+1200)
- Christian McCaffrey (+1200)
- Saquon Barkley (+1200)
- Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (+1600)
- Odell Beckham Jr. (+1600)
- Nick Bosa (+1800)
- Sam Darnold (+2000)
Complete odds list is available at BetOnline.ag.
Jameis Winston Comeback Player of the Year Odds
A lot of people associate the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award with injuries, however, that’s not always the case. New Orleans Saints QB Jameis Winston has +500 odds to win the award, but it’s not because of a major injury.
Winston’s NFL career has certainly been a rollercoaster. He went from being the first overall pick at the 2015 draft to being excommunicated from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following his infamous 33-touchdown/30-interception campaign in 2019. Last year, he served as a backup quarterback to both Drew Brees and Taysom Hill, so it’s understandable if people thought he wouldn’t get a chance to start again.
Now, Winston is expected to be the Saints No. 1 QB in 2021 after an incredibly strong showing during training camp. He’s looked solid in his preseason appearances too, throwing for 219 passing yards and 2 touchdowns to an interception in two quarters of play. If Winston can avoid interceptions and live up to his potential under Sean Payton, odds are looking pretty good that he could be named the 2021 NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
Joe Burrow Comeback Player Odds
At +500 odds, Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow is tied with Winston for the second-best shot at winning the Comeback Player of the Year trophy. Like Prescott, Burrow’s 2020 campaign was derailed by a season-ending injury as he tore his left MCL and ACL in Week 11. His injury could’ve been prevented had the Bengals not built an offensive line around him that saw the then-rookie signal-caller tackled 32 times in 10 games.
Nevertheless, Cincinnati improved its offensive line over the offseason and even brought in some pass-catching weapons to help in the form of Burrow’s former LSU Tigers wideout Ja’Marr Chase. The Bengals also won just four games last season, so surpassing that win total would certainly bode well for the 24-year-old QB’s odds. Assuming the new additions pan out and Burrow is healthy, it’s not hard seeing how the quarterback could be named NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
