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NFL Prop Bets - Best NFL Player Props & Game Props for Week 1

NFL prop bets are some of the most popular wagers among sports bettors because they allow fans to wager on items such as player or team achievements. These can include NFL player props or NFL team prop bets. This guide will detailing the best NFL props, review NFL props bets terminology and provide details about the best sites to make such bets.
by KC Joyner | Gambling.com
Updated Aug 4 2023, 10:12AM EDT

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    green tick Official Betting Partner Of The Nets, Yankees, Bills
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Affiliate Disclosure: At USA TODAY, we want to ensure that players are matched with the right casino and sportsbook offers for them. For this reason, some of the recommended site links are affiliate links. This means that if you visit a website through our link and make a deposit, Gambling.com will receive a commission payment at no extra cost to you.

  1. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (CO,DC, IL, IN, LA, MD, MS, NJ, OH, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY) Call 877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY) Call 1-800-327-5050 (MA) 21+ to wager. Please Gamble Responsibly. Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (KS, NV), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help (MI), 1-800-981-0023 (PR) . In partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel. Visit BetMGM.com for Terms & Conditions. US promotional offers not available in DC, Nevada, New York, Kansas, Mississippi or Ontario.
    green tick Official Gaming Partner Of The Knicks, Rangers & Devils
    green tick Free-To-Play Sweepstakes During Big Events
    green tick MGM Rewards Program
    Bonus Code
    information icon
    USATODAY
    Live Streaming
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    Live Betting
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    Sports Offered
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    BetMGM Sportsbook, also referred to as the "King" of Sportsbooks, has cemented itself as a candidate for the top spot. Available to bet in every legal state, BetMGM has one of the most lucrative welcome offers in the market

Best NFL Prop Bets for Week 1

Bookmark this page and check back the first week of September, when sports betting apps have prop bets available for the opening week's games. There will typically be a base set of NFL player props and NFL team prop bets posted on NFL betting apps the Wednesday preceding the full Sunday slate of games, but the complete set of NFL player props and NFL team prop bets often aren't listed until Thursday evening or Friday morning.

Those prop bet odds can be adjusted up until kickoff, often due to injury reports posted very late in the week, so be sure to check on those frequently to help determine the best NFL props. One other note: Be sure to sign up with sportsbook promo codes to grab welcome bonuses that you can use on these wagers.

NFL Prop Bets

NFL props, also known as NFL proposition bets, refer to wagers made on specific events within a game that have no direct impact on the final outcome. These bets allow you to predict the number of receiving yards a particular player will achieve or the total number of touchdowns they will score, among other possibilities.

If you want to know how to bet on the NFL with prop bets, you must first understand that NFL props are wagers on statistical goals or varying other elements that can occur during an NFL game or season. These NFL prop bet wagers can be on individual player performance, such as if a quarterback will tally more than 300 passing yards, or for a team achievement such as NFL win totals. These have a wide range of prop bet odds and thus allow you more ways to rack up percentage wins or go for upside.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes passed for 300-plus yards in 10 games in 2023. (Photo by Jay Biggerstaff/USA TODAY Sports)

NFL Player Prop Bets

NFL player props are wagers where you are betting that an individual player will achieve or come up short of a specific statistical or other individual accomplishment. These NFL player prop bets can include season-long items such as if a player will post 1,000 or more rushing yards or if someone will win an award such as the AP NFL MVP or Offensive Player of The Year. A prop bet also can apply to an individual game goal. Examples of this latter option might be for a running back to rush for 100-plus yards or for a defensive player to post a sack.

NFL Team Prop Bets

NFL team prop bets are wagers on a team-level performance. This includes a wide range of bet types, as you can bet on items such as if the defense will intercept a pass or post 3+ sacks. NFL team prop bets can also include NFL futures wagers such as if a team will win a division or conference championship or end the season with a win in Super Bowl 58. Super Bowl betting sites will have hundreds of prop bets on the big game as well.

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Other Types Of NFL Prop Bets

One of the top aspects of prop bets is that they allow you to use your knowledge of a particular team or player and choose the best NFL player props or NFL team prop bets. You can do this through a variety of wager types, as there are many subcategories of NFL player props. Scour the best NFL betting promos before you make your first wager to see if any prop bets are eligible as qualifying wagers. Make sure you read the terms and conditions carefully.

Live NFL Prop Bets

Live in-game betting is a very popular betting type from a standard game lines perspective, but you can also make live bets on NFL player props and NFL team prop bets. An instance of this can include if Christian McCaffrey will rush for 50+ yards in the second half or if Joe Burrow will throw for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. This is a superb way to keep your interest level in a game going well after kickoff, or to get some betting action in if you weren't able to do so beforehand.

Touchdown Scorer

Touchdown scorer NFL player props are wagers where you are betting that a specific individual player will score a scrimmage touchdown. This type of bet only wins if the player in question carries the ball over the goal line. For example, a bet on Patrick Mahomes as a touchdown scorer will only pay out as a winner if Mahomes tallies a scrimmage touchdown, meaning that a touchdown pass by Mahomes will not result in a touchdown scorer wager win.

Rushing/Receiving/Passing Yards

The focus of this type of NFL player props bet is if the player you bet on will achieve a particular statistical achievement. For instance, you could wager on whether Patrick Mahomes, at the top of most lists of NFL MVP odds, will post 300 or more passing yards in a game. This can be one of the NFL best prop bets because it allows you to benefit if Mahomes tallies 300+ passing yards in a game. This means you can pursue a successful wager on the Chiefs' high-volume passing game and yardage opportunities without having to rely on Kansas City actually winning the contest in question.

Running back Christian McCaffrey was traded from the Carolina Panthers to the San Francisco 49ers in October 2022. (Photo by Cary Edmondson/USA TODAY Sports)

NFL Prop Bet Terminology

  • Anytime TD Scorer: An anytime TD scorer refers to a wager where you are betting on a player to carry the ball into the end zone for a touchdown. This refers to any player who tallies a rushing or receiving touchdown, or who posts a return touchdown or recovers the ball in the end zone. It does not, however, refer to a passer who throws the ball to a receiver who scores the touchdown.
  • Alt Receiving Yards: Using the alt receiving yards category will allow you to place NFL player prop bets on various receiving-yards totals. To illustrate this, let's say you were to use the standard receiving-yards wager on Davante Adams to post over 1,200.5 receiving yards for the 2023 season. The early odds payout for that wager at FanDuel is at -112 odds, but if you made that same wager using an alt receiving yards wager of Adams to lead the league in total receiving yards, the odds payout on that bet would be at +1600 odds. This type of wager is one to use if you think that a player will do much better or worse than generally expected at his standard receiving odds level.
  • Alt Passing Yards: The alt passing yards category is when you wager on a player to notch a passing-yardage total that is different than the standard yardage total NFL players prop bets. For instance, in the early NFL player prop bets at DraftKings, the standard passing yardage odds for Josh Allen to throw for more than 4,350.5 yards is -105, but using the alternate passing yards total, you can place a player props NFL bet on Allen to throw for more 5,000 yards and get +500 odds on that wager.
  • Alt Rushing Yards: This can be an interesting NFL player props bet because it can be applied to any player who carries the ball. This means you can bet on a spectrum of rushing yardage totals for running backs, quarterbacks or even wide receivers such as Deebo Samuel who are often incorporated into a team's rushing game plan.
  • Longest Play: This is the NFL equivalent of betting on a slugger to hit a home run in baseball, as this type of NFL player props wager allows you to bet on which player will post the longest play in a contest. This can also include NFL player props on who will have the longest rushing, receiving or return play in a game.
  • Highest Scoring Team: If you go the highest scoring team route for your NFL team prop bets, you will be wagering on which NFL club will post the largest score in a given set of games. This can be quite entertaining if you are picking a high-scoring team like the Chiefs, Bills or Bengals when they are in a matchup against a defense that tends to allow a lot of points.

Best Sportsbooks For NFL Prop Bets

You can make prop bets at the same places that you get NFL odds. Here are six of the best online sportsbooks for NFL props.

BetMGM

BetMGM has NFL prop bet season specials such as if any team go undefeated in the 2023 campaign as well as an interesting selection of 2023 NFL team prop bet parlay wagers. New customers can use the BetMGM bonus code USATODAY to create an account and get a first-bet offer up to $1,000 that refunds an opening-bet loss with up to five bonus bets, each worth 20% of the original wager amount.

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Caesars Sportsbook

Caesars Sportsbook comes up with prop wager types that often aren't available elsewhere, which is why you can bet on NFL players prop bets like over/under totals for sacks or rushing touchdowns. The Caesars Sportsbook promo code USATODAYFULL has a first-bet insurance offer for new customers that will offset an opening-wager loss with a bonus bet of equal value (up to $1,250) and provides those customers with 1,000 Tier and Rewards Credits in the Caesars Rewards program.

BetRivers

BetRivers has all of the standard NFL player props and NFL team prop bets, but it also grants you the ability to make unusual NFL player prop bets such as which quarterback will lead the league in interceptions thrown in the 2023 season. First-time customers who sign up using the BetRivers promo code SPORTS will receive a second-chance bet up to $500. The value of this second-chance bet varies depending on your location.

Must be 21+ to participate. Terms Apply.

WynnBET

WynnBET stands out from its competition by cutting through the vast volume of wager types and posting only those NFL player props and NFL team prop bets that are of the greatest interest to sports bettors. It also has a strong introductory offer, as the WynnBET promo code XUSATODAY gives new customers a Bet $20, Get $100 in bonus bets deal. New customers will get two guaranteed bet credits, each worth $50, after they place a $20 wager with minimum odds of -120. The bet credits are issued whether that first bet is a win or a loss but must be used on plays with minimum odds of -150.

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FanDuel

FanDuel has done a terrific job of structuring its app and website to make it easy to find any type of parlay wager you are looking for. This is especially true for NFL player props such as receiving props, as that area has sections for betting on if a player will post 750, 1,000 or 1,250 or more yards or notch 6, 8, 10 or 12 receiving touchdowns. New customers who sign up using the FanDuel promo code will get a No Sweat First Bet offer up to $1,000. This deal refunds an opening-wager loss up to $1,000 with site credit of equal value that can be broken into multiple many bonus bets.

Must be 21+ to participate. Terms apply.

DraftKings

DraftKings is one of the most innovative sports betting apps and this very much applies to its NFL player props and NFL team prop bets, as you can bet on categories such as if a player will break the record for most sacks, touchdown passes, passing yards or receiving yards in the upcoming season. First-time customers who sign up using the DraftKings promo code can get a greater than 30-1 return for doing so, as it offers those customers a Bet $5, Get $150 in bonus bets deal. Win or lose, new customers will get six bonus bets, each worth $25, after placing a $5 bet.

Conclusion on the Best NFL Prop Bets

Prop bets are entertaining because they can cover such a wide range of wagers. They allow you to aim your focus on the NFL best player props while also searching for top NFL team prop bets. When you expand your prop bet capabilities by signing up for multiple online sportsbooks, you can then pick and choose the best player props NFL-style and thus add depth to your NFL picks and predictions.

NFL Prop Bets FAQs

Prop bets are wagers on specific achievements that occur during a game or over an entire season. This range of bet types is why NFL player props and NFL team prop bets are popular, as they allow bettors to select specific wagering goals rather than focusing on standard wager types such as point spread, total points or moneyline.
An NFL prop is a simple wager, as you are betting on if a player or team will reach a particular statistical or other season-long achievement such as wins or qualifying for the postseason. This simplicity makes prop bets some of the most popular NFL wager types.
The best NFL prop bets can be found at the online sportsbooks in this guide. Signing up for more than one of these sportsbooks will give you the ability to pick and choose between a wide range of NFL player prop bets and thus find the NFL player props that are the right fit for your betting budget and strategy.
The best props for the 2024 NFL Draft can be found in the NFL Draft props section of major online sportsbooks. Wagers for the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft have already been posted and many more wagers will be available in this category as the 2023 college football season progresses.
An anytime touchdown scorer is an NFL player props type where you are wagering on if a player will score a touchdown in a game. This touchdown can occur at any time during the contest, hence the name, but it only applies to players who actually carry the ball over the goal line and into the end zone.
A player props NFL wager on an anytime touchdown scorer only includes touchdowns scored by the player who carries the ball into the end zone. That can occur via a player catching a pass and finding his way to the end zone, reaching paydirt on a rushing play or scoring on a fumble or interception return.
The anytime touchdown scorer prop bet can be one of the NFL best prop bets as long as you are aware that a quarterback can only win this wager if he scores a rushing, receiving or recovery touchdown (such as on a fumble). A passing touchdown will not give you a props-bet win in the anytime touchdown category.

Affiliate Disclosure: At USA TODAY, we want to ensure that players are matched with the right casino and sportsbook offers for them. For this reason, some of the recommended site links are affiliate links. This means that if you visit a website through our link and make a deposit, Gambling.com will receive a commission payment at no extra cost to you.

  1. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (CO,DC, IL, IN, LA, MD, MS, NJ, OH, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY) Call 877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY) Call 1-800-327-5050 (MA) 21+ to wager. Please Gamble Responsibly. Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (KS, NV), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help (MI), 1-800-981-0023 (PR) . In partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel. Visit BetMGM.com for Terms & Conditions. US promotional offers not available in DC, Nevada, New York, Kansas, Mississippi or Ontario.
    green tick Official Gaming Partner Of The Knicks, Rangers & Devils
    green tick Free-To-Play Sweepstakes During Big Events
    green tick MGM Rewards Program
    Bonus Code
    information icon
    USATODAY
    Live Streaming
    YES
    Live Betting
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    Cash Out
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    Same-Game Parlay
    YES
    Sports Offered
    22
    BetMGM Sportsbook, also referred to as the "King" of Sportsbooks, has cemented itself as a candidate for the top spot. Available to bet in every legal state, BetMGM has one of the most lucrative welcome offers in the market
  2. 2
    FanDuel Sports
    Established 2009
    More Details Up Arrow
    No Sweat Bet up to $1,000
    Must be 21+ to participate. Terms apply.
    green tick Official Betting Partner Of The Nets, Yankees, Bills
    green tick Variety of Live Betting Markets
    green tick Venmo Deposits and Withdrawals
    Promo Code
    information icon
    NOT REQUIRED
    Live Streaming
    YES
    Live Betting
    YES
    Cash Out
    YES
    Same-Game Parlay
    YES
    Sports Offered
    18
    Fanduel, who is owned by Flutter Entertainment, has really proved why they're the people's favorite sportsbook. With its trouble-free platform, it allows bettors to find their exact needs effeciently. Whether it's cross sport parlays, futures, or live bets, Fanduel has it all for you to get in on the action.
  3. Must be 21+. T&Cs apply.
    Promo Code
    information icon
    NOT REQUIRED
    Live Streaming
    YES
    Live Betting
    YES
    Cash Out
    YES
    Same-Game Parlay
    YES
    Sports Offered
    20
  4. Must be 21+ to participate. Terms Apply.
    green tick Same Day Payouts via RushPay
    green tick Weekly Same-Game Parlay Promotions
    green tick Bonus Store to Redeem Rewards
    Promo Code
    information icon
    SPORTS
    Live Streaming
    YES
    Live Betting
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    Cash Out
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    Same-Game Parlay
    YES
    Sports Offered
    21
    Odds powered by Kambi Group, BetRivers Sportsbook contains a vast catalog to bet on. It also includes a promotion list that is one of th biggest on a daily basis. To top it all off, it is one of the few sportsbooks that will pay you instantly when you withdraw
  5. Must be 21+ to participate. T&Cs apply.
    green tick Exclusive Live Streaming on Select NFL Games
    green tick Strong VIP Rewards Including Bonus Bets
    green tick Tier Credits Earned For Every Bet Placed
    Promo Code
    information icon
    USATODAYFULL
    Live Streaming
    YES
    Live Betting
    YES
    Cash Out
    YES
    Same-Game Parlay
    YES
    Sports Offered
    19
    Caesars Sportsbook, previously known as William Hill, has climbed the ranks of the US market with their new technology and platform. Their exclusive partnership with the NFL, makes them the only sportsbook to watch games on their app.

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KC Joyner  for USAToday.com
KC Joyner Gambling.com 12 Articles written
KC Joyner is one of the pioneers of the football analytics movement. He was a Senior Writer for ESPN, covering fantasy football, the NFL, college football, and the NFL draft for 14 years. He has also penned material for The Athletic, The New York Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer. KC’s Scientific Football book series broke new ground in the football analytics world and was purchased by nearly half of NFL teams.