The Houston Texans made a huge splash Wednesday, acquiring a No. 1-caliber wide receiver in Stefon Diggs.
Perhaps the biggest beneficiary of the Diggs trade is quarterback CJ Stroud, who saw his MVP odds get a slight bump from 11/1 down to +900 on DraftKings.
Stroud put up some gaudy stats in his rookie year, throwing for 4,108 yards – seventh-most in the NFL —and his 8.2 yards per attempt were the third-best in the NFL among starters.
There is still some value hanging around on Stroud to win the league’s Most Valuable Player Award elsewhere, though.
Over on BetMGM and Caesars, Stroud is still 10/1 to win MVP, a slightly better line compared to other books, but still a worthy investment given the weapons shuttered around the budding superstar.
Heading into 2024, Stroud will have the option to throw to Diggs, running back Joe Mixon, along with emerging star receivers Nico Collins and Nathaniel “Tank” Dell.
There’s also reliable tight end Dalton Schultz, who quietly had a solid season for the Texans as a safety blanket for Stroud.
All of this makes for an intriguing bite of optimism for the Texans this coming season.
Stroud constantly looks to push the ball downfield, having led all starters in average depth of target as a rookie in 2023.
Typically, when a rookie is among the league leaders in air yards, you’d expect a heavy dose of interceptions to follow suit.
However, that was not the case for the Ohio State product, who threw five interceptions as a rookie.
If Diggs wants to make an impact, he will need to gain more separation and beat defenders downfield.
Diggs had the eighth-most unrealized pass yards in the NFL and whether that’s his fault or his ex-quarterback Josh Allen’s remains to be seen.
But he ranked 29th in the NFL against man coverage, getting open 40 percent of the time, Arjun Menon tells The Post via Pro Football Focus.
In Weeks 1-9, Diggs ranked seventh in the NFL among all wide receivers, getting open 48.7 percent of the time, although a back injury hindered him later in the year, forcing that rank to drop to 32.3 percent, 49th in the NFL from Week 10 on.
Betting on the NFL?
Diggs’ advanced analytics are strong when you also factor in waning weather forecasts that he dealt with in Buffalo during the second half of the season.
All of this leads to a bullish case for Stroud to put up massive numbers in shootouts this coming season.
If you have any bonus bets to use on your respective sports betting accounts, he is a valuable addition to your future portfolio.
PICK: CJ Stroud to win the NFL MVP Award (10/1, BetMGM)
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