Last season was the quintessential breakout season for Darren Waller. After four years of toiling in obscurity, Waller burst onto the scene as the Raiders’ starting tight end, putting up 1,045 yards receiving and 3 touchdowns.
What does Waller do for an encore? Here are some prop bet lines for Waller entering the 2020 season via various online sportsbooks:
Total Receiving TD’s
Over 4½ TD’s (-115)
Under 4½ TD’s (-115)
Total Receiving Yards
Over 880½ yds (-115)
Under 880½ yds (-115)
Now before you go out and plunking all your money down on the overs, you have to ask yourself whether you think Waller is going to get the same number of targets he got last season.
Waller was by far the Raiders’ best receiver last season, seeing 117 targets and hauling in 90 receptions. That was the most catches and yards by a Raiders tight end since Todd Christensen in 1986.
In 2018, tight end Jared Cook tied for the team lead with 68 catches, equaling 896 yards and six touchdowns. He was tied with running back Jalen Richard.
The Raiders have said they want to get Josh Jacobs more involved as a receiver this season and their receiving corps looks improved from last season as well, which could mean the targets are more spread out.
If you give Waller 68 catches that Cook had in 2018 with the 12.7 yards per catch Waller had last season, he comes in at 864 yards. So, you can see the reason for the line being where it is and you have to make your own decision on where you think he’ll finish.
