NFL Thursday Night Football Player Props & Bets: Buccaneers vs. Cowboys
Week 5 of of the 2026-2027 NFL campaign is set to kick off tonight. The first four weeks have certainly been interesting if nothing else. Let's jump right into our favorite Player Prop bets for the Thursday matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys.
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(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Longest Completion: Jalon Daniels Under 31.5 Yards (-114)
The 32-yard longest completion for Jalon Daniels was not the first prop that came to mind. It was actually the Over on interceptions. The juice ballooned to -190, so that ship has ultimately sailed unless you want to add that to another play for a small parlay. There are a few props to consider for Jalon Daniels in this contest. Overall, we feel the longest completion line may be too ambitious for the young quarterback to reach.
Daniels threw for 142 yards in his first start, with 19 completions on 27 attempts. The quarterback for the Buccaneers threw for a longest completion of 21 (to our next selection) in Sunday. Dallas is allowing an average of 239 yards through the air, with a longest reception of 53 yards. The Cowboys are a team that you can certainly pass on as we have seen through the first four weeks. However, Tampa Bay may elect to keep the deep passes to a minimum in order to limit turnovers. We expect more check downs and passes of 10-15 yards than bombs for Jalon Daniels.
Longest Reception: Ted Hurst III Over 14.5 Yards (-108)
This prop bet for the longest reception is somewhat worrisome if we are being candid. Ted Hurst III does not catch a high volume of passes that are thrown his way. The wide receiver for the Buccaneers is averaging a slim 2.0 reception each contest. The low reception total may appear to be the biggest issue, yet what is truly troubling is the fact Hurst III has eclipsed the 14.5-yard threshold in all four games.
You certainly don't want to play into the hands of the sportsbooks when there is such a peculiar red flag. Having said that, this could also be a fantastic spot to pounce. The oddsmakers are clearly not confident in the passing abilities of Jalon Daniels, and we agree with that stance. What we do believe in is that Hurst is going to get targets. Despite the limited receptions, the young receiver has been targeted on 15 plays, with a long reception of 20 yards or more in three consecutive games.
Javonte Williams 3+ Receptions (-122)
This next selection is a personal prop bet that I've been taking advantage of since Week 1. Javonte Williams has been quite a sneaky and lucrative source of receptions this season. The total was at two for the first few weeks, and now we are at three, which still is a bit low for the production. Williams has hauled in 15 receptions over four contests, with three or more in 3-of-4 games.
The running back for the Cowboys was sought out in the passing game on 17 plays this season. Considering Williams has caught just below 90% of targets, we'd say he is certainly one of the more reliable options in the passing attack for Dallas. Williams is averaging 3.75 receptions through four games played. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have allowed 25 receptions to the running back position on the season. No starting running back has caught fewer than five receptions when playing Tampa Bay.
George Pickens Anytime Touchdown (+115)
We round things out with a bit of a disappointing return based on success rate. George Pickens has not scored through four games, and we are barely getting any compensation for that. Oddsmakers appear to have Pickens already penciled in for a touchdown given the modest return. Regardless, a positive return is just that, and we are not trying to get rich on one play, we are trying to increase our ROI either for the week, month, or season.
Pickens has seen two passes in the end zone, and three looks in the red zone. The wide receiver for Dallas has had serious issues catching the ball this season. Pickens is bringing in 35.7% of his targets in 2026. We expect that to improve through the course of the season, and that could be what has held Pickens back from finding the end zone. Despite the negatives, it is Week 5 and we expect Pickens to get an opportunity to score this evening against Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers are allowing 1.5 completions for touchdowns in 2026. Tampa Bay conceded two passing touchdowns in their previous contest.