NFL Week 3 Odds, Picks & Predictions: First Touchdown Scorer (2022)
With Week 2 in the rearview mirror, we now look forward to Week 3. The prop market continues to explode in popularity when betting on pro football, which is most likely a direct result of lifelong fantasy football players finally entering the betting landscape as legalization spreads.
Below, I will walk through my favorite first touchdown scorer bets for Week 3. These plays are a half-unit each, or 0.5% of your betting bankroll.
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(Odds Courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
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Austin Ekeler (+550)
The Los Angeles Chargers host the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday as three-point favorites. All the chatter surrounding this game involves the health of Justin Herbert, who was downgraded to doubtful on Friday morning because of his cracked rib cartilage.
Making the start in his absence is long-time veteran Chase Daniel. Going against Jacksonville, all the Chargers need from him is to be a good game manager and not turn over the football.
The good news for Los Angeles is that Daniel is great at both of those things. The good news for Daniel is that he has a stacked roster to help him succeed at those tasks, particularly Austin Ekeler.
We should expect a checkdown-heavy offense from the Chargers to compensate for having Daniel in at QB, which means we will hear Ekeler’s name a lot on Sunday. In fact, that is usually the case regardless of the QB situation, as he leads the team in both receptions and carries through the first two weeks.
Ekeler will likely touch the ball 25+ times on Sunday, increasing the likelihood that he finds the endzone first. Los Angeles has scored the first touchdown in each of its first two games.
Tyler Lockett (+1000)
The Seattle Seahawks host the Atlanta Falcons as one-point favorites on Sunday afternoon. Considering that Seattle throws on 64% of its plays, the Falcons could be in a world of trouble in this matchup.
Through the first two weeks, Atlanta ranks 24th in the league in passing defense and 27th in points against. This should be a problem against a pass-heavy offense that has surprisingly been fairly efficient through the first two weeks.
Thus far, Geno Smith boasts an 81% completion percentage and a 99.1 rating, a rating that is higher than Jalen Hurts’, Aaron Rodgers’, and Tom Brady’s. His favorite target has been Tyler Lockett, who leads the team in catches, targets, and yards.
Lockett should be able to torch this secondary. In Week 1, the Falcons gave up 12 catches for 171 yards and two touchdowns to Jarvis Landry and Michael Thomas.
In Week 2, they gave up 15 catches for 161 yards and three touchdowns to Cooper Kupp and Allen Robinson. The Falcons have given up the first touchdown of the game in each of those two outings.
Best of luck!
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Tony Sartori is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Tony, check out his archive and follow him @tony_sartori.