Like the long ball in baseball, everyone loves touchdowns in the NFL.
There are going to be a lot of them in Week 1, and in every subsequent week. But who will score them?
Here are my three favorite anytime touchdown bets for the season-opening weekend:
Carolina Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey (-120)
Injury issues have slowed the star running back in recent years, but he should be healthy and ready to go for the opener against the Browns. Cleveland has the 12th-best defense in the NFL heading into 2022, according to a projection by Football Outsiders, but McCaffrey is versatile enough to score against anyone.
He only had two touchdowns in seven games last season, but that was the outlier. When McCaffrey was healthy, he put up 13 touchdowns in 16 games in 2018 and then 19 touchdowns in 16 games in 2019. Before injuries took their toll in 2020, he had six touchdowns in three games.
It’s possible McCaffrey wears down or gets injured as the season goes along, but this is a great time to back him.
Las Vegas Raiders WR Davante Adams (+125)
After an uber-productive stretch alongside Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, Adams asked for a trade to the Raiders this offseason. Can he continue to excel with Derek Carr getting him the ball? We’re about to find out.
The duo was fantastic together in college, and that chemistry should not be overlooked in their first NFL game together against the Chargers. The Raiders have a couple of other key touchdown targets in Hunter Renfrow and Darren Waller, but Adams has a penchant to get into the end zone, with 69 touchdowns in his past 87 games.
The Chargers are not likely to have J.C. Jackson in the opener, which is a big deal, because he may have shadowed Adams. Los Angeles’ pass rush could dominate this one, which means Carr could have a tough time scanning through all of his progression on dropbacks.
The good news for Adams bettors? Davante is going to be the first read on a bunch of plays, and if the targets are high, the chances of reaching the end zone are good.
Green Bay Packers TE Robert Tonyan (+295)
Tonyan is still making his way back from a torn ACL and coach Matt LaFleur has yet to confirm that he will be on the field for Week 1 against the Vikings. But Tonyan was hurt back in Week 8 last year and is doing some 11-on-11 work, so it seems likely he plays. While there are anytime touchdown odds available for him, definitely check the latest news before placing the wager.
Even if Tonyan doesn’t play as many snaps as usual, I think the Packers will want to use him in the red zone. He had 52 catches for 586 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2021 and Green Bay’s wide receiver situation is a great unknown.
Aaron Rodgers has good chemistry with Tonyan and should trust him when points are on the line. This is a worthy underdog play provided Tonyan gets a healthy amount of reps, because he can win his individual matchup and Rodgers will not be shy about targeting him against the Vikings.
LaFleur says Allen Lazard "got stepped on" last week and will once again not be practicing today. First injury report is out this afternoon.
— Aaron Nagler (@AaronNagler) September 7, 2022
