NFL Rookie of the Year Odds Week 18 – Panthers’ Tetairoa McMillan and Browns’ Carson Schwesinger Lead OROY and DROY Candidates Respectively

One of the main events of the 2025 offseason was the NFL draft, which took place at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It’s been nearly 8 months since that day, and now some of the rookies find themselves on teams that have made the playoffs.

As is the case each year, rookies play crucial roles for their teams, and in some cases, they even go on to become one of the best players on the roster, maturing early and taking on added responsibility.

Whether they go on to win the Super Bowl this season or not, their invaluable contributions cannot be overlooked. And for that, the NFL will hand out awards for the Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year (OROY and DROY). So, without further ado, let us take a look at the leading candidates for this season.

Updated 2025-26 NFL OROY Odds

Here are the latest OROY odds for the 2025-26 NFL season at the end of the regular season, sourced via FanDuel and BetMGM.

Player	FanDuel Odds	BetMGM Odds
Tetairoa McMillan	-2000	-1000
Jaxson Dart	+1200	+750
TreVeyon Henderson	+2500	+1500
Tyler Shough	+2500	+1400

As per FanDuel, the top 4 players in the running for the Offensive Rookie of the Year are wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, running back TreVeyon Henderson, and quarterbacks Jaxson Dart and Tyler Shough.

2025-26 NFL OROY Favorites Right Now

Let us now take a look at the top 2 favorites to land the NFL OROY award this season.

Tetairoa McMillan

Carolina Panthers’ wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan remained consistent throughout his rookie season, and not only did he quickly become Bryce Young’s go-to target, but the rookie also helped the Panthers get back to the postseason.

After a terrible run over the past few years, Carolina took a huge step forward this season, and while the coaching staff and other players on the roster deserve credit, McMillan’s performance as a rookie stood out significantly.

McMillan finished his rookie campaign with 70 receptions for 1,014 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns.

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Jaxson Dart

Jaxson Dart took over the Giants’ offense in Week 4 of the season after New York benched Russell Wilson. In spite of losing his number one receiver, Malik Nabers, and fellow rookie running back Cam Scattebo to injuries early in the season, Dart showcased his skills, earning 4 wins in the process.

As a matter of fact, Dart was one of the very few shining lights in the Giants’ organization this season, right from the coaching staff to the players. The first round draft pick finished the season with 2,272 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions.

Updated 2025-26 NFL DROY Odds

Here are the latest DROY odds for the 2025-26 NFL season at the end of the regular season, sourced via FanDuel and BetMGM.

Player	FanDuel Odds	BetMGM Odds
Carson Schwesinger	-750	-1000
James Pearce Jr.	+500	+450
Nick Emmanwori	+1700	+1500

As per FanDuel, the top three defenders for the Defensive Rookie of the Year award are linebackers Carson Schwesinger and James Pearce Jr., as well as safety Nick Emmanwori.

2025-26 NFL DROY Favorite Right Now

Here is a quick look at the top favorite to land the NFL DROY award this season, as per FanDuel.

Carson Schwesinger

Linebacker Carson Schwesinger was part of one of the season’s better defenses in the league this year with the Cleveland Browns. Led by the newly crowned record sack leader, Myles Garrett, Schwesinger provided able support from the second line of defense.

The rookie second-round pick featured in 16 games and even battled a high ankle sprain while still playing at a high level. The UCLA graduate was a disruptive force on defense and ended the season with 156 tackles, 2.5 sacks, a couple of interceptions, as well as 3 pass deflections.

The above odds are sourced from FanDuel. Use FanDuel to ace your betting game in all sports!

Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!