The most popular running back in fantasy football is a favorite among bettors, too.
The three most wagered-on player props at PointsBet for Thursday Night Football between the Carolina Panthers and Houston Texans involve Christian McCaffrey.
The props are:
- McCaffrey to score a touchdown (-250)
- McCaffrey to accumulate 50 or more receiving yards (-135)
- McCaffrey to score two or more touchdowns (+130)
Bettors are expecting the highest-paid running back in NFL history to tee off against a Texans defense that ranks in the bottom half in DVOA so far this season.
The Texans are also tied for the worst odds to win the Super Bowl and had the lowest win total in the NFL coming into the season.
The 25-year-old out of Stanford is the No. 1 ranked running back in fantasy football for Week 3, according to The Action Network’s experts. McCaffrey was the No. 1 ranked RB in Weeks 1 and 2 as well.
Check out the link below for up-to-the-minute, week-to-week fantasy football rankings from our experts.
McCaffrey has scored a touchdown in five of his last six games. Over his career, he has scored a TD 29 out of his 54 career NFL games, including in his only playoff game — a 31-26 loss to the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Wild Card Round after the 2017 season.
The All-Pro running back has nabbed 50 or more receiving yards in each of his last three games, dating back to last season. He’s also put up those numbers in 13 of 21 games since the 2019 season.
But McCaffrey has only scored two touchdowns in a game 14 times out of his 54 career games.
The Panthers are currently -400 favorites at DraftKings to remain undefeated after Thursday. They’re also 8-point favorites (-110).
The Texans are +300 underdogs to pull off the upset.