The Denver Broncos travel to NOLA to face the New Orleans Saints with both teams desperate to win, especially the Saints who need to snap a four-game losing streak. Fortunately, there are some interesting player prop angles for us to get stuck into.
Let's dive into my Broncos vs. Saints props for Thursday Night Football.
Sam Farley's Broncos vs. Saints Player Props
- Spencer Rattler Under 180.5 Passing Yards (-113 at BetRivers)
- Bo Nix Over 188.5 Passing Yards (-110 at bet365)
- Devaughn Vele Over 3.5 Receptions (+115 at bet365)
- Devaughn Vele Anytime Touchdown (+500 at FanDuel)
- Devaughn Vele Over 80+ Receiving Yards (+950 at DraftKings)
Spencer Rattler
Under 180.5 Passing Yards (-113)
Spencer Rattler made his first appearance for the Saints at home against the Buccaneers in Week 6. It was a mixed performance from the young quarterback, with a couple of highlights (his 10-yard touchdown pass), and some lowlights (his two interceptions). He threw for 243 yards with 40 attempts and finished with a 60.7 QB Rating.
Rattler is in for a tougher test against a good Broncos secondary, albeit one that might be without Patrick Surtain II. The Broncos have allowed just 170.2 passing yards per game, the fifth-fewest in the NFL, and will be licking their lips at the chance to face a rookie in just his second NFL game. Take the under on Rattler’s passing yards and consider over 0.5 interceptions at -130 if Surtain, who has five picks this season, is able to play.
Bo Nix
Over 188.5 Passing Yards (-110)
Rattler’s opening game struggles weren’t as bad as what we saw from Bo Nix in Week 1 at the Seahawks. Nix put up just 138 yards, averaged 3.3 yards per pass, was intercepted twice and finished with a 47.5 QB Rating.
But we’ve seen steady improvement from the former Oregon man since. His playing style is still somewhat chaotic, but he’s moving the chains and has throw for at least 200 passing yards in four of five games since that tough opener.
The banged up Saints defense struggles against the pass and only three teams are averaging more than the 262.2 yards per game they’ve allowed. Nix is starting to get things together and Sean Payton is letting him throw the ball at high volume, with 33 attempts last week and a minimum of 25 per game so far this season. He will get plenty of chances to make plays and against a struggling defense then you should take the over.
Devaughn Vele
Over 3.5 Receptions (+115)
One Broncos player thriving with Nix at QB is Devaughn Vele. The rookie has looked impressive, despite having made just two appearances this season. He caught all eight of his targets for 39 yards in the season opener before missing four games with an injury. In his return last week, Vele had four catches on six targets for 78 yards.
This kid is about to break out and a game against the Saints defense is a prime opportunity for a standout performance. Vele had at least six targets per game and caught all eight of the passes thrown his direction in the one other game he played this season. It’s a small sample size, but his chemistry with Nix passes the eye test, so back Vele to go over 3.5 receptions at plus money.
Devaughn Vele
Anytime Touchdown (+500)
We’re doubling down on Vele here and backing the former Utah to find the endzone. He’s yet to do so, and hasn’t even had a red zone look yet, but he’s getting volume on this offense and developing real chemistry with the quarterback.
At +500 it’s worth having a small sprinkle on the seventh round pick to score his first NFL touchdown.
Devaughn Vele Over 80+ Receiving Yards (+950)
We are tripling down on Vele. Yes, you read that right.
It feels like he’s been mispriced for this game and there are plenty of angles to take him on, so we’re doing it.
His receiving yard line for the game sits at 30.5 but we’ll take an alternate line at 80+.
Vele finished two yards shy of this number last week, with the Bucs (marginally) better against the pass than the Saints. He’ll mostly be lining up in the slot, an area of the field that the Saints have given up big plays to Chris Godwin, JuJu Smith-Schuster and others this season.
At monster odds it’s worth having a small bit of change on Vele to top 80 yards. If you want to go a bit lower, you can get +425 odds on 60+ receiving yards. If you're truly bullish on his prospects, you can reach for the stars at 100+ (+1500).
