Early Odds For The 2018 Heisman Trophy Winner Are Here And The Top Two Favorites Are RBs

Heisman Trophy

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Oklahoma University’s Baker Mayfield went wire-to-wire as the 2017 early favorite to win the Heisman Trophy and ended up winning the award before falling in the first game of the College Football Playoffs. The first round of odds for the 2018 Heisman Trophy winner are out and it’s clear that we don’t have a ‘true favorite’ situation like we had last year.

Last year, Baker Mayfield opened up as a +550 favorite to win the award. This year, the top three favorites are +700, +800, +900. In last year’s first round of odds, there was JT Barrett at +600 after Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson at +700. So we’re definitely expecting a much more wide-open field this year.

Another interesting plotline is there are 3 running backs in the top 5 and only 2 quarterbacks. After the top 5, the field is full of QBs but the early favorites are mostly running backs. Alright, let’s check out the early odds for the 2018 Heisman Trophy award winner (via OddsShark.com):

Bryce Love (RB Stanford) +700
Jonathan Taylor (RB Wisconsin) +800
Khalil Tate (QB Arizona) +900
Tua Tagovailoa (QB Alabama) +900
J.K. Dobbins (RB Ohio State) +1200
Jake Fromm (QB Georgia) +1200
Jarrett Stidham (QB Auburn) +1200
Will Grier (QB West Virginia) +1500
Justin Herbert (QB Oregon) +1500
Kelly Bryant (QB Clemson) +1500
McKenzie Milton (QB UCF) +1800
Trace McSorley (QB Penn State) +1800
Cam Akers (RB Florida State) +2200
Jake Browning (QB Washington) +2200
Rodney Anderson (RB Oklahoma) +2500
Ryan Finley (QB NC State) +2500
Brandon Wimbush (QB Notre Dame) +3500
D’Andre Swift (RB Georgia) +3500
Nick Fitzgerald (QB Mississippi State) +3500
Trevor Etienne (RB Clemson) +3500
David Sills (WR West Virginia) +4500
Ed Oliver (DL Houston) +5500
Nick Bosa (DL Ohio State) +7500

Ed Oliver and Nick Bosa might look alluring down there as DLs with +5500 and +7500 payouts but you’re practically throwing your cash away on a defenseman to win the award. Some interesting names on the list right now are Trace McSorley, the quarterback for Penn State paying out at +1800, Kelly Bryan from Clemson at +1500, Cam Akers the running back from FSU at +2200 who broke Dalvin Cook’s freshmen records, and D’Andrew Swift the RB for Georgia. All of those teams will be in the mix next year and have the potential to get an invite to the Heisman ceremony in New York.

(h/t Odds Shark)

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Cass Anderson is the Editor-in-Chief of BroBible. Based out of Florida, he covers an array of topics including NFL, Pop Culture, Fishing News, and the Outdoors.