NFL Player Prop Countdown: Top 5 Prop Bets for Wild Card Round

Iain MacMillan | 19 Hours Ago

Bet on Travis Etienne to go over his rushing yards total against the Bills. / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Throughout the NFL season, I gave you my top 10 player props to bet on for each week. We're going to keep it going for the postseason, but with there being limited games to bet on, we're going to reduce the list of props from 10 down to five.

With six games set to take place in the Wild Card round, we have plenty of games to find five total props for. Let's dive into the five that I locked in as the ones I like the most.

NFL Wild Card Player Props

5) Justin Herbert OVER 1.5 Passing Touchdowns (+115) via BetMGM

I expect Justin Herbert to have a big game on Sunday night against this Patriots' secondary. New England ranks outside the top 10 in virtually every single pass defense metric, despite playing one of the easiest scheduled in NFL history. They've also allowed 1.5 passing touchdowns per game and have the third worst red zone defense, allowing opponents to score a touchdown on 67.5% of red zone trips against them.

It's time for Herbert to have a statement playoff win, and at +115 odds, I think it's a great bet on him to throw for 2+ touchdowns.

4) Tet McMillan OVER 4.5 Receptions (+115) via BetMGM

If the Panthers want any hope of hanging with the Rams in this game, they need to find a way to get the ball in their best player's hands early and often. Tet McMillan comes into this game in strong form, combining for 20 targets, 11 catches, and 163 yards over the Panthers' final three games of the season.

Even if the Rams get out to a big lead, we could see McMillan rack up garbage time receptions as the Rams start to play a soft shell defense.

3) A.J. Brown Anytime Touchdown (+150) via FanDuel

The 49ers' pass defense is the worst amongst all playoff teams, ranking 25th in the NFL in opponent dropback EPA. That could lead to big things for the Eagles' passing attack, including A.J. Brown who had a big second half of the season. He has seen double-digit targets in five of his last seven games, and scored four combined touchdowns in that stretch. If the Eagles' decide to go to the air against the San Francisco defense, Brown to score a touchdown at +150 is going to be a great bet to have.

2) Kenneth Gainwell OVER 5.5 Receptions (+111) via Caesars

If you've watched any Pittsburgh Steelers game this season, you know that using their running backs in the passing game is a big part of their offense. Kenneth Gainwell is the primary receiving back for them, and he's coming off a game against the Ravens where he hauled in eight receptions for 64 yards. Now that the Steelers are set to take on the Texans, who have one of the best secondaries in the NFL, I expect dumping the ball off underneath to Gainwell is once again going to be a big part of their game plan.

1) Travis Etienne OVER 64.5 Rushing Yards (-109) via DraftKings

The Bills have one of the worst run defenses in the NFL. They rank 31st in the league in opponent rush EPA, and they have allowed 5.1 yards per carry. The Jaguars would be smart to lean on their running game to attack Buffalo where its weak, which means handing the ball off to Travis Etienne early and often. He has averaged 65.1 rushing yards per game this season, so as long as he hits his average, this bet will cash.

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You can check out all of Iain's bets here!