NFL NFC West Player Props: The Marvin Harrison Jr. Breakout Year
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Scott Kacsmar
- August 20, 2025
The NFC West could be one of the best division races in the entire NFL this year if the 49ers stay healthy, Matthew Stafford’s back holds up with Davante Adams, the Cardinals finally put it together under Kyler Murray, and a new-look Seattle offense with Sam Darnold trying to prove 2024 wasn’t a fluke.
There may not be a bad team in the division, so let’s look at our favorite player props for the 2025 season at top-rated sportsbooks before making a tough decision on the division title winner.
Current Odds to Win the Super Bowl
Arizona Cardinals: Marvin Harrison Jr.
- Over/Under 72.5 Receptions
The 2024 NFL Draft is already looking like a great class for the wide receiver position. We knew it was deep going into that draft, and after a year, we’ve already seen very promising play from the likes of Malik Nabers, Rome Odunze, Ladd McConkey, Brian Thomas Jr., Xavier Worthy, Ricky Pearsall, and more.
But the 1st receiver taken in that draft was Marvin Harrison Jr., the taller, faster version of his Hall of Fame father. He had a solid rookie year in Arizona, but it could have been better with 62 catches, 885 yards, and 8 touchdowns. But even his dad needed a couple of years (and Peyton Manning to come along at quarterback) to really explode as an elite wide receiver.
Look for Harrison Jr. to be more consistent and dominant this season in Year 2 with this offensive system. The Cardinals kept the same play-caller in place, so he should be more familiar with everything, including better chemistry with Kyler Murray, who still looked for him a lot as a rookie.
But last year, Harrison Jr. had a bad habit of starting a game red hot before not catching any balls after the 1st half, or sometimes even the 1st quarter. Chalk that up to rookie inexperience and you’ll see him do much better this year.
Touchdowns are always iffy since Murray struggles to throw any of them to a tight end like Trey McBride too, so we’re going to target the over for his 72.5 receptions. He already had 62 last year, so it’s not even an extra full catch per game to get above that number this year.
The 2025 season will be the one where Harrison Jr. reminds everyone why he was WR1 in a loaded draft class.
Los Angeles Rams: Kyren Williams
- Over/Under 10.5 Rushing Touchdowns
There are some concerns about betting on the passing game for the Rams this season. They stem from Matthew Stafford, a 37-year-old with back issues, and the potential that he could miss games for health reasons. He seems to be practicing this week, but it’s a little scare that has some worried about the Rams.
Throw in a ball hog like Davante Adams joining a ball hog like Puka Nacua, and that distribution of targets will be very interesting to see this year with Cooper Kupp out of the way. Nacua and Adams can both put up numbers, and even if Stafford is out, Jimmy Garoppolo is a capable backup who would do well in Sean McVay’s system.
However, you remember the way Garoppolo almost got Adams killed with a hospital ball when they were in Vegas together, and you get a bit worried again about trusting any over in this passing offense.
That’s why the safe route is in running back Kyren Williams. Going back to 2017 when he had Todd Gurley in the backfield, McVay is a believer in work horse backs. He’s not a committee approach coach, which is why he tried replacing Gurley with Cam Akers before injuries ended that idea.
But Williams has been very consistent and generally healthy for him the last few years. Williams rushed for 12 touchdowns in 2023, his breakout year, and increased that total to 14 last season. The Rams are not a Tush Push offense, and they’re not huge on throwing from the goal line, so Williams is a good bet to get those short touchdown runs again.
The good news is the Rams do project as a playoff team and should be a productive offense, so that should set up Williams with plenty of scoring opportunities. He’s the player to trust in this offense this year.
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San Francisco 49ers: Ricky Pearsall
- Over/Under 3.5 Receiving Touchdowns
Marvin Harrison Jr. is not the only 2nd-year wideout to keep an eye on in the NFC West this season. Ricky Pearsall snuck into that 1st round a year ago with the No. 31 pick, and he unfortunately was the target in a robbery before the season that left him with a gunshot wound. He was able to recover and play in 11 games, showing plenty of potential and promise.
Pearsall finished with 31 catches for 400 yards and 3 touchdowns. He should easily improve on those numbers this year, and we’re focusing on the over 3.5 touchdowns as that’s only an extra score over his rookie year where he missed 6 games.
But just look at the offense in San Francisco right now. Maybe Chrisitan McCaffrey won’t be as elite as he used to be after an injury-plagued year, so there won’t be as many rushing touchdowns going his way in the red zone. They also traded Deebo Samuel to Washington, so those YAC plays and rushing plays to him are no longer part of this offense.
Then the big one is that Brandon Aiyuk, the No. 1 receiver here, is still likely going to miss 6 games or so as he deals with his recovery from a torn ACL. That should give Pearsall plenty of early looks as he battles with Jauan Jennings and tight end George Kittle for passes.
Pearsall had a 46-yard touchdown from Brock Purdy last year, and he also caught a couple of short ones in the red zone (3 and 6 yards). He can be used in a variety of ways, and with Deebo gone and Aiyuk not 100%, this is Pearsall’s year to shine.
Seattle Seahawks: Sam Darnold
- Over 3400.5 Passing Yards
It may be one of the most lateral moves of 2025, but the Seahawks are going with a younger Sam Darnold instead of Geno Smith at quarterback. Oddly enough, both were drafted by the Jets where they struggled, they took the backup route in other cities, and they both had a delayed breakout year with an NFC team.
But there were diminishing returns on the Geno-led offense in Seattle, so it makes some sense why they made a move there. However, banking that 2024 wasn’t a one-year-wonder type of deal with Darnold in Minnesota where he had a friendly passing system and an incredible wideout like Justin Jefferson is a bold move.
The way to view this one is the Seahawks are going to be in a lot of competitive games as you can’t trust them to be good enough to blow people out with this roster and Darnold. So, they should throw the ball frequently, and Smith had 4,320 yards passing last year. Are they as likely to throw that much with Darnold? Probably not, but he had 4,319 passing yards last year, easily a career high and just 1 fewer yard than Geno.
The concern with Darnold is more likely injury or him getting benched after not living up to expectations. After all, 2024 was the 1st time Darnold played more than 13 games in any season. But as long as he approaches close to a full season of starts, it shouldn’t be that hard for him to clear 3400 passing yards. He has competent receivers in Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp. The Seahawks lost D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, so you might expect Darnold’s efficiency to drop this year without Minnesota’s setup.
But the volume should be there for Darnold, who will likely use 2024 as a new leaf in this league. That still doesn’t mean he won’t implode with the season on the line, but we’re just looking for a 3,400-yard passer in the era of 17-game seasons. It doesn’t have to be that difficult.
2025-26 NFC West Division Winner
These are the current odds to win the 2025-26 NFC West from BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review):
- San Francisco 49ers (+160)
- Los Angeles Rams (+165)
- Arizona Cardinals (+425)
- Seattle Seahawks (+550)
It’s the closest race at the top in the NFL this year. Before this Stafford health scare, the Rams felt like the logical pick given McVay’s consistent success, the addition of Davante Adams, and the way the front 7 is loaded with talent and almost helped pull off an upset in Philadelphia in the playoffs.
But the 49ers are such a tempting pick as mass injuries and 4 blown leads sunk that team last year. The 49ers have this incredibly weird streak going back to the 2003 season where they either miss the playoffs with a bad record (15 times), or they go to the NFC Championship Game or even the Super Bowl (7 times). They’re the all-or-nothing team, and Brock Purdy has something to prove with his new contract.
Even the Cardinals and Seahawks have arguments for why they can surprise. The Cardinals have some key young players to develop and spent real money on upgrading the defense. The Seahawks at least have someone new at quarterback, who had a career year and led as many game-winning drives (5) as he did in 2018-23 combined.
But it comes down to the schedule when you’re talking about the 49ers (last-place schedule) and Rams (first-place schedule). What does that mean? It means the 49ers get to play 3 games against teams who finished 4th in their division in 2024 while the Rams get to play 3 games against teams who finished 1st. Otherwise, they play all the same opponents and each other twice.
But look at the breakdown of those 3 games this year:
- Rams: Play the Eagles and Ravens on the road and host Detroit in Week 15 (3 Super Bowl contenders).
- 49ers: Play the Giants and Browns on the road and host Chicago in Week 17 (3 teams favored to miss the playoffs).
That’s huge and reason enough to give the 49ers the edge when it’s this close in the odds. But we’ll find out this year if that Super Bowl window for Kyle Shanahan’s team slammed shut in overtime against the 2023 Chiefs or not.
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
