Sam Darnold will look to avoid seeing any ghosts when he heads to Los Angeles to take on the Rams on Monday Night Football. The Rams are 2.5-point home underdogs and the game total is set at O/U 47.5 points on DraftKings Sportsbook. Matthew Stafford has the experience advantage and should be able to exploit Minnesota’s weak secondary with his elite weapons.
That said, are either Puka Nacua (+850) or Cooper Kupp (+1100) good options for the first touchdown scorer? I’m honed in on a Vikings player getting the job done on the road––please read below for a full breakdown of my top first touchdown scorer prop bet for Vikings vs. Rams.
Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Rams
Jordan Addison First TD Scorer (+850)
Addison leads Minnesota with four first touchdowns this season and scored five times in three of the last five games of the regular season. Justin Jefferson has garnered one more red zone target than him but Addison has been much more efficient, hauling in 16-of-17 targets for six touchdowns. That’s a blistering 94.1% catch rate and assuming that the Rams will be focused on containing Jefferson, Addison could continue with his red zone dominance.
The Rams may limit opposing wide receivers’ yardage totals but it hasn’t carried over to the touchdown department, allowing the second-most touchdowns to opposing wideouts this season. Cobie Durant has been Los Angeles’ most consistent defensive back, so I’d expect him to be covering Jefferson with safety help for the majority of the game. This would leave Addison on an island with Darious Williams, who sports the seventh-worst target EPA among defensive backs with at least 300 coverage snaps, per Next Gen Stats. Addison has also received 12 end zone targets and should cook Williams early and often.
