Week 16 of the NFL regular season concludes with a Monday Night Football matchup between the Indianapolis Colts and San Francisco 49ers. The NFC West race remains competitive so long as the Niners win tonight, so watch for the visitors to turn to every possible playmaker in order to add another win to their tally.
Here are the best Jauan Jennings prop bets on DraftKings Sportsbook for 49ers vs. Colts on Monday Night Football in Week 16.
Best Jauan Jennings prop bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
While not a star name on par with say, 49ers tight end George Kittle, wideout Jauan Jennings remains one of the more underrated players in this offense and NFL as a whole. The 28-year-old veteran is a reliable possession option who his quarterback can trust. While his overall stat line of 44 catches for 495 receiving yards and seven touchdowns doesn’t appear the most impressive in terms of box-score dominance, he did miss two games earlier in the campaign and has now tallied at least 50 receiving yards or scored a touchdown in six straight contests. His 25.8% target share in the red zone is also the second-best on the team, ahead of Kittle and behind only Christian McCaffrey.
As mentioned in the below-linked companion piece outlining the top Brock Purdy prop bets for tonight, the matchup for the 49ers’ passing game looks quite good:
The Colts, who won’t have top cornerback Sauce Gardner available as the former All-Pro continues to manage a calf injury. With that in mind, the outlook appears quite solid for the San Francisco offense and its passing attack. Indianapolis allows 247.6 passing yards per game, third-most of any team, as well as 7.1 yards per pass, 17th overall. The Colts are also 15th in defensive EPA/pass, though they’ve allowed the fourth-fewest passing touchdowns with just 18 on the campaign. With this defense ranked 30th in PFF coverage grade, there are areas Purdy and the 49ers can target in this contest via the air.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Jennings’ prop bet lines are set at O/U 4.5 receptions, 54.5 receiving yards and a longest catch of 21.5 yards. His odds to score an anytime touchdown sit at +135, fourth-shortest of any player in this game.
In the Purdy props writeup mentioned earlier, I mentioned how San Francisco should attack via the passing game tonight against a weak secondary missing its best defensive back. I still stand by that game-plan projection, and if Purdy has a big night, it’s only natural that Jennings enjoys some numbers of his own as a result. While it’s worth a sprinkle, the prop you shouldn’t put as a key leg in parlays is an anytime touchdown for Jennings since the Colts have allowed the fourth-fewest passing TDs this season despite opponents operating in pass-happy scripts for much of the campaign. It’s simply not worth the bust risk given that stat and Indianapolis’ overall defensive EPA/pass.
However, there’s room for Jennings to find success in other ways aside from reaching the end zone. The Colts have the NFL’s fourth-best rushing defense in terms of yardage allowed per game, and they should stack the box against McCaffrey tonight to try and limit the superstar’s impact via the ground game. With an extra defender or two committed to that game plan, the Niners’ pass catchers can likely find soft spots in zone coverage or break free over the top against man assignments. While not a true speedster, Jennings can get open downfield at times as a deep threat and sees the chance to do that here. Indianapolis has allowed 45 passes of 20+ yards this season, 10th-most of any team. Given the combination of Gardner’s absence, the Colts’ potential to sell out to stop the run and their 24th-ranked coverage grade against wideouts per PFF, conditions are ripe for a long reception heading Jennings’ way.
With that in mind, I’m taking the over on a longest catch of 21.5 yards tonight, especially after he hauled in a 20-yard reception or better in six of his 12 games this season.
Best Bet: Jauan Jennings longest reception over 21.5 yards (-115)
Click the odds of this bet to tail!
