The NFC West has a key battle between the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks are the surprise of the NFL with Geno Smith, while the Cardinals are trying to get revenge for their previous loss to Seattle. We’re diving into the best player prop bets, including Kenneth Walker III, DeAndre Hopkins, and Tyler Lockett.
We’re covering all sports betting aspects of this matchup, with lines courtesy of our friends at FanDuel Sportsbook. On top of grabbing these Seahawks and Cardinals player prop bets, I highly recommend grabbing your no-sweat first bet for Week 9 while you can.
Top Cardinals vs. Seahawks Player Props To Target
We’re using every tool at our disposal to make sharp prop bets for this NFC West battle, including fantasy averages, player trends, and the best vig. Let’s dive into the best prop bets you can target.
Kenneth Walker III Player Props: Anytime TD (-135)
The last time these two teams met, it was a low-scoring affair, with the Seahawks winning 19-9. The final score of the game was courtesy of Walker, who finished his day with 21 carries for 97 yards, plus 13 yards receiving.
Even with these teams looking more likely to engage in a defensive struggle than another low-scoring affair, Walker remains a constant threat for the Seahawks. He’s establishing himself as the franchise back in his rookie season, averaging 65.9 yards per game and 5.4 yards per carry. Even as the Cardinals are middle of the pack against running backs, Seattle is one of a few teams capable of producing on the ground against anyone.
Entering this week as the leader of all rookies with five rushing scores and aiming for his fifth straight game with at least 50 yards and a touchdown on the ground, Walker is the lynchpin to a staggeringly effective offense. The Seahawks cannot win their fourth straight game without Walker excelling.
The Cardinals are trending in the wrong direction as a run defense. They’ve given up 136 or more rushing yards in three of their last four games. This won’t be the week they figure out their run-fit issues.
Also worth noting is a $5 bet on the over of Walker’s rushing total would win $200 on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Tyler Lockett Player Props: Anytime TD (+150)
One of the more obscure trends across the league is Lockett’s hot streak against the Cardinals. He’s caught at least five passes in six of his last seven games. But the more impressive streak is he has two games in a row with two or more receiving touchdowns in Arizona.
Lockett has 20 receptions for 298 yards and five touchdowns in his last two road games against the Cardinals. Talk about dominance. Can he make it three in a row?
We’re just hoping for one to cash in this excellent value prop bet. He’ll have to perform better than their matchup just a few weeks ago when Lockett caught two passes for 17 yards. In fairness to Lockett, though, Geno Smith was taking checkdowns throughout the game and gave fewer catchable passes than he’s been doing for the majority of the year.
Individually, the Cardinals’ cornerback room has no shot against the speed and playmaking of Lockett, D.K. Metcalf, and Marquise Goodwin. However, we could say that most weeks about this bunch. They compensate for their talent disparity remarkably well with safety play and disguising coverages.
Smith has great comfort with Lockett. I think the combination of that chemistry and Lockett’s big-play ability pays off with a touchdown despite his struggles last matchup.
Zach Ertz Player Props: Over 38.5 Receiving Yards (-120)
These are the two worst teams in the NFL against the tight end position, so expect some big plays from each team’s playmakers at the position. The Seahawks are giving up 20.6 fantasy points per game despite only allowing 5.1 receptions per game. It’s the yards that are crushing this defense.
By giving up 82.1 yards and 0.5 touchdowns per game, the Seahawks have no real answer for the position. This secondary has done an excellent job against receivers but not in the middle of the field. They’ll be challenged against Zach Ertz and DeAndre Hopkins.
Ertz has a big advantage as a possession threat. The question is whether Kyler Murray will utilize him how he should. He did in their previous matchup, feeding Ertz 10 targets for seven receptions and 70 yards. Even with Hopkins on the field, Ertz has to be a main part of the game plan.
The worst thing Murray can do is force too many targets to outside targets. The Seahawks are well-prepared for that with their long, athletic cornerbacks. Working from the inside out makes too much sense.
DeAndre Hopkins Player Props: Over 82.5 Receiving Yards (-115)
While the Cardinals offense needs to prioritize Ertz, we all know Hopkins is inevitable. There were skeptics the veteran would come back in 2022 as sharply as in past years, citing some loss of explosiveness in 2021. Maybe Hopkins isn’t the same player he was six years ago, but are any of us who are over 30?
Hopkins has been destroying defenses in his two games back on the field, totaling 262 yards on 22 catches. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury has done a nice job of moving Hopkins between the left receiver spot and the slot. More slot snaps are quite intriguing since Hopkins hasn’t been used there often throughout his career.
Between his ability to win one-on-one, find space in zone coverages, and one-handed catches that bend the mind as to how it’s even possible, Hopkins is unstoppable. He’s averaging 6.3 receptions for 101.3 yards and 0.5 touchdowns in his four career games against the Seahawks.
The most intriguing potential matchup we could see is rookie cornerback Tariq Woolen against Hopkins. Woolen was a fascinating draft prospect due to his incredibly 6’4″ frame but was as raw as prospects come. That hasn’t mattered a ton, as he’s ranked as a quality starter in many key stats.
Woolen is sixth in target separation, 17th in target rate, 21st in catch rate, and 31st in passer rating allowed. He’s not good enough to stop Hopkins, but his length is uniquely problematic. The Seahawks should give their rookie the chance to struggle against Hopkins.