This article is part of our NFL Picks series.
The first round of the 2023 NFL Draft is set to take place Thursday night. There are numerous bet types available on the top sports betting apps where betting on the NFL Draft is allowed. Below are 5 props to wager ahead of tonight's draft, as well as their NFL Draft betting odds from FanDuel Sportsbook.
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Draft Pick Props To Wager Ahead Of Tonight's Draft
The most popular NFL Draft props concern which player will be selected with a specific pick. A tempting pick is for Will Anderson to go No. 3 overall at +400. The Panthers and Texans are likely taking quarterbacks with the first two picks, while the Cardinals don't need a QB and could thus pivot to grabbing the best defensive player in this draft. A less juicy but related NFL Draft betting prop is Anderson being the first defensive player drafted at +100 odds. Anderson was far more productive in college than fellow pass rusher Tyree Wilson (-125), notching 27.5 sacks over the last two seasons to Wilson's 14.0.
A long shot prop to wager ahead of tonight's draft is CJ Stroud to go first overall at +3000. Stroud was viewed as the favorite to go to the Panthers for a while, but the signal caller from Ohio State has now dropped well back of Bryce Young (-1350) and Will Levis (+700). Carolina clearly traded up for the first overall pick with a QB in mind, and given all the early reports that Stroud was their prospect of choice at the time of the trade, he's worth a low-risk, high-reward look at +3000 odds.
NFL Draft Betting Picks To Wager Ahead Of Tonight's Draft
The next two NFL Draft betting picks that can be made on the top sports betting sites focus on how many players at a certain position will be drafted in the first round. The under looks like a strong option at both quarterback and running back.
Under 4.5 quarterbacks drafted in the first round has +140 odds. This bet revolves around Hendon Hooker. Stroud, Young, Levis, and Anthony Richardson are all but guaranteed to go in the first round, while no other quarterback besides Hooker is anything resembling a first-round prospect. Between currently recovering from a torn ACL, already being 25 years old, and needing time to adjust to a pro-style offense after playing at Tennessee, Hooker looks more like a Day 2 prospect than a fifth quarterback worthy of a first-round pick.
You can bet the under on 1.5 running backs drafted in the first round at -102 odds on the best PayPal betting sites. Bijan Robinson is a first-round talent, but no other option stands out at a position that has become devalued in the NFL. Breece Hall and Kenneth Walker were both much better RB prospects than any of the guys available after Robinson this year, and they both had to wait until Day 2 to have their names called in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Tight End Prop To Wager Ahead Of Tonight's Draft
In addition to betting on how many players from a position will be drafted in the first round, you can also bet on which player will be the first one drafted at his position on the top credit card betting sites.
The race at tight end has been neck and neck between Notre Dame's Michael Mayer (-175) and Utah's Dalton Kincaid (+130) throughout the pre-draft process. Kincaid was favored to be the first tight end selected for a while, but now that the odds have shifted substantially in Mayer's favor, Kincaid's back to being the better value pick. They had similar production in college and Kincaid has fully recovered from the back injury that kept him sidelined during some pre-draft testing, while Mayer demonstrated an underwhelming athletic profile.
