Sports betting: Caleb Williams favored to be No. 1 overall pick in NFL draft

Published Apr. 23, 2024 12:05 p.m. ET

Associated Press

Unsurprisingly, Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams is BetMGM Sportsbook's favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in this week's NFL draft.

The draft will be held from Thursday to Saturday in Detroit and the Chicago Bears have the top pick, with the Washington Commanders,New England Patriots,Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Chargers rounding out the top five.

A run on quarterbacks is expected, with the top signal-callers going off the board early in the draft. But trades could enter the equation, with teams moving up to grab the player they want.

ODDS MOVEMENT

Williams is expected to be the taken by the Chicago Bears with the No. 1 pick. As of Tuesday, the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner is -10000 to be the first player drafted.

Things get interesting after that.

Jayden Daniels has the best odds at -155 to be the No. 2 pick, but he was -400 a week ago. Drake Maye's odds are rising, now at +125, to be the second pick after being +220 last week. Meanwhile, J.J. McCarthy is lurking at +1200.

What the Patriots do at No. 3 depends on what happens just before them. Maye is the favorite to be the third pick at -130 (he was -155 last week), while Daniels and McCarthy are +160.

Wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. is favored to be selected by the Cardinals at No. 4. He’s -210 to be the fourth pick, with odds that have stayed the same throughout the pre-draft process. He opened -250 to go No. 4.

RISE OF J.J. MCCARTHY

No player has seen his NFL Draft odds move more than former Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

When odds opened, McCarthy was +800 to be the No. 3 overall pick, and he’s now +160. It’s similar at No. 4 — he was +1400 when the market opened and is now +175.

Despite those odds, McCarthy is still in the mix to be selected with picks 7-10. He is +1500 to be taken No. 7 overall and +2500 to be selected No. 10.

The other top quarterbacks — Maye and Daniels — aren’t on the board to be the No. 9 or No. 10 pick.

Although the Vikings have the No. 11 overall pick, they have the best odds to land McCarthy (+115). They would likely need to trade up, with the Patriots at No. 3 and Cardinals at No. 4 being the top candidates. Nearly a fourth of the money is on Minnesota to land McCarthy.

New England and Denver, which selects No. 12 overall, have the next best odds for McCarthy at +350.

DRAFT NOTES

— Marvin Harrison Jr. is the favorite to be the first wide receiver selected. He is -700 in that market, with 39.4% of the tickets and 79.3% of the money on him.

— Joe Alt is in a similar position among offensive linemen. He’s -650 in that market, with 63.8% of the tickets and 94.9% of the money on him.

— The first defensive player to be selected isn’t as clear. Linebacker Dallas Turner has the best odds at -125, with defensive lineman Laiatu Latu right behind him at +250. Defensive tackle Byron Murphy is +400, while defensive lineman Jared Verse is +500.

— Denver is generating lots of interest in being the team to select quarterback Bo Nix. At -175, the Broncos are pulling in 44.3% of the money.

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This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM Sportsbook.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports