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April 11, 2023It’s rare when the National Football League doesn’t garner media headlines either positive or negative. Since the season concluded with the Super Bowl back in February it’s been rather silent. That’s starting to change as the 2023 NFL Draft is quickly approaching. And with the rise of legalized sports betting, wagering on the draft has become as popular as the Super Bowl with an endless supply of NFL betting props.
We already had one major occurrence leading up to the draft with the Chicago Bears dealing the No. 1 overall pick to Carolina for a cadre of selections and receiver D.J. Moore, who helps address one of the many needs on the Bears roster. Moore is instantly the club’s top pass-catching option. That puts the Panthers on the clock and in need of a quarterback we saw the top four QBs all surge to the top of the NFL odds board at BetRivers sportsbook.
2023 NFL Draft
The first round of the draft is set to take place on Thursday, April 27 at 8 p.m. ET. Rounds two and three are set for Friday, April 28 at 7 p.m. ET with rounds four through seven on Saturday, April 29 starting at Noon ET. The entire draft will be televised on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network.
2023 NFL Draft Props
Since we have a bunch of props and several articles lined up to cover them, let’s start with the basics that include the No. 1 overall pick. As mentioned, the Panthers are in need of a quarterback after the Sam Darnold / Baker Mayfield experiment failed last season. And in an ironic twist those players were involved in several props during the 2018 NFL Draft.
Darnold was the favorite to be picked first but instead was the third overall pick. Cleveland surprised a lot of folks by nabbing Mayfield first overall. Mayfield had one good season leading the Browns to the playoffs, but otherwise he and Darnold have been busts to this point giving the Panthers firsthand knowledge of how important the draft is. QBs taken first after 2018 have fared well, though. Kyler Murray, Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence have had varying degrees of success in their brief careers and should get better, so there’s hope.
2023 No. 1 Overall Pick Odds
Bryce Young -250
C.J. Stroud +170
Anthony Richardson +2000
Will Levis +6000
Will Anderson +15000
Jalen Carter +20000
Young is the consensus No. 1 overall following a brilliant career at Alabama where he threw for over 8,300 yards with 80 TDs and only 12 interceptions. He missed a few games last season bringing up questions about his durability and he’s not the biggest guy drawing comparisons to another Alabama signal-caller Tua Tagovailoa. Richardson probably has the highest ceiling among the four QB favorites with size, speed and a rocket for an arm. The question facing the Panthers is do they want to wait for Richardson to develop with no guarantee that he even does or take the safe pick with the most NFL-ready QB of the bunch.
2023 No. 2 Overall Pick Odds
C.J. Stroud -120
Bryce Young +270
Will Anderson +550
Will Levis +1200
Tyree Wilson +1900
Anthony Richardson +2000
If the Houston Texans open the season with Davis Mills at QB fans in the Lone Star State will riot. Well, maybe not that extreme but they certainly won’t be happy. The Texans struck out landing a veteran in free agency, but they did add pieces to build a unit around whoever handles the QB chores. A NFL best bet has the club drafting C.J. Stroud if Young is selected first overall. And either one of those players makes sense. Like Carolina there’s no time to wait developing a QB and Richardson and Will Levis are both in need of seasoning. The bottom line is that the Texans need a quarterback and there are options. Plans can and do change, but this one is a no-brainer for the new administration trying to change the direction of the franchise.
Check out the latest NFL draft betting odds at BetRivers