NFL Draft betting is one of the most popular wagers during the sports shutdown. NFL Draft prop odds have been on the board since March 20 at Circa Sports in Las Vegas, where they've taken substanial sharp bets on a few draft markets.
“I have never booked the NFL Draft before, so this is uncharted territory for me,” Circa sportsbook manager Chris Bennett told Covers.
Bennett provided a few insights on which NFL Draft odds are drawing tickets and money, along with a couple props he’s particularly fond of, ahead of the April 23-25 event.
Most popular NFL Draft bets
There’s been significant price movement on the number of wide receivers drafted in the first round.
“We opened 5.5 (Over -110), and we’re now at 5.5 (Over -330) after taking several Over bets,” Bennett said, before pivoting to another popular Over play, the draft position of Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. “We opened 3.5 (Over -110), and we’re now at 3.5 (Over -300) after taking a bunch of Over bets.”
Interestingly, Bennett has thus far chosen to adjust only the juice on those two props, keeping the numbers stable – for now.
“The majority of mock drafts I see now have six-plus wide receivers being selected in Round 1. That’s why that price has moved so significantly,” Bennett said. “I think (with Tagovailoa), there is some media reporting/speculating on some teams being concerned about Tua’s health/injury history, causing his number to rise.”
Indeed, Tagovailoa is coming off a dislocated hip suffered late last season. Bennett faces the challenge of when or if to bump up the number on either of those props.
“I will not be using a whole number for either of those props,” he said. “There is a possibility I would move the wide receivers number to 6.5 at some point. I am actively debating moving Tua to 4.5.”
Sharp NFL Draft prop bets
Bennett said most NFL Draft betting action so far is sharp play, which is par for the course for this event. Among the prop bets catching wiseguys’ eyes is the draft position of Jalen Hurts, who led Oklahoma to the College Football Playoff semifinals last season after transferring from Alabama.
“We opened 78.5 (Under -110), we’re now at 65.5 (Under -130) after taking a bunch of Under bets,” Bennett said. “I opened higher than FanDuel or DraftKings, because I saw Hurts going 80th or higher in every mock draft that had a specific position for him. And then Mel Kiper updated his mock draft (Tuesday) and has him going 49th overall.”
NFL Draft props of note
Bennett pointed to two NFL Draft props on the Circa odds board that he liked most: whether two quarterbacks will go back-to-back in the first round; and whether two players from the same school will be drafted back-to-back in the first round.
“As far as I know, these are unique to Circa Sports,” Bennett said. “I came up with them. I think they’re interesting and they make you think. I hope the betting public feels the same.”
Patrick Everson is a Las Vegas-based senior writer for Covers. Follow him on Twitter: @Covers_Vegas.
