For some, the NFL Draft is the most exciting part of the offseason, the culmination of months of work with teams getting an injection of young talent to revitalise their team’s fortunes.
For others, it’s a bunch of names getting read off cards for three days and a nice bit of offseason filler as we inch towards September.
Either way, the 2024 NFL Draft will take place in Detroit this weekend and it’s shaping up to be a potentially pivotal few days for a number of teams.
Here in the Ladbrokes War Room, we have done our homework, watched all of the game film from the prospects and found our predictions and bets below!
Number 2 Overall Pick
Let’s not waste any time stuffing around with who is going first, we all know Caleb Williams is getting taken by Chicago first up on Friday and at $1.01, I’ve already spent too much time on that.
As for Washington, who “won” the second pick by having a slightly less difficult schedule than the New England Patriots, they face the first fork in the road moment.
Everything they have done this offseason has been to prepare the roster to receive a rookie quarterback, but the question is which one?
Will it be the guy who has been the presumptive second choice for 11 of the last 12 months Drake Maye, or the late riser and Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels.
Perhaps it will be the REALLY late riser, J.J. McCarthy out of Michigan who will bring a national championship ring to the first team practice.
It really is a toss up between Daniels and Maye with McCarthy seemingly the panic option and in the interests of finding some value, I’m going to take the price on Maye at the time of publish.
He might be a bit more of a developmental prospect but Washington is going to have a hard time passing up that arm talent.
Drake Maye @ $1.95
Number 3 Overall Pick
Regardless of who Washington takes, New England has to come out of this weekend with a franchise quarterback.
They messed up Mac Jones so much he got traded to Jacksonville and are now left with Jacoby Brissett who is not going to get them back into the playoffs.
The good news is that whoever is still remaining out of Daniels and Maye will be a solid upgrade to their quarterback room a must take… unless someone comes in and offers something stupid (looking at you Minnesota).
And if said hypothetical team offers something stupid to move up to pick three, it can only be for a quarterback.
Jayden Daniels @ $3.50
Number 4 Overall Pick
Now it gets interesting, does Arizona take the receiver Kyler Murray so desperately craves or find a team longing for a quarterback and receive a monster haul in a trade (Dane Brugler from The Athletic forecasts 2024 Picks 11 and 23, plus a 2025 third rounder in exchange for this selection).
As good as Marvin Harrison is, if one of those teams from 11-16 is in love with McCarthy (or whoever falls this far), don’t be at all surprised if Roger Goodell leads his announcement with “Arizona has traded the fourth pick to…”
No team is giving up a bounty for a receiver, no matter how good he is and the late rise of McCarthy is enough to have me convinced there is some real value about him at this price.
Plus you can never question the desperation of NFL teams when it comes to finding a quarterback.
Arizona has theirs (we think) and they can build around him with a bunch of other first round calibre players.
J.J. McCarthy @ $4.40
Number 5 Overall Pick
Fresh off his national championship with Michigan, Jim Harbaugh thinks life could not get any better as arguably the most talented player in the draft falls to his LA Chargers at pick five.
Perhaps the only dilemma he may face is a team like Tennessee trying to jump up and grab Harrison for themselves.
Either way, with the top quarterbacks off the board, Harrison will be the prized option here and someone is going to get themselves a very, very good pass catcher.
Marvin Harrison Jr @ $4.00
Number 6 Overall Pick
The Giants are kind of stuck in purgatory at the moment, they could use an upgrade at quarterback but might also be alright if they upgrade around Daniel Jones.
It means that missing out on one of the top four guys is not the end of the world for them and they still have their pick of receivers or tackles.
Giving Jones the dynamic Malik Nabers to go with Chicago’s current crop of receivers will be a big boost for the signal caller who is going into another make or break year after an injury.
Malik Nabers @ $2.70
Number 8 Overall Pick
Let’s skip over Pick 7 because the Titans are going to take Joe Alt and in terms of value, there’s not too much there.
Atlanta is pretty well set on offence so they should be the first team to dip into the defensive player market and take the top rated pass rusher.
Dallas Turner out of Alabama looks like the man here and if you feel like double dipping, Laitu Latu is at the same price.
Dallas Turner @ $3.50
Number 9 Overall Pick
Now it just comes down to which receiver is available for Chicago to pair up with Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze is going to be the man for the Bears.
The Washington man should help give Williams a safety net right from the outset and a guy he can trust to make the contested catches.
Rome Odunze @ $2.50
First RB Drafted
This is not a great year for running backs, even after their minor revival in the league over the course of the 2023 season it seems unlikely any will be taken in the first round.
But one will go at some point on Day 2 and it is one of the few positions without a clear consensus on who it will be.
It also makes this one of the markets where there is a bit of value to be found if there is one player you are particularly high on while also creating the possibility for a double dip.
Blake Corum out of Michigan looks like the value play in this market with the diminutive ball carrier very highly rated after his work for the Wolverines.
His main competition is going to be Jonathon Brooks out of Texas but with his knee injury, teams might be scared off taking him first given he is unlikely to be ready early on.
Instead, I like the look of Jaylen Wright, a player who could come in and contribute right away in spot duty and might find a way to sneak into the end of Round 2 with a team like San Francisco who can bring him along slowly.
Jaelyn Wright @ $4.00
Blake Corum @ $6.50
First LB Drafted
The linebacker position’s evolution continues to move towards the smaller, undersized players that can roam sideline to sideline.
Both of the top players in this market are on the smaller side and 20 years ago would have conceivably been playing safety or about 15kg heavier.
It might be the second round before either of them go off the board but Colson appears to be slightly higher rated by the experts than the favourite Cooper, so why not roll the dice that they know what they are on about.
Junior Colson @ $3.00
Second TE Drafted
Brock Bowers is going to be the first tight end taken, likely in the top half of the first round and there is not a lot to get excited about behind him.
Ja’Tavion Sanders looks like the next best option on the board and could sneak into the second round.
He has a similar body type to Bowers and some team is going to convince themselves he has almost as much promise as his more fancied compatriot.
Ja’Tavion Sanders @ $3.50
Total Receivers Drafted in Round 1
It’s a deep class of wide receivers and some teams might opt to hold fire before making their pick, but once the run starts on the receivers it will be complete chaos.
Harrison, Nabers and Odunze will be gone by pick 10, then there is a glut of players who have been graded somewhere between late first round and early second.
Once a team blinks and takes Brian Thomas the run will start with Ladd McConkey, AD Mitchell, Keon Coleman and Roman Wilson among the players set to be overdrafted by teams getting hot and bothered about finding their next star receiver.
Over 6.5 @ $3.20
Bo Nix Draft Position
Speaking of teams getting all hot and bothered, Oregon’s Bo Nix might be the beneficiary of the run on quarterbacks.
Realistically he is one of the top six players at his position in the class and once the big four are gone, he and Michael Penix will be the next ones taken.
There is no shortage of teams that need a quarterback outside of the top ten, with Minnesota, Denver, Las Vegas and New Orleans all needing a guy at that spot and currently holding picks 11-14 respectively.
Nix might not be that good, his college career has certainly split opinion, but he is also a guy that someone can talk themselves into, a la Mac Jones in 2021.
Under 32.5 @ $2.65
Brian Thomas Jr Draft Position
His college teammate Malik Nabers might be getting all of the hype, but Thomas is going to make a team very happy for the duration of his rookie contract.
Likely the best player of the second tier of receivers, Thomas has just enough potential for someone to trade up into the teens and get him before another club is able to grab him.
Under 19.5 @ $2.25
Taliese Fuaga Draft Position
Fuaga is going to turn into a pretty decent NFL offensive lineman, but for some reason he is getting a whole lot of hype and in some places is ranked as the second best tackle prospect behind Joe Alt.
Coming out of Oregon State he should be able to slot in right away at either guard or tackle, but if he is seen as a long term guard at this level, is he really worth spending a top half of the first round pick on?
Not to mention, Olu Fashanu and JC Latham are at the very least on the same level as him and I can see him slipping deep into the teens before a GM decides to catch him a bit later in the first round.
Over 13.5 @ $2.25