NFL Draft Predictions, Preview & Betting Odds
We have NFL Draft predictions for you plus a preview and the betting odds ahead of one of the biggest night’s in the NFL calendar.
What Is The NFL Draft?
The NFL Draft is an event where all 32 NFL teams get the chance to pick the best players from college football to play for their team. The team with the worst record in the NFL the previous season gets the first pick in the draft and the team with the second worst record gets the second pick in the draft and so on.
The idea behind giving the worst teams the highest picks is that it gives them a chance to pick the best players and compete in the future. Teams can completely change their fortunes around by picking one of the best players in a draft, especially if that player is a quarterback.
When Is The NFL Draft?
The NFL Draft is scheduled to start at 1am, Thursday night/Friday morning Irish/UK time.
NFL Draft Order
Below you can see the draft order of all 32 picks in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night.
The New York Jets and Green Bay Packers agreed to a trade on Monday for quarterback Aaron Rodgers which saw the Jets swap their 13th overall pick for the Packers 15th overall pick as part of the deal.
Not a big difference, but a new draft order for the first round on Thursday night after the Aaron Rodgers trade.
Packers now pick ahead of the Patriots, while the Jets now pick just behind their AFC East rival.#TakeFlight #GoPackGo #FPC #NFL #NFLTwitter #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/Z78rvQOnex
— Full Press NFL (@FullPressNFL) April 24, 2023
NFL Draft Predictions
Number 1 Overall Pick
Bryce Young looks nailed on to be the number 1 overall pick at this stage of the draft process. The Carolina Panthers have the first pick in this year’s draft after they traded with the Chicago Bears for the pick in mid-March.
A few weeks ago it looked like CJ Stroud was going to be the pick for the Panthers while Anthony Richardson also looked like a potential dark horse given his freakish athleticism. However, now it’s a different story as all the information coming out about the first overall pick points to the Panthers picking Bryce Young despite concerns about how he will hold up in the NFL with his diminutive stature.
Prediction: Bryce Young @ 1/28
Best Bet: N/A
Number 2 Overall Pick
With the number 1 overall pick more or less known before draft night this is where the fun really begins on Thursday night. As of Tuesday the favourite to be the 2nd overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft is QB Will Levis at odds of 13/8 from the University of Kentucky.
The Texans will be picking at number two and they need a quarterback so Levis here makes sense in that respect. With that said, there are so many question marks around Levis. He has a massive arm and great physical traits which makes him a fascinating prospect but he is so raw and unpolished as a passer that the risk surely outweighs the reward to pick him this high in the draft.
If the Texans pass on Levis they could look to Ohio State QB CJ Stroud. Personally, if I were the Texans I would select Stroud and not think twice about it. He is a polished passer that succeeded at the highest level of college football and has all the tools that you could ask for in a modern day NFL quarterback.
However, all the news and reports coming out of Houston suggest that they don’t love Stroud and are happy to pass on a QB with the 2nd overall pick despite a clear need at the sport’s most important position.
I expect this to come true on Thursday night and that the Texans will pass on QB and go with the best player available. Will Anderson is an EDGE out of college football powerhouse Alabama and is set at odds of 4/1 to be the 2nd overall pick in this draft. The legendary head coach at Alabama, Nick Saban, raved about Anderson’s work ethic and competitive nature. New Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans is a defensive minded coach and he will be happy to get his hands on a player like Will Anderson for his defence.
Prediction: Will Anderson @ 8/11
Number 3 Overall Pick
The Arizona Cardinals currently hold the 3rd overall pick but all reports suggest that they are looking to trade this pick away. There are a few QB needy teams that would love to get up to this spot to pick their quarterback of the future.
The Las Vegas Raiders are the most likely to trade up for the number 3 pick from the 7th spot to get ahead of some other teams that could take the QB they covet. Whether it’s the Raiders or another team all indications are that this pick gets traded to a team in need of a QB.
The best QB on the board here is CJ Stroud and 11/4 looks like a great price for Stroud to be taken with the 3rd overall pick.
Prediction: CJ Stroud @ 3/1
Number 4 Overall Pick
The Colts hold the rights to the 4th overall pick in this year’s draft and this is a franchise that is in desperate need of a young quarterback to turn their fortunes around. There have been numerous reports linking the Colts with Will Levis and there’s every chance that Levis is still available when Indianapolis are making their pick.
The upside with Levis is tantalising and while it wouldn’t be my pick I think the Colts get seduced by the idea of what Will Levis could become and take the former University of Kentucky man with this pick.
Prediction: Will Levis @ 5/4
Number 5 Overall Pick
The Seattle Seahawks are scheduled to be on the clock with the 5th overall pick. Seattle recently signed journeyman QB Geno Smith to a 3-year $75 million contract after a surprisingly impressive year in 2022 with the team. That contract likely means that the Seahawks are out of the QB market at this point in the draft.
Seattle is a franchise that has been willing to take players with character concerns and off-field issues which I think will be the direction that they go here. Defensive Lineman Jalen Carter was widely seen as the best player in this year’s draft only a few months ago and there was even talk that the Bears could take him with the Number 1 overall pick.
Carter was involved in a street racing incident in January in which one person lost their life. This incident has seen Carter fall down draft boards but I can see his fall ending here with Seattle who will feel that their culture can keep Carter on the straight and narrow.
Prediction: Jalen Carter @ 2/5
Number 6 Overall Pick
The Detroit Lions hold the number 6 overall pick and there are a number of directions they could go with this pick. The favourite to be selected here is CB Devon Witherspoon at EVS and it makes a lot of sense with the Lions needing help in the secondary especially having recently traded away former 3rd overall pick CB Jeff Okudah.
While Devon Witherspoon is the most likely pick here I don’t love the value at EVS. Detroit’s QB right now is Jared Goff who is a solid but unspectacular quarterback. In short, the franchise could upgrade at the position and a prospect like Anthony Richardson with his freak athleticism would make a lot of sense here for Detroit. Richardson needs time to develop and he could do that for a year or two behind Goff before he becomes the starter.
Prediction: Anthony Richardson @ 12/1
Interested in betting on the NFL? Check out our NFL betting guide which tells you everything you need to know about betting on NFL.
*Prices subject to fluctuation
Related Articles