What are the best NFL Draft bets?

NFL Draft Betting Guide

NFL teams can improve their rosters in the offseason in one of two ways: (1) signing free agents and (2) the NFL Draft. Rather than wait until the next season starts to bet on football, sportsbooks will offer odds on a variety of different NFL Draft markets.

Since 1994, the NFL Draft has had seven rounds, with the team with the worst record in the previous season picking first and the Super Bowl champions going last. Starting with the 2015 Draft, the location has been chosen through a bidding process.

But how can fans bet on the NFL Draft? Keep reading and we’ll explain NFL Draft odds, review some NFL Draft markets often available for betting, and the top sportsbooks for betting on the NFL Draft.

📈NFL Draft Odds
💡NFL Draft Props
🏈NFL Draft Sportsbooks
🔍More Betting Info

NFL Draft Odds Explained

Whether you are betting on a player to be selected with the # 1 pick, a related market, or one of the many OVER/UNDER props, the odds will consist of a three-digit number preceded by either a + or a – sign.

Should a prop have odds with a + sign, i.e. Player X to go # 1 at +220, the number listed (in this case 220) is how much you can win with a $100 wager. But if a prop has minus money odds, like Player Y to go No. 1 at -140, the odds are how much you must bet to win $100.

So, a $100 bet on Player X would result in a $320 payday, your stake ($100) plus $220 in winnings. But if you bet on Player Y at -140, you’ll need to bet $140 to win $100.

NFL Betting with FanDuel

NFL Draft Props

Waiting until the fall to bet on football again can feel like an eternity, but you don’t have to wait until then to put money down on your favorite team. As the NFL Draft draws near, sportsbooks will post a wide variety of markets related to the annual event. But why bet on the draft? Isn’t it kind of risky?

Well, look at it this way: you know the game, you know your favorite team(s), and you know where they were lacking last season. If they don’t meet those needs via free agency, then they’ll have to do it in the Draft.

With the aim of reinforcing your NFL prediction knowledge, let's review some of the common draft props and the odds for each:

NFL Draft Pick Order Bets

Who will go # 1? Bettors can often find odds for that market posted at their favorite online sportsbooks for most of the year. But as Draft Day gets closer, it is not uncommon for books to post odds for who will be taken with the # 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.

Here’s a partial list of players and their odds of going #1 in the 2024 NFL Draft:

QB Caleb Williams -20000
QB Jayden Daniels +7500
QB Drake Maye +9500
WR Marvin Harrison Jr. +10000
QB JJ McCarthy +20000
Michael Penix Jr. +20000

At -20000, Caleb Williams had a 99.5% chance of being taken with the # 1 pick (which he was). However, at those odds, you would have had to risk $20,000 just to win $100. But had Jayden Daniels gone first (1.32% chance), a $100 wager would have resulted in a $7600 payday, your stake plus $7500 in winnings.

Similar markets that sportsbooks may/will have odds posted for when it gets closer to Draft Day include:

Position of player to go # 1, 2,3, etc.
Team to select with the # 1 pick
Position of player to get selected in first round by Team X
Player X to go # 4, Top 5, etc.
Team X will select the offensive/defensive player with the first-round pick.
Position of Mr. Irrelevant
The first player drafted at each position
First non-QB to be selected: Wide receiver Marvin Harrison was the betting favorite in the 2024 NFL Draft at -500 and was the first non-QB taken when the Cardinals selected him with the No. 4 pick. At -500 odds, bettors had to risk $500 to win $100.

NFL Draft OVER/UNDER Prop Markets

Many NFL Draft betting markets are presented as OVER/UNDERs, where you bet whether the answer to the question being asked is more or less than the number provided. Here are some examples from the 2024 NFL Draft:

OVER/UNDER 4.5 quarterbacks selected in the first round -300/+240
Six quarterbacks were selected in the first round. So, bets on the OVER paid out at -300, meaning it took a wager of $300 to win $100.
J.J. McCarthy to be selected with the No. X pick of the Draft, OVER/UNDER 5.5 +124/-166
McCarthy ended up going to the Vikings at No. 10. So bets on the OVER paid out at +124, meaning a $100 wager resulted in a $224 payday, your stake plus $124 in winnings.

The following list is of some of the common O/U draft props sportsbooks may carry ahead of the Draft:

Player X to go at a given number
Number of players selected from a conference in the first round
Number of players selected from a particular team in the first round
How many players of a certain position will get taken in the first round
Total first round trades

Where to Bet on the NFL Draft

The short answer to that question is simple: with a legal online sportsbook (or brick-and-mortar retail location) licensed to operate within the state you are located in. What those sportsbooks are will vary from one state to another, but the following are our top five:

NFL Draft Sportsbook	Draft Betting Bonus	Top Feature
FanDuel Bonus	Up to $200	Full NFL Draft Markets
DraftKings Sign Up Offer	Up to $200	Quick Parlays
Caesars Sportsbook Offer	Up to $150	Top NFL Draft Odds All-Around
BetMGM Welcome Bonus	Up to $1500	Best #1 Pick Odds
Fanatics Sign Up Bonus	Up to $1000	Live Betting on the app

Betting on the NFL Draft gives fans a chance to not only show how well they know their favorite team(s), but also how well they know how the front office for said team(s) thinks. It may seem simple to deduce who your team will pick: the best available player at a position of need.

But if you have followed the NFL Draft over the years, teams do not always select who the general public thinks they’ll take. So, it is not enough just to know what your team needs; you need to know what the front office thinks.

Will they go after the best available player with their first-round pick, whether or not he fills a need? Will they try to fill a position of need, or will they swing for the fences with a selection no one saw coming?

Trying to answer those questions and betting on what you perceive the answers to be can make the NFL Draft must-see-tv.