NFL Draft Betting – Best NFL Draft Bets
As of August 2025, football fans are already looking ahead to the 2026 NFL Draft, set to take place in April. Next to the Super Bowl, the draft is one of the most anticipated events on the NFL betting calendar. It’s a moment when franchises shape their future, and bettors try to predict how it will all unfold.
NFL Draft betting odds are expected to roll out well before draft week, giving fans plenty of time to scout prospects and line shop across sportsbooks. On this page, you’ll find everything you need to know: how to bet on the NFL Draft, where to find the best odds, and how to take advantage of every betting market available.
Betting Odds for the NFL Draft
Many ask exactly how the NFL Draft betting odds work. The answer is simple: they work as they do for the other sports betting you’re already familiar with. Of course, the devil is in the details here, as the type of bet will affect how to interpret the odds. Let’s go over the basics first.
You’re most likely to come across odds in the American standard format. This format is rather simple to use in terms of finding the favorite and in understanding how much money you can earn for a winning ticket.
The more likely the market thinks a bet is going to happen, the lower the odds will be. If it’s a negative value, then it’s an absolute favorite. Find the lowest value on the chart to find the favorite pick. Of course, the more likely the bet is to win, the less money you will earn for your bet slip.
Positive odds values indicate the amount you can win in proportion to your bet. For example, if the odds value is +145, then you will earn $145 for every $100 you risk. If the value is negative, say -160, you’ll have to bet $160 in order to earn $100 in profit, plus your original risk, of course.
Here are the latest betting odds for the 2026 NFL Draft:
| NFL Draft First Pick Odds 2025 |  |  |  |
| Cameron Ward | +100 | +110 | +100 |
| Travis Hunter | +230 | +220 | +220 |
| Abdul Carter | +240 | +240 | +250 |
| Shedeur Sanders | +800 | +900 | +800 |
| Jaxson Dart | +4000 | +4000 | +4000 |
| Will Campbell | +5000 | +5000 | +5000 |
| Mason Graham | +6000 | +6000 | +6000 |
| Kelvin Banks Jr. | +7000 | +7000 | +7000 |
Top Players Likely to be First Pick in the 2026 NFL Draft
As of August 2025, Arch Manning is widely viewed as the early frontrunner to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. The Texas quarterback brings a rare mix of pedigree, athleticism, and potential, and with a full season as the starter ahead, scouts will be watching closely. Other top quarterback prospects in the mix include Drew Allar from Penn State, Garrett Nussmeier of LSU, and Cade Klubnik from Clemson — all of whom are expected to generate serious first-round interest if they perform well this season.
Outside of the quarterback class, the 2026 draft board features standout talent across multiple positions. Players like Caleb Downs (safety, Ohio State), Francis Mauigoa (offensive tackle, Miami), T.J. Parker (edge rusher, Clemson), and Kadyn Proctor (offensive tackle, Alabama) are all considered early first-round projections. Of course, it’s still early — a strong season, injury, or unexpected breakout could shake up the rankings and impact betting odds as the draft approaches in April 2026.
Past NFL Draft First Picks
We’ve put together a list of the first picks in the NFL Draft over the last ten years. Let’s take a look.
| Year | Name | Position | College | Team |
| 2025 | Cam Ward | QB | Miami | Tennessee Titans |
| 2024 | Caleb Williams | QB | California | Chicago Bears |
| 2023 | Bryce Young | QB | Alabama | Carolina Panthers |
| 2022 | Travon Walker | DE | Georgia | Jacksonville Jaguars |
| 2021 | Trevor Lawrence | QB | Clemson | Jacksonville Jaguars |
| 2020 | Joe Burrow | QB | LSU | Cincinnati Bengals |
| 2019 | Kyler Murray | QB | Oklahoma | Arizona Cardinals |
| 2018 | Baker Mayfield | QB | Oklahoma | Cleveland Browns |
| 2017 | Myles Garrett | DE | Texas A&M | Cleveland Browns |
| 2016 | Jared Goff | QB | California | Los Angeles Rams |
| 2015 | Jameis Winston | QB | Florida State | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
The History of the NFL Draft
In 1934, the NFL established a waiver system for available players. However, Philadelphia Eagles co-owner Bert Bell believed his team was disadvantaged in signing top players. Compared to other clubs with more resources, the Eagles and similarly underprivileged teams had little chance of attracting impactful players due to monetary disadvantages.
In 1935, Bell suggested an annual player draft for the NFL to ensure financial stability and fair competition. The league owners unanimously approved the proposal. Consequently, the first NFL Draft took place in 1936.
The first draft of the spectacle fans expect today was held at Philadelphia’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Only 90 players were selected from various clubs, and done so without the help of formal scouting departments, agents, or 24-hour sports media coverage. Eligible players were chosen based on newspaper reports, team executives’ college visits, and front-office personnel recommendations.
The Eagles chose the first pick, Jay Berwanger from the University of Chicago. Despite being a Heisman Trophy winner, he decided to become a foam rubber salesman instead of playing pro football. Out of the 81 players chosen in the first NFL Draft, only 24 went on to play in the NFL. Many opted for more secure and better-paying professions instead.
The NFL Draft became popular in 1980 when it was televised live. Commissioner Pete Rozelle was unsure of its potential draw, but allowed it to be broadcast on a new all-sports cable network called ESPN. The NFL Draft has had a growing audience ever since. It has moved from a hotel conference room to New York’s Radio City Music Hall to a traveling event hosted in different cities across the nation. It was expanded in 2010 to last three days and continues to be televised and wagered on.
According to Nielsen statistics, the 2019 NFL Draft event broke records for its high ratings and viewership. Across NFL, ESPN, ABC TV, and digital channels, it had an average of 6.1 million viewers. Over the three day event, more than 47.5 million viewers watched the telecasts, a 5% increase from 2018. All seven event rounds aired on broadcast television for the second consecutive year. In 2019, the NFL Draft set a new record for attendance, with over 600,000 fans taking part in Nashville events to honor the latest crop of NFL rookies. The Draft has become a widely popular event on the NFL calendar, drawing large in-person and online audiences.
How to Bet on the NFL Draft
The NFL Draft offers a range of different betting lines. The first player picked is by far the most popular wager, but there are several other ways you can bet on the NFL Draft.
The NFL Draft betting odds are available across the following markets at selected bookmakers:
- First player pick
- Second, third, fourth, and fifth picks
- A team’s first player drafted
- The position of a team’s first pick
- Exact draft order
- The first player drafted per position
- Top draft picks
- Draft prop bets
- Over/under bets
NFL Draft Prop Bets
Most of the betting types on the above list are pretty straightforward. The most complex are the NFL Draft prop bets, which entail stating precisely where certain players will be drafted. These kinds of wagers are pretty famous, as the betting odds for the NFL Draft are quite favorable for players. If you’re confident, you can choose the exact point when they’ll be picked.
NFL Draft Over/Under Bets
These types of wagers are also known as totals betting, where you decide the outcome based on whether it will be above or below a set value, which is set by the oddsmakers. These types of wagers are particularly popular, as NFL Draft betting odds across most top-tier providers are favorable to the bettor.
There’s an element of risk in playing the over/under in the NFL Draft. But for avid NFL fans, these types of wagers can be one of the best bets for the NFL Draft. Check out the markets at your favorite bookmaker today!
NFL Draft Best Bets
So, what exactly can you bet on during the NFL Draft? There’s no objective winner and no score. How do you bet on this complicated process?
When looking out over the terrain of the best NFL Draft bets, you can conveniently divide them into two broad categories. On one hand, you have the player prop bets, for when each player or position will get drafted. Then you have the team bets, for when each team will get to choose and which player or position they will grab.
Each of these two categories require a different NFL Draft betting strategy. More on that below.
There are a number of fun types of NFL Draft prop bets you can make, including:
- Who will be the first overall pick?
- Who will be the second overall pick?
- Who will be the third overall pick?
- Will a certain player be in the first five picks?
- Who will be the first quarterback picked?
- Who will be the second quarterback picked?
- Who will be the third quarterback picked?
- Who will be the first running back picked?
- Who will be the first wide receiver picked?
- Which team will get the first overall pick?
- Among many more!
NFL Draft Betting Strategy
It’s recommended that you develop an NFL Draft betting strategy. If you have an overall betting strategy, that will definitely help you out here. But it’s such a strange sports betting event that we recommend you have your own research for it.
Below are our top NFL Draft betting tips and strategies.
Review the Consensus NFL Mock Draft
The Consensus NFL Mock Draft is a great tool for getting an idea of how the whole event will play out. It’s a recommended starting point for deciding which NFL Draft bets are best, or for double-checking the ones you’re thinking about making.
But what is it? Basically, experts make an average of a bunch of NFL mock drafts. They produce this document as an average, like a poll of polls. This means you won’t be looking at one person’s opinions, but rather taking your cues from the hive mind. It tends to be much more accurate than any single pickster.
Research Each Bet Carefully
The NFL Draft is different from other betting events in that each round significantly affects all subsequent rounds. For example, if you choose a player to be drafted in the third round, but he ends up going first, then you’ve already lost two bets.
Make sure to go about this research from two angles. The first is just to look at the priorities of each team with respect to the potential pool of players. This will give you an idea of the perfect scenario for each team you’re researching.
Then, put this in the context of the Draft itself. No team will get its perfect draft scenario, because other teams will snatch up their favorites first. Once you know their dream team, put them in order so you can see if they will even have the opportunity to get what they want.
Before you start wagering, ask yourself if you can bet on the NFL Draft and win. Confidence is key, but having the research to back any wager up is integral to success.Ready to Bet on the NFL Draft?
Go to these top sportsbooks and place your wagers on the NFL Draft.
Best Betting Sites