The NFL Draft is here, which means it is time to speculate wildly about the futures of young athletes. After all of the projecting, and all of the hair product used by Mel Kiper Jr., it is time for the picks to roll in and for us to find out which prospects will play for which NFL teams. More importantly, it is time to bet on which selections are going to be made when and by whom. Continue reading for our NFL betting picks for the 2023 NFL Draft.
2nd Quarterback Selected – CJ Stroud (+115)
Our first NFL Draft wager is on CJ Stroud to be the second quarterback taken in this year’s draft. It is all but a sure thing that Bryce Young of Alabama will be taken first overall by the Carolina Panthers, with his odds to go number one overall at around -2000 at this point. But Stroud is the second best quarterback prospect in this draft, and any serious franchise would take him over Will Levis at the quarterback position.
Concerns have emerged about Stroud’s pre-draft test scores, which has made this a conversation in the first place. But Stroud ran a much more dynamic offense at Ohio State than Levis did at Kentucky, a program all about running the ball and playing defense. If the teams behind Carolina in this draft were smart, they would take Stroud over Levis, no matter what his S2 scores, SAT scores, or any other test scores say.
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New York Giants First Player Selected – Wide Receiver (+150)
Next, give us the Giants to take a wide receiver with their first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Giants appear to be heading in the right direction, having made the playoffs in year one under NFL Coach of the Year Brian Daboll. But their glaring issue at this point is the wide receiver position, which they need to stock in a hurry to help QB Daniel Jones reach his full potential sooner rather than later.
The Giants may have the worst WR group in the NFL going into the draft, with the oft-injured Darius Slayton as their number one. In fact, the team’s best pass catcher right now might be TE Darren Waller, who has had plenty of injury issues of his own. The top priority for New York has to be getting some dynamic targets to help their passing game grow in 2023.
WRs Drafted in the First Round – Under 3.5 (-115)
Finally, we will take the under on the number of wide receivers drafted in the first round this year at 3.5. The Giants should use their first round pick to grab a receiver, but outside of that there are one or two receivers that should go in the first round. It might be a white knuckle ride over the final few picks of the first round, but we will go under nonetheless.
Before the Giants pick, Jaxson Smith-Njigba out of Ohio State should be off the board, as he is the best wide receiver prospect in this draft. The question then becomes how long until Zay Flowers comes off the board at this position, as the Boston College wide receiver has moved steadily up draft boards recently. From there, though, it is possible that we see one more receiver’s name called before the end of the first round to get this under in.