2025 NFL Draft Day: Updated Sports Betting Odds

Posted on: April 24, 2025, 10:52h. 

Last updated on: April 24, 2025, 12:31h.

Mark Keast Read More
Expertise: Canadian Gaming, iGaming, Las Vegas, Sports Betting, NFL, Boxing, UFC.

Thursday night is the start of the NFL draft, a time when the rumors, chatter, and mock-draft boards are finally are shelved, and teams get down to making their picks and filling out their rosters for next season.

The NFL Draft begins Thursday night in Green Bay, Wis. with QB Cam Ward the betting favorite to go first overall. (Image: Shutterstock)

The first round of the NFL Draft, held in Green Bay, Wis. begins at 7 p.m., with the seven-round draft concluding on April 26.

Earlier this week, a big story on the betting odds front for the draft centered around QB Shedeur Sanders from Colorado.

Everybody wants a young quarterback. Getting it right is a whole other thing, and the odds reflect that.

The Giants have done a ton of due diligence on Sanders, with general manager Joe Schoen spending time in Colorado. The shift in the sports betting odds had the Pittsburgh Steelers as the team most favored to take Sanders (at No. 21).

The betting favorite for weeks were the New Orleans Saints (No. 9). Do the Giants take him at No. 3? The Browns at No. 2? Likely not, so that means trading back to take him later in the draft.

ESPN BET: Ward Generating Most Betting Interest

At ESPN BET on Thursday morning, QB Cam Ward from Miami has generated 21.2% of bets and 77.5% of handle to be drafted at No. 1 (the Tennessee Titans currently hold that pick), followed by Edge Abdul Carter from Penn State (20.9% bets, 7.1% of handle), WR Travis Hunter from Colorado (25.7% of bets, 6.7% of handle), then Sanders at 16.2% of bets, 5.9% of handle.

In the last 30 days, betting interest around that No. 1 overall pick has shifted: Ward is at 20.9% of bets, 94.3% of handle, Hunter at 32.6% of bets, 2.7% of handle, and Sanders at 19.8% of bets, 1.4% of handle.

When betting the total number of QBs to go in the first round, ESPN BET is seeing 51.2% of bets and 63.9% of handle on the Over of 2.5. Ward, Sanders, Texas’ Quinn Ewers, and Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart are the candidates to go in the first round.

BetMGM: What Does Pittsburgh Do?

ESPN BET had the Steelers as the team with the most betting interest to grab Sanders (21.3% of bets, 31.9% of handle), especially with all the uncertainty around their QB position going into next season.

Free agent Aaron Rodgers, rumored to be under consideration in Pittsburgh, still hasn’t decided if he will return for a 21st season. The Steelers have already waved goodbye to Russell Wilson who signed with the Giants, who also signed free agent Jameis Winston. Mason Rudolph is listed as the starting QB on the team’s depth chart.

BetMGM has seen some interesting line movements according to spokesman John Ewing: Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty’s odds to be the fourth pick (owned by the New England Patriots) opened at +2500, before going to +1500 last week, and +1000 this week. Ewing is at +525 as of Thursday morning.

Do the Jets Go Tight End?

Odds that the New York Jets (at No. 7) draft a tight end (Tyler Warren from Penn State) went from +400 (Open) to +325 last week, and +310 today. Georgia’s Mykel Williams’ odds to be the ninth pick (held by the Saints) went from +1200 (Open) to +400 this week, to +250 today.

At PointsBet Canada, the trader desk there reports that Sanders going to the Steelers has become very popular on the betting front, and WR Tetairoa McMillan from Arizona being drafted in the Top 10 has also gained a lot of steam over the past few days.

“The NFL Draft brings in lots of attention from bettors. Trades, breaking news, and other factors can alter the draft in a moment’s notice. BetMGM is hoping Heisman runner-up Ashton Jeanty falls out of the top 5, but besides that, every pick is a case-by-case situation,” said BetMGM Trading Manager Christian Cipollini.

Where Does DraftKings Sit?

At FanDuel, the top three most bet markets include the “No. 1 Overall Pick,” “First Wide Receiver Drafted (not including Travis Hunter),” and the “Team to Select #1 Overall in the 2025 NFL Draft.”

For the market “Number 1 Overall Pick” Abdul Carter has gone from +420 to +3300 in the past month. For the market “First Wide Receiver Drafted (not including Travis Hunter),” Matthew Golden has gone from +150 to +220 in the past few days.

Over at DraftKings, Ward is -20000 (40% of handle, 15% of bets) to go No. 1 overall tonight, followed on the list by Hunter (+5000), Carter (+4500), Sanders (+10000), and Ewers (+50000).