Shedeur Sanders was the -140 favorite at BetMGM in December to be the first pick in the NFL draft.
The former Colorado quarterback has since slipped to the +750 fourth choice at BetMGM to go No. 1 behind Miami quarterback Cam Ward, the -145 favorite, Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter (+150) and Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter (6-1).
The Giants, who have the No. 3 pick in April’s draft behind the Titans (No. 1) and Browns (No. 2), are slight favorites over the Raiders, who pick sixth, to select Sanders, according to hypothetical odds made by BetColorado.com and Bookies.com.
The Giants are the 2-1 favorites and the Raiders the +250 second choice at Bookies.com to draft the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders. The Giants are +150 and the Raiders 2-1 at BetColorado.com. Bettors can’t place wagers on the prop.
The Browns are the 5-1 third choice at Bookies.com, and the Titans are the 8-1 third pick at BetColorado.com.
Tennessee president of football operations Chad Brinker told reporters in January that the Titans “won’t pass on a generational talent” with the first pick, which led to speculation they will select Hunter.
Cleveland quarterback Deshaun Watson is still under contract for the next two seasons, and former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett has requested a trade from the Browns. This helps explain why many mock drafts, including recent ones by the Review-Journal’s Adam Hill and ESPN’s Field Yates, have the Browns taking Carter.
Hill has Sanders going third to the Giants, but Yates has Ward going to New York at No. 3 and Sanders falling to the Raiders.
Sanders threw for 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns this season for the Buffaloes and finished his college career with the record for completion percentage at 71.8.
Ward, who threw for 4,313 yards and 39 touchdowns this season, recently worked out with Sanders at UNLV, where the two engaged in some friendly trash talk in a video posted on YouTube.
“They gave you a completion percentage award when all you did was throw checkdowns and bubble screens,” Ward told Sanders. “That’s actually crazy. If I did that, my completion percentage would be 90. I throw the ball downfield. You don’t.”
Sanders then walked toward Ward until their chests collided, saying “You ran the ball. You had a run game. You had a run game.”
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at [email protected]. Follow @tdewey33 on X.
