2023 NFL Draft Odds: Alabama’s Will Anderson Favorite for Number 1 Pick

2023 NFL Draft Order Takes Shape

The 2022-23 NFL regular season ended on Sunday January 8 which means that NFL betting fans now have Super Bowl betting plus the excitement of the NFL Draft to look forward to on April 27. We now know the draft order for the non-playoff teams, although obviously there could be trades before or during the draft, and some teams don’t own their first-round selection due to a previous trade or league punishment.

Although there are 32 teams in the NFL but there will only be 31 first-round selections. Why? The Miami Dolphins forfeited one of their two first-round picks, as well as a third-round pick in 2024, for tampering violations involving the team and Tom Brady last offseason that commissioner Roger Goodell said were of “unprecedented scope and severity“.

The Houston Texans were in the pole position for much of the season to get the first overall pick for the sixth time, but the Texans upset the Colts in Indianapolis in Week 18 to finish 3-13-1. Meanwhile the Chicago Bears lost at home to the Minnesota Vikings to conclude on a 10-game losing streak and, with a 3-14 record, to “earn” the top pick.

Online sports betting fans are already poring over the data in advance of the NFL Draft on Thursday, April 27 in Kansas City. College football betting experts will already be familiar with the top players who have the best odds for becoming the number 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Latest NFL Draft Number 1 Pick Odds

Here are the latest sports betting odds for the number 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft:

Will an Alabama Player Be Picked First Regardless?

For several weeks, Alabama quarterback and 2021 Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young was the betting favorite to be the first overall pick because it was assumed the Texans would be the team, and they badly need quarterback help. At 6-foot, Young doesn’t have the ideal height that many NFL teams prefer, but he’s very accurate and poised in the pocket – some have compared him to a young Drew Brees.

Alabama NCAA college football quarterback Bryce Young declares for the NFL draft, Monday, Jan. 2, 2023, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

As dominant as the Crimson Tide program has been over the years, just one Bama player has gone first overall: Harry Gilmer way back in 1948 to Washington. Young is now the +150 second favorite behind teammate and linebacker Will Anderson Jr. (+140).

Real money sports betting fans will know that this shift in the odds is because the Bears will not be taking a quarterback during the draft. The Bears have a blossoming young star at the position in Justin Fields, the No. 11 overall pick in 2021. Chicago badly needs defensive help after allowing a league-worst 27.2 points this season and totaling only 20 sacks, the fewest in the NFL. Pittsburgh’s TJ Watt had 22.5 by himself in the 2021 regular season.

Anderson finished his three years at Alabama with 34.5 sacks, trailing only future Hall of Famer Derrick Thomas. Anderson also was a two-time Nagurski Trophy winner, only the second player in the award’s history to take home the honors twice, and a unanimous All-American in back-to-back years.

It’s quite possible, if not likely, that the Bears trade the top pick to a team in need of a quarterback and move back a few spots to accumulate more selections. Ultimately, Chicago isn’t going to be a playoff contender until at least 2024. Remember: this prop bet is only on which player is chosen first, not by which team.

Beyond the Alabama duo, Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter (+550), Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud (+600) and Kentucky QB Will Levis (+1000) round out the betting options.