California Golden Bears pivot Jared Goff is listed as a heavy -850 betting favorite to be taken by the Los Angeles Rams with the first pick of the 2016 NFL Draft at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Rams made headlines earlier this month when they shipped a bevy of picks, including their first-round selections in both 2016 and 2017, to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for the top pick in Thursday night’s NFL Draft at Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre.
Goff threw for 4,719 yards and 43 touchdowns in his junior year last season, leading the Golden Bears to an 8-5 record. Goff twice took home Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honors and was named 2015 Armed Forces Bowl MVP after leading his team to a 55-36 win over Air Force for their first bowl game victory in seven years.
Carson Wentz, a 6’5″ senior who led the North Dakota State Bison to the FCS national championship last season, follows Goff with +500 odds to be the first overall pick, while the odds of any other player going first overall sit at a longshot +5000.
Wentz missed considerable time last season after suffering a broken wrist, returning in time for the national championship game, and is an expected target of the Philadelphia Eagles, who moved up to the second pick in the NFL Draft in a trade with the Cleveland Browns.
With Wentz and Goff leading the way on the NFL Draft odds this week, the betting line on the total number of quarterbacks taken in the first round is set at 2.5, with the OVER a heavy -1200 favorite while the UNDER pays out at +650.
Ohio State Buckeyes rusher Ezekiel Elliott and 2015 Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry are viewed by most observers as the top two running backs available in this year’s NFL Draft.
However, oddsmakers do not expect both Elliott and Henry to be selected in the first round of the draft, setting the total number of running backs picked in the first round at 1.5, with the UNDER at solid -350 odds while the OVER is a +260 bet.
Laquon Treadwell of Ole Miss, the Baylor Bears’ Corey Coleman, and Buckeyes wideout Michael Thomas then lead a strong class of wide receivers at this year’s NFL Draft.
The line on the total number of wide receivers selected in the first round of the draft is set at 3.5 at the sportsbooks, with a wager on the OVER paying at +110 odds; the UNDER is set as the -140 favorite on the prop.
