Winners Club: What the NFL Draft Means for Fantasy Players and Bettors
Now that a few days have passed, it’s time to review and digest the ramifications of the 2022 NFL draft. It opened in somewhat boring fashion with the first few picks before morphing into a potentially league-altering flurry of wheeling and dealing that saw two established receivers switch teams and nearly the entire league turn their noses up at a bad quarterback class.
And in the NBA, the first round came to a close over the weekend and the semifinals promptly began Sunday. Two more series tip off tonight.
See how the draft impacted the fantasy football landscape, how your favorite team fared and get expert picks for the second round of the NBA playoffs in today’s Winners Club.
2022 NFL Draft: Recapping the Weekend
The draft is in the past, so now is the time to synthesize what happened from Thursday to Saturday and how those 262 selections affect the NFL’s 32 franchises. And specifically for our purposes, how those picks impact the league from a fantasy and betting perspective.
Some of the draft day moves that will have the biggest impact this season don’t exactly have to do with rookies. The Eagles traded for Titans Pro Bowl receiver A.J. Brown on Thursday and the Cardinals acquired Ravens receiver Marquise Brown. Both teams were in need of pass catchers—Philadelphia didn’t have a 1,000-yard receiver last season and Arizona let Christian Kirk walk during the offseason.
Michael Fabiano broke down what each trade means for the receivers switching teams and also their new quarterbacks, Jalen Hurts and Kyler Murray.
Speaking of receivers, rookies have become en vogue at the position in recent seasons and they have the highest likelihood of making an immediate impact among fantasy-relevant players drafted this weekend. Players like Drake London, Garrett Wilson and Treylon Burks can provide big help right away to their respective teams. Fabiano has winners and losers for all the incoming rookies from running back James Cook to quarterback Malik Willis.
John Locher/AP
The NFL draft is one of the best sports events for bettors to beat the books and our Frankie Taddeo recounted some of the biggest wins, losses and surprises. Trayvon Walker to the Jaguars at No. 1 went from a longshot to a lock, Willis falling out of the first round was a massive shock and London being the first receiver off the board burned bettors who invested in Wilson and Jameson Williams.
And now that the 2022 draft is over, it’s not too early to look ahead to the 2023 draft. Alabama quarterback Bryce Young at +200 is the betting favorite to go No. 1, followed by Ohio State signal-caller C.J. Stroud at +210.
More NFL Draft reading:
First-Round Draft Grades: The Jaguars get a passing grade for their second consecutive No. 1 selection, but some other teams in the top 10 passed with flying colors. See how Conor Orr graded the first 32 picks.
Analyzing Each Team’s Draft: It should come as no surprise that the Ravens and Eagles knocked it out of the park. See how the rest of the league drafted and what grade those picks earned them.
NBA Playoffs: Semifinals Get Underway
Eight teams remain in the hunt for an NBA title.
The Warriors and Bucks both took one step closer to winning a ring Sunday—something they’ve both done in the last five years—with Game 1 wins in the second round. Golden State edged Memphis, 119-118, on the road despite Draymond Green’s early ejection, while Milwaukee scored a double-digit road win in Boston, 101-89.
The other four teams begin their second-round series tonight. The 76ers and top-seeded Heat tip off in Miami and later on, the Mavericks and No. 1 Suns clash in the desert.
Second-Round Schedule | Series Winner Predictions
Monday
7:30 p.m. ET (TNT): 76ers vs. Heat (-7.5) | Game 1
10 p.m. ET (TNT): Mavericks vs. Suns (-5.5) | Game 1
Steven Senne/AP
Tuesday
7 p.m. ET (TNT): Bucks vs. Celtics (-4) | Milwaukee leads series, 1-0
9:30 p.m. ET (TNT): Warriors (-2.5) vs. Grizzlies | Golden State leads series, 1-0
Here’s how the remaining teams’ title odds stack up at SI Sportsbook.
- Warriors +240
- Suns +300
- Bucks +450
- Celtics +550
- Heat +600
- 76ers +2000
- Mavericks +2000
- Grizzlies +2500
More NBA postseason reading:
Joel Embiid Could Return for Game 3: The 76ers center and MVP finalist is not traveling to Miami for Games 1 and 2 while he recovers from an orbital fracture and concussion, but there is optimism he could return when the series heads to Philadelphia for Games 3 and 4.
Jimmy Butler Will Play Game 1 vs. 76ers: Miami’s star forward will be ready for the first game of the second-round series against the 76ers after he missed Game 5 of the first round versus the Hawks. Kyle Lowry, who hasn’t played since Game 3 of that series, has been ruled out.
Giannis Gets the Best of the C’s Defense: Without Khris Middleton, the Bucks took Game 1 off the Celtics on the road comfortably thanks to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s dominant triple-double.
In Other News
NHL Playoffs Betting Preview: The quest for the Stanley Cup begins tonight when the postseason gets underway. See all the first-round matchups, series odds and futures odds for each conference and to win it all.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Targets: There’s a pair of Marlins pitchers and a trio of slugging outfielders available in plenty of leagues who could be a welcome addition in your fantasy lineup.
WNBA Fantasy Preview: Women’s basketball is a new addition to ESPN’s fantasy sports offerings—see who the No. 1 pick should be, which rookies will excel quickly and who the sleepers are before the season tips off Friday.
That’s all for today. Thanks for reading!
