Dolphins, Third Pick and Odds on Prospects

The Miami Dolphins are set to make the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft and odds have been released on the most likely prospects to be selected at that spot

Alain Poupart | Feb 15, 2021

We're still a little more than two months away from the 2021 NFL draft, and we've already got odds as to which prospects will be taken with each of the first three selections.

As it stands right now, the Miami Dolphins own the third overall selection and it's definitely worth noting that the favorite to be selected at that spot is a quarterback, Justin Fields from Ohio State, according to BetOnline (betonline.ag).

Based on the odds, the first two picks in the 2021 draft will be Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence and Brigham Young quarterback Zach Wilson.

Lawrence actually is listed at 1/50, which makes him more than a prohibitive favorite because one would have to bet $50 to win just $1.

There are seven players listed with odds for the third overall pick, led by Fields at 2/1. He's followed by tackle Penei Sewell at 9/4, wide receivers DeVonta Smith and Ja'Marr Chase at 7/2, tackle Rashawn Slater and Wilson at 5/1, and finally quarterback Trey Lance at 12/1.

Before you discuss the odds and how they relate to the Dolphins, let's mention that the only two players besides Lawrence to have odds to be the first overall pick are Fields and Sewell.

At number 2, the four players given odds are Sewell and the three quarterbacks — Fields, Wilson and Lance. That's a bit odd — pardon the pun — considering some mocks, including the one from Mel Kiper Jr. — have Smith as their second overall pick.

At number 3, keep in mind that it's the player who are getting the odds, not the team picking a player.

Because the Dolphins drafted Tua Tagovailoa fifth overall last year, it's difficult to envision them taking another quarterback in the top five. But it's not hard to see them trading down in the first round with a team that would make the move to select Fields.

If it's the Dolphins who stay put at number, the four non-quarterbacks all make sense.

In fact, in our second mock draft roundup this year, the 16 mocks that had the Dolphins making the pick at 3 had them selected Sewell, Smith or Chase.

Slater is another offensive tackle and, like Sewell, he opted out of the 2020 season because of COVID-19.

It's also worth noting that there are odds on whether Smith or Chase will be selected first: Chase is the favorite for that bet at -140 (bet $140 to win $100) and Smith at even money.

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Alain Poupart has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989. You can follow him on Twitter at @apoupartFins.

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Published Feb 15, 2021

ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of All Dolphins and co-host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press, the Dolphins team website, and the Fan Nation Network (part of Sports Illustrated). In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.