Sportsbooks Provide Possible Glimpse into NFL Draft Pecking Order

With the NFL Draft just four weeks away, here is a look at the betting odds at receiver and some positional over/unders.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ biggest needs ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft are at receiver following the trade of Davante Adams, outside linebacker following the release of Za’Darius Smith and offensive tackle following the release of Billy Turner.

It’s impossible to know with certainty who will be available for Green Bay’s picks at Nos. 22 and 28 of the first round, though the NFL Draft odds at FanDuel could offer a clue to the pecking order at those spots.

The odds to be the first player selected at:

Receiver: Ohio State’s Garrett Wilson, +125; USC’s Drake London, +125; Alabama’s Jameson Williams, +600; Arkansas’ Treylon Burks, +800; Ohio State’s Chris Olave, +1600; Penn State’s Jahan Dotson, +7500; North Dakota State’s Christian Watson, +7500. That Wilson and London are at the top is no surprise. What is interesting is Williams and Burks form a second tier, and Olave is sort of on his own as the fifth choice. The over/under on receivers selected in the first round is 5.5. Watson and Dotson are in contention to push that to over.

“I feel like I could be one of those dudes that is the next one of those guys,” Wilson said at the Scouting Combine. “You know, type of thing where they have a big role their rookie season and play a big role on their team, getting better and improving, so watching that, that's what I want to be. That's what I plan on being and am going to train to be. That’s the goal.”

Offensive line: North Carolina State’s Ikem Ekwonu, -150; Alabama’s Evan Neal, +125; Mississippi State’s Charles Cross, +1400; Northern Iowa’s Trevor Penning, +7500; Iowa’s Tyler Linderbaum, +7500. It will be interesting to see if Penning makes it into Green Bay’s range at No. 22.

Physicality is his calling card.

“I think it’s a huge, huge part of my game,” he said. “You want to make the defender across from you feel it. You want him at the end of the day to be exhausted and he wants to go home and get on that flight and get the hell out of there. It’s very important.”

FanDuel doesn’t have a positional market for the edge defenders but it does list over/unders for the four potential top-10 picks: Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson, 1.5; Georgia’s Travon Walker, 3.5; Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux, 5.5 and Florida State’s Jermaine Johnson, 9.5.

For first-round positional over/unders, it’s 2.5 quarterbacks, 0.5 running backs, 5.5 receivers, 7.5 offensive linemen, 4.5 cornerbacks and 1.5 safeties. Offense (17.5) has a slight edge over defense (16.5) on the total.

At SI Sportsbook, Hutchinson is a solid favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick.

“It would mean a lot,” he said of being the top pick. “You know, a lot of hard work has gone into this. You know, it's been a very long journey, but I'm ready to start a new chapter.”