Round one of the NFL draft is in the books. The chalk hit on some bets, like Jayden Daniels to the Washington Commanders and Marvin Harrison Jr as the first wide receiver off the board. And then there were some crazy ones like Michael Penix Jr. to the Atlanta Falcons or Brock Bowers to the Raiders. The 2024 NFL Draft so far has brought the drama we’ve come to expect from the NFL draft.

The first round however is really for the casuals. It’s the household names that folks check in on that haven’t watched since the Super Bowl. We are deep cut football fans here. We know these prospects up and down. And bettors like us take advantage on Day Two. The money is made in the second and third round. So let’s look at the best bets, picks, odds, and predictions for the second and third round of the 2024 NFL Draft starting tonight at 7 PM ET. 

NFL Draft Best Bets, Predictions, & Odds For 2024 - Day 2

*Editor's Note: The following NFL Draft betting odds are all courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.

 

 

Jonathon Brooks (Texas) 1st RB Drafted -130

Jonathan Brooks was the best running back in this class. If he didn’t hurt his knee, he would be a lock as the top running back in this class. And, with the advances in modern medicine, he should still be the top running back in this class. 

We Jeffrey Simmons suffer a torn ACL in FEBRUARY while training for the draft and he still went in the first round. Jameson Williams tore his ACL and the Lions traded UP to take him in the first round. Jonathan Brooks had his surgery done by Dallas Cowboys team doctor Dan Cooper and reports have been stellar so far - he expects to be back by training camp. If that is true, I would not be surprised to see the RB-needy Dallas Cowboys themselves make Brooks the first RB off the board, whether they take him at 56 or trade up to get hm earlier.

Second Tight End Drafted Ja'Tavion Sanders (Texas) +180 and Jaheim Bell (Florida State) +2500

Brock Bowers is a special player. He’s basically a wide receiver that lines up and catches passes like a wide receiver but blocks better than any wide receiver. As we’ve seen with guys like Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, and Evan Engram, that’s a valuable guy to have. There’s a reason we expect Bowers to go early and it’s the same reason the Bills traded up in the first round to take Dalton Kincaid last year.

This year some folks like Ben Sinnott but I think there are two other superior pass-catching tight ends that go earlier in the draft with the emphasis on pass-catching in the modern NFL. Ja’Tavion Sanders is a special talent who national scout Brandon Huffman, as a guest on Alarm Fantasy Football this week, declared his tight end two. He was +310 a couple days ago when we first talked about this bet but +180 is still solid value on DraftKings..

We also have a dark horse pick with Jaheim Bell from Florida State. As we wrote in our 2024 Rookie Dynasty Tight End Preview, Jaheim Bell has a lot of similar trades to Brock Bowers and is arguably the most comparable player in this class. If a team likes what Bowers brings to the table and misses out on him, they might be inclined to scoop up Bell to play that role. With a fairly uncertain tight end landscape after the top few names, +2,500 on DraftKings isn’t a bad play (if you didn’t get him at +4,000 when we posted on Tuesday…)

 

Buffalo Bills 1st Position Draft Player in 2024 NFL Draft -225

The Patriots at -300 to take a wide receiver makes me nervous. Not that I don’t think they could draft a wide receiver. They need one and they might. But I’m worried that they find a way to trade the pick for someone like Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, or Tee Higgins. The Patriots have more cap space than any other team so they have the luxury of trading for and paying these guys. Then they would be unlikely to take a wide receiver with their next pick.

The Buffalo Bills, on the other hand, don’t have that luxury. And, after trading back twice at spots where wide receivers were taken, I think this is where they make their mark. I had them taking Troy Franklin in the first round in my mock draft so that would be too obvious of a pick. I have a suspicion that the Bills are high on a player that they know others aren’t which is why they have been confident moving back. And maybe they move back again but I do believe the next pick they make will be a wideout. 

Arizona Cardinals Third Draft Player Position, Cornerback +100

I think the Buffalo BIlls go wide receiver here. And the Patriots drafted a cornerback Christian Gonzalez in the first round last year. And, even if they do take a corner, there are two left I like in Cooper DeJean and Kool-Aid McKinstry. I really don’t like the odds of Cooper DeJean (-190) vs. Kool-Aid McKinstry (+150). What I do like are the odds that Arizona picks either one of them with the third pick of this round at even money (+100). In the first round they got their wide receiver and their defensive linemen so CB is the next most obvious need for Jonathan Gannon’s defense. 

 

First Kicker or Punter Selected, Tory Taylor (Iowa) +450

It’s always nice to have some experts in the industry to lean on when it comes to topics you might not be super familiar with. In this case, friend of the Fantasy Alarm #FAmily and analyst at Mathew Berry’s Fantasy Life Linda Godfrey (@Lindellions on Twitter) is plugged in to the special teams seen at both the NFL and NCAA level. One of the few folks I know who was excited to play in a fantasy league that included BOTH kickers and punters last season. And she is sold on Tory Taylor, who is not only an “Australian style” punter but is actually from Melbourne Australia. With plus money of almost 5 to 1, we’re willing to sprinkle some money on this one if Linda is in.