We all have NFL Draft predictions. That’s half the fun. I even have my own first round 2024 NFL Mock Draft live with write-ups for each pick, including trade predictions. And guess what? That won’t be 100% right. It never is. Correctly doing a mock draft is impossible. 

 

 

 

But you know what is a little more realistic? Using your knowledge and your hunches to place a couple reasonable wagers as NFL Draft betting odds tend to be quite favorable. With the way the sports betting industry and sportsbooks are expanding, there are a lot of ways you can take advantage of your predictions – and make a little money on top of saying, “I told you so”.

NFL Draft Best Bets, Predictions, & Odds For 2024

What we’re going to do here is look at five of my NFL Draft predictions that I feel strongly about and discuss how to handicap them in this draft. 

You can tail my picks if you’d like or feel free to let me know what you are betting on in the Fantasy Alarm Discord - and maybe I’ll jump in with you! The NFL Draft is a lot of fun but it’s even more fun when you have a little skin in the game!

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

 

 

 

NFL Draft Prop Bets: 2nd WR Drafted - Rome Odunze +300

I personally believe Malik Nabers is the second-best wide receiver in this class - for fantasy football. But Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze are different prospects in terms of real-life football. Odunze is a bigger, split end while Nabers is the type of guy to play flanker and dabble in the slot for matchups. We’ve seen teams split hairs with the top wide receivers before with the Dolphins notably selecting Jaylen Waddle over DeVonta Smith partially due to his special teams ability. 

Let’s consider the wide receiver needy teams. I think the Cardinals take Marvin Harrison Jr. After that, the Chargers will have an emphasis on the run game where size helps. The Giants have a field stretcher in Jalin Hyatt and a slot guy in Wan’Dale Robinson. The Jets have Garrett Wilson who operates heavily out of the slot. And the Saints could trade up to replace Michael Thomas, as we discussed in our mock draft. 

So don’t be shocked if Odunze goes before Nabers. If things were reversed, and Odunze was -340 and Nabers was +300, we might bet on Nabers. But we’ll take the plus odds (+300) on Odunze.

 

 

 

NFL Draft Prop Bets: Los Angeles Chargers Draft Pick - Brock Bowers +1000

There are a couple ways to play the Brock Bowers lottery in this draft. Some strategies are a little more conservative and others a little more aggressive. Here are some ideas on how to play it.

The over/under for Brock Bowers is set at 12.5 with a lot of books, but you need to pay -250 to get the under. I like the line but don’t like playing the juice. The Jets are the current favorite to take Bowers at 10, but I have a hunch they take on offensive lineman with that pick. 

When I look around these other teams, the offense that Greg Roman runs – with Mark Andrews as a focal point and an emphasis on the run game – is the perfect spot for Brock Bowers to operate out of the slot. That’s where I’m going. If you go with the Chargers to take Bowers at +1000, that covers you if they take him at five OR if they trade back and take him (say they do trade with the Vikings then take him at 11). 

What I’m doing is betting on the Chargers +1000 to take him, sprinkling a little on the Chargers to take him at five at +3500, and then hedging a little bit by betting the Jets to take him at +180. This is a generational prospect that I’m confident will go early and we will win big if it’s the Chargers that take him.

 

 

 

NFL Draft Prop Bets: Cincinnati Bengals Position Of 1st Draft Player - Defensive Line/Edge +425

The Bengals are likely going either offensive or defensive line here. And I like the odds we get of them taking a defensive lineman – specifically, a defensive tackle. In recent years, we have seen a big emphasis of pressure from the interior across the NFL with guys like Christian Wilkins and Javon Hargrave becoming sought after commodities. 

It’s the reason Jalen Carter went at nine overall last year. The Bengals just lost DJ Reader this offseason, so it’s a big position of need for them. I like them taking Jer’Zhan Newton, but Byron Murphy II is another popular pick. If they pick either, we get paid out at 4-to-1 odds.

 

 

 

NFL Draft Prop Bets: 1st RB Drafted - Jonathan Brooks -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 saw 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. 

 

 

 

NFL Draft Prop Bets: 2nd Tight End Drafted - Ja’Tavion Sanders +310 & Jaheim Bell +4000

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 Huffmanb – as a guest on Alarm Fantasy Football this week – declared his tight end two. He’s +310 to be the second TE off the board which is a great value. 

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, that could be a big payday at +4000.