Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
By Chris Marler
It’s Draft Day! One of the best days on the sports calendar will happen tonight starting at 7 PM CST, as 32 players will have their name selected in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. To go over the latest news, rumors, and more we have done something a little differently. We are combining some best bets and gambling odds and trends along with the latest smoke around players, teams, and first round rumors for a full scope as what to expect.
Best bets for the First Round of the NFL Draft
Over 8.5 SEC Players in the First round +140
Over 1.5 God/Jesus References for No. 1 Overall Pick -120
Ty Simpson Under 29.5 Pick +100
Mansoor Delane Top Ten Pick -135
Over 1.5 Dogs shown on the broadcast
Mansoor Delane to Saints +500
Let me explain
Let’s start with some home grown news and notes first. Mansoor Delane is the current favorite to be the first cornerback taken in this year’s draft. He’s CB No. 1 and it’s not particularly close behind him. In fact, the battle for number two is so far back that Delane to be the first corner drafted is currently sitting at -5000 on BetOnline. What that tells me is a few things. One, Delane is most likely not going to last past the top ten picks, and two, I think it makes more sense for him to get picked at No. 8 by the Saints.
I know, I know, the Saints almost never draft LSU players in general, and they’ve never drafted one in the first round. I think that changes this year. They have definitive needs at corner, pass rush, and wideout. Everything we’ve heard is that it’s between a wideout and Delane. The Saints are really high on a few different wideouts including Carnell Tate and Jordyn Tyson. Tyson is currently the player with the best odds to go at No. 8 (+225), however there are other good receivers in this draft the Saints also like that will be available later on. Look no further than Chris Bell from Louisville. If the Saints can get him in Rd. 2 then they can take the best corner in the entire draft at No. 8. There’s not a better option at corner than Delane, and there are several really good options at receiver. Break the streak, and take Delane.
Current odds to be drafted No. 8 overall to the #Saints
Who should the @saints draft on Thursday?? #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/AUrpmoMp1u
— 104.5 ESPN (@1045espn) April 23, 2026
Broader scope and the SEC
Another pick I like is the SEC over 8.5 picks in the first round. It’s not looking good for the SEC according to sportsbooks who are putting this at plus money. Again, hear me out though. Throw the track record out the window for a second. Yes, it’s incredibly relevant and impressive that they’ve had the most first round picks for over a decade including a draft record 15 a season ago. Getting over eight here seems more than feasible when you look at who the locks are and who the players on the bubble are.
Yesterday, I did this exercise, and listed off the players I think are definitely getting drafted in Rd. 1. They are as follows.
LSU DB Mansoor Delane
Texas A&M WR KC Concepcion
Tennessee CB Colton Hood
Tennessee CB Jermod McCoy
Alabama OL Kadyn Proctor
Alabama QB Ty Simpson
Georgia OL Monroe Freeling
Georgia LB CJ Allen
South Carolina CB Brandon Cisse
Auburn EDGE Keldric Faulk
The players that are locks are Delane, Concepcion, Hood, Proctor, Freeling, and Faulk. I believe Simpson is as well if for no other reason than we rarely see a first round with only one quarterback taken, and the current odds of having two quarterbacks taken in round one is at -400. Those are the same odds for Simpson to be drafted in the first round, -400. Let’s say that makes seven locks in the first. That leaves Allen, McCoy and Cisse from that list as bubble names. You can also include Missouri’s Zion Young in that mix who has been mocked in several first rounds and is at +125 for odds to be drafted in the first round. He and Allen are the first two players on the plus odds side of first round pick odds meaning that after the 18 players listed with minus money, they are the first two listed after at +135 and +155 respectively.
There’s also Jermod McCoy who has been a longstanding mainstay as a first round pick and top 15 selection. He may slip and his current position odds for the first are Over/Under 28.5 with the odds of him being selected before the No. 28 pick at +175. Still, with seven players as locks and four more right on the fringe, I think GMs of some front offices will default to SEC players which gives me a confidence boost since we see it all the time. That’s especially the case with a player like CJ Allen from Georgia.
Just for fun
One of the things I love most about the NFL Draft are the fun and quirky prop bets. There are two this year that I feel like are not just funny, but I feel like should be absolutely hammered on the over with your hard earned American dollars. Fernando Mendoza to reference God/Jesus over 1.5 times seems like a lock. He does that with ease, and I’m sure will take a moment to do so once again during his big moment Thursday night. Kid’s an angel, and he will absolutely go over 1.5.
The other is the amount of dogs shown in the broadcast. Home cams for first round guys can be hit or miss since more than half of the first rounders usually show up to the live event and wait in the green room. However, bets for animals have been fairly easy to hit ever since the infamous 0.5 cats shown in the 2021 Draft was obliterated by Tristan Wirfs who had three cats in his home by himself. Over 1.5 might be tricky depending on how many people are showing home cams versus at the event, but the bet says “on the broadcast.” Last I checked Kirk Herbstreit will be on the broadcast, and that man doesn’t do anything without one of those golden retrievers following him. That means we only need one more dog in 32 picks. Or, a stray running around the city of Pittsburgh. I bet we see both.
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