This week’s NFL draft still has a little drama left in the tank.
Myles Garrett is the presumed No. 1 pick, but there are still several reports that Mitch Trubisky shouldn’t be dismissed as the draft’s top pick.
Oddsmakers also are weighing in on the topic, and while Garrett has by far the highest probability of going first, we shouldn’t dismiss Trubisky as a surprise pick.
Garrett is -1600 to go No. 1, while Trubisky is +700. Everyone else is pretty much non-existent, with Soloman Thomas going off at +2000.
Last year’s draft was pretty much a forgone conclusion with Laremy Tunsil as the odds-on favorite, but then the Los Angeles Rams traded up, giving way to Jared Goff. A trade may still happen, but even if it doesn’t, there’s still some flames out there to suggest that Trubisky has a chance.
At +700, Trubisky offers a much better bet than Garrett based on the tiny return Garrett will provide. To make the draft more fun, put a little on Trubisky and hope for a semi-miracle.
The biggest drama of the draft likely will surround Trubisky anyway. The quarterback is overrated (he won the starting job for one year and now he’s a top 10 pick?), but he does have some tools so NFL General Managers will forget about his lack of production for the chance to mold him into a starting quarterback.
While putting money on Trubisky to be the No. 1 draft pick is risky, the other prop bet involving the former North Carolina signal caller should be a solid transaction.
Oddsmakers are setting Trubisky’s over/under draft number at 9.5, with more juice on the under at +100, with the over at -130. I’m hammering the under, based on teams reaching for quarterbacks, and most of those teams residing in the top-10 dying for quarterbacks.
Cleveland, San Francisco, Chicago and the New York Jets desperately need a quarterback. Jacksonville and the Los Angeles Chargers also could be in line for a new signal caller (Philip Rivers can’t play forever).
And there’s always the chance that another team sneaks into the top-10 to draft a quarterback. Trubisky may not go No. 1, but he will make an appearance in the top-10.
