It might be April, but the giant that is the NFL never rests! February brought us the Super Bowl, March was free agency, and now it’s time for teams to make draft picks that will alter the course of their history, for the good or the bad. Some picks will fast-track the team to a contender, push them over the top, or set them back for years to come. The best part, we get to bet on it! Here are my 2025 NFL Draft best bets.
The 90th edition of the NFL Draft will be held this year in Green Bay, Wisconsin, at Lambeau Field and the adjacent Titletown district. Round 1 kicks off Thursday, April 24th at 8:00 p.m. ET across a variety of Disney family channels, including ABC, ESPN, and ESPN Deportes, as well as the NFL Network.
By virtue of their 3-14 record in 2024, the Tennessee Titans are now on the clock with the first pick in the Draft. This is one of the more wide-open years in terms of how the draft will start, there’s not a clear-cut player or even position that will go first or second off the board. Another oddity: at the time of publishing this, every NFL team still holds their own first-round pick in 2025.
2025 NFL Three-Round Mock Draft – JMark
2025 NFL Draft Best Bets
Abdul Carter #1 Overall Pick (+3300) & Cam Ward #2 Overall (+8000)
Let’s start this off with a bang. 33/1 for the best player and a generational talent in this draft to go #1 overall is crazy over on MGM. I get it. All signs and smoke is pointing to the Titans selecting Cam Ward with the first pick, and that seems most likely right now. But what if they are setting a smoke screen because they are trying to trade the pick? Hype it up so someone offers them the bag? That’s what I’d do if I were them.
The Titans GM, Mike Borgonzi, said the team would not pass on a “generational talent” with the first pick, so is he a liar? Give Will Levis another year, grab a quarterback in the second or third round, and if Levis doesn’t work out, Arch Manning is draft-eligible next year. I’m still holding out some belief that the Titans take the true #1 player here at 33/1. I love the bet. Then double down, or in this case triple down with Cam Ward #2 overall at 80/1. You can also get Ward over 1.5 at 13/1.
Second Quarterback Selected: Jaxson Dart (+230)
Whether Cam Ward goes first overall or not, it’s highly likely he’s the first quarterback taken at this point. For a long time in the process, the question was would it be Cam or Shedeur Sanders who would go first, then the other would go second. However, Sanders is quickly slipping down the board, and Jaxson Dart is rising. Dart broke Eli Manning’s records at Ole Miss and has turned eyes during the scouting process leading up to the Draft. In my latest Mock Draft, Sanders fell to the Steelers at #21, but if they don’t grab him, that free fall could go into day 2. Dart is a legit candidate to go much earlier than Sanders, and at over 2/1 odd,s it’s another great bet.
Travis Hunter Fourth Overall Pick (+2000)
This one is simply looking for value. I believe Hunter will be gone by the third pick to the New York Giants. However, when it comes to betting, I’m looking for something that has a decent chance at a good price. Say Ward does go #1; the Browns and Giants both don’t have long-term answers at quarterback. If either of them pulls the trigger on Sanders or Dart because they want to call their shot like we saw with the Falcons last year. That leaves Carter to the other team, who I still think goes ahead of Hunter. Suddenly, the Patriots are tripping over themselves to get to the podium with that Travis Hunter card. There’s also the scenario where some trades ahead of pick #4 for a quarterback as well.
Emeka Egbuka Under 28.5 (-115)
Egbuka is a player I’ve fallen more and more in love with as we’ve gotten closer to the draft. The Ohio State standout runs smooth, crisp routes and slides in well at the slot position. We’ve seen plenty of reuniting when it comes to quarterbacks and wide receivers who played together in college, I’m eyeing the Houston Texans and quarterback CJ Stroud. They sit at pick 25, and if Egbuka is just sitting there, I think Stroud will advocate for them to take his guy. Green Bay, Los Angeles, and Detroit are all teams in that area who could take him as well.
