2023 NFL Draft odds: First overall pick lines, C.J. Stroud favorite to go No. 1

The NFL Draft is less than a month away, and when it comes to sports betting, the odds are on the move for the No. 1 pick.

Year in and year out, the most fascinating part of this conversation is always the debate about which impact player gets drafted first overall.

This year’s quarterback class is all everyone is talking about right now, and it’s also created some drama atop the draft board. To dig deeper into who the first pick will be, we turned to FOX Bet for hypothetical odds on a few of college football’s most dynamic athletes. 

Let’s look at the No. 1 pick odds and glance at five prospects vying for the top spot on Day 1. 

C.J. Stroud

One of the things that draws such interest in the draft is how players can move up (or down) mock drafts and odds boards without playing a game.

Such is the case with Stroud, the Ohio State quarterback whose hypothetical odds have shortened from +300 to -120 in recent weeks. Young had one of the most impressive seasons of all college QBs this year. His 41 TDs ranked second in the sport, and in the Buckeyes’ loss to Georgia in the Peach Bowl, Stroud threw for 348 yards and four touchdowns.

A 2022 Heisman finalist and a first-team All-Big Ten this season and last, Stroud is an intriguing name as the Panthers will be looking to add talent at the QB position. Carolina brass certainly looked impressed at Stroud’s Pro Day, so it’s no wonder the quarterback is now the new favorite to go No. 1.

Bryce Young

Alabama’s Bryce Young has achieved a storied career as the starting quarterback for the Crimson Tide. Among other accolades, the junior from California snagged the 2021 Heisman and has a College Football Playoff National Championship on his resume. In 2022, Young passed for 3,328 yards and 32 touchdowns while leading his squad to a 45-20 over Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl. In that matchup, he threw for 321 yards. 

It’s clear why Young sits near the top of FOX Bet’s hypothetical odds board to get drafted No. 1 overall, but it is important to note that he’s moved from the betting favorite to second on the list as of late.

Anthony Richardson

In late January, Richardson was listed at +10000 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total) to be the No. 1 overall pick.

After breaking multiple combine records, Richardson zoomed up to be the third-betting favorite to be the No. 1 pick, behind C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young.

Nothing gets those draft odds to move like a player having a star turn at the combine like Richardson had, FOX Bet Trading Operations Associate Matthew Griffe said.

“Richardson certainly improved his standing with his combine performance,” Griffe noted.

Since then, his odds have settled a bit, with both Young and Stroud taking over the top slots. Richardson currently sits third on the odds board.

While everyone is enamored with this signal caller, here are some stats to keep in mind. This QB’s career record as a starter at a major Power 5 conference team is 6-7. He completed 54.7% of his passes and has a 24/15 touchdown passes/interception ratio over three seasons.

That being said, he is a prospect with a high ceiling which GMs love to trade up for.

Will Levis

The Kentucky quarterback has seen his draft stock rise, fall and rise again since he threw his last pass for the Wildcats.

His odds to be the No. 1 pick went from +4000 to +500 at one book and were cut in half in January at most other books. Now his odds to get drafted first overall sit at +5000. With both Stroud and Young sitting in front of him in the odds and in raw talent, Levis to go No. 1 overall is certainly a long shot.

Will Anderson

Anderson’s stock appears to be dropping as the odds of the Tide standout having his name called first have lengthened from +125 to +15000. The 6-foot-4, 243-pound linebacker racked up 57 solo tackles in the 2021 season and 24 solo tackles and one interception during the 2022 campaign. More importantly, he is a sack machine, recording 17.5 sacks last season and 10 this year. Many consider him to be the best pass rusher in the class, but this one looks like it will be QB-heavy draft at the top of the round.

Here is the order for the first six teams in the 2023 NFL Draft:

1. Carolina Panthers (via trade with the Chicago Bears)
2. Houston Texans
3. Arizona Cardinals
4. Indianapolis Colts
5. Seattle Seahawks
6. Detroit Lions

Which player do you think will get drafted No. 1 overall? The odds are always shifting, so stay tuned to FOX Sports as the scenarios unfold!

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