The last two Heisman Trophy winners are expected to be the first two picks in the 2015 NFL Draft, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans currently owning those selections in the first round as festivities get underway on Thursday from Chicago.
But while oddsmakers believe Jameis Winston from Florida State and Marcus Mariota from Oregon will become the first two players taken off the board, there is no guarantee the Bucs or Titans will be the teams who pick the top quarterbacks since they are reportedly in high demand by others supposedly willing to trade up for them.
Winston is a massive -1500 favorite (bet $1,500 to win $100) to go No. 1 overall according to the online sportsbooks, while Mariota is -500 to be selected in the second spot.
However, if you think the 2014 Heisman winner Mariota will actually end up being the top pick over his predecessor Winston, you can get +600 (bet $100 to win $600). Regardless, they are the only two quarterbacks expected to be picked in the first round.
The third overall pick is expected to be selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars, who get the opportunity to take a player in the Top 10 for the eighth straight year. The Jaguars have picked an offensive player each of the past three years and figure to take the best defender available, who could be either USC defensive tackle Leonard Williams or Florida linebacker Dante Fowler.
The odds lean toward Williams, who is +300 to go second overall while Fowler’s draft position is 3.5 OVER -150.
The Oakland Raiders have not had a 1,000-yard wide receiver since acquiring Randy Moss from the Minnesota Vikings in 2005. The Raiders are set to select fourth overall and figure to take one of two wide receivers, either Alabama’s Amari Cooper or West Virginia’s Kevin White.
Both Cooper and White are viewed as No. 1 receivers on just about any NFL team and sure-fire Top 10 picks in the draft. Cooper’s draft position is listed at 5.5 UNDER (-140) while White’s is 7 UNDER (-140).
The other teams picking in the Top 10 will likely wait to see what happens with the first four selections and then go from there. Those include the Washington Redskins at No. 5, the New York Jets at No. 6, the Chicago Bears at No. 7, the Atlanta Falcons at No. 8, the New York Giants at No. 9, and the St. Louis Rams at No. 10.
The Redskins, Jets, Bears, and Rams could all use a franchise wide receiver like Cooper or White, and the O/U is listed at 5.5 OVER (-140) for players at that position to be drafted in the first round. Other wide receivers who could hear their names called on the first day of the draft include Louisville’s DeVante Parker, Central Florida’s Breshad Perriman, USC’s Nelson Agholor, and Ohio State’s Devin Smith. But unlike Cooper and White, none of them are expected to go in the Top 10.
Two running backs could be selected in the first round with the San Diego Chargers and Dallas Cowboys sitting as the teams that have the biggest needs there. Ironically, the Philadelphia Eagles signed the top running back from San Diego (Ryan Mathews) and Dallas (DeMarco Murray) in the offseason.
The Chargers and Cowboys could replace Mathews and Murray though with first-round picks like Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon or Georgia’s Todd Gurley. Oddsmakers expect at least two running backs to be selected in the first round with OVER 1.5 a heavy favorite at -500.