NFL Draft First-Round Recap: How Well Did Sports Bettors Do?

• For the most part, the first round of the NFL Draft showed sports bettors were correct according to the odds.
• There were some upsets, as CeeDee Lamb had the shortest odds at -190 to be the first WR drafted and instead Henry Ruggs III took that honor.
• Tua Tagovailoa to be the second QB drafted, was a heavy favorite before the draft began.

LAS VEGAS - The NFL Draft’s first round was filled with some surprises as well as some obvious results. Both sports bettors who picked the favorites and some underdog bettors went home winners as Round 1 showed a mixed bag of results.

Sports bettors who picked Tua Tagovailoa to be the second QB drafted hit on their wager, while Henry Ruggs III had +475 odds to be the first WR selected, giving underdog bettors a big payday.

The NFL Draft has already shown in its first-round that anything can happen. Sports bettors have a lot to think about as the draft continues.

Round 1 Results

To start, NFL sports bettors had Tua Tagovailoa as the favorite to be the second QB selected after Joe Burrow. The Alabama star suffered from serious injuries in the season prior, but that didn’t stop sports bettors from wagering on him.

Tua went fifth to the Miami Dolphins, making the favorite a winning bet. A lot of prop bet favorites were won thanks to Tua getting selected by the Dolphins.

Sports bettors who bet the underdog for the first WR selected went home as big winners. Henry Ruggs III was shockingly selected 12th by the Las Vegas Raiders. Sportsbooks had CeeDee Lamb being the first WR drafted at -190.

According to Chad Reuter of the NFL, the Raiders past up on the best receiver in the draft by not selecting Lamb.

“The Raiders hope he can be the elite playmaker that they were looking for when they traded for Antonio Brown last offseason,” said Reuter on the Raiders picking Ruggs. “I believe a player Las Vegas passed on, CeeDee Lamb, is the best receiver in the draft, though.”

There were a few underdog bets that hit as a result of this selection. Ruggs was also being wagered to be selected later in the draft.

Jordan Love’s section saw sports bettors winning. The Utah QB was drafted 26th by the Green Bay Packers, a move that shows the Packers are beginning to plan for the future after Aron Rodgers. Although it was one of the most shocking moves of the night for casual NFL fans, sports bettors who bet the short odds still won thanks to this pick.

The first round of the NFL Draft showed sports bettors never fully know how their wagers will pan out. The draft continues on Friday, and online sportsbooks have even more odds going forward.