Getty Image / Perry Knotts
The 2024 NFL Draft is somehow just a month away. Mock drafts are doing much less guessing than they were a while ago, and we can really get a sense of how the draft might play out in Detroit on April 25-27.
FanDuel Sportsbook is setting odds in states where betting on the draft is allowed. At this point, the oddsmakers are starting to get a sense of what could happen at some previously unpredictable spots.
The consensus is that the Chicago Bears will select Caleb Williams with the first-overall pick next month. That means that the intrigue starts with the second-overall pick, owned by the Washington Commanders.
I think nearly everyone believes that the Commanders will use that pick on a quarterback new head coach Dan Quinn and new general manager Adam Peters to build around.
Since the NFL season ended in January and Washington clinched the second pick, the conversation has centered around UNC quarterback Drake Maye and LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels. For most of the college football season and the immediate aftermath, Drake Maye was almost universally considered the second-best quarterback in the draft. But, Daniels’ Heisman Trophy season has been well-received by scouts when they watch film, and teams are intrigued about his dual-threat upside.
According to FanDuel, Daniels is now the odds-on favorite to be selected with the second pick by the Washington Commanders.
The Commanders would win ___ games with Jayden Daniels next season.
Fill in the blank ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/et0mp2ZGa1
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) March 25, 2024
-180 means the implied odds of Jayden Daniels going to the Washington Commanders with the second-overall pick are at around 64%. Maye isn’t far behind, either.
The interesting name that has shot up these odds recently is former Michigan quarterback JJ McCarthy. The national champion has impressed teams the more they’ve got to know him and look at his film through the draft process. It’s unlikely he does make it into the top two picks. But, it seems likely that he will come off the board in the first ten picks, and maybe in the top five.
No matter who the Washington Commanders select, it’s an exciting time for the franchise. Owner Dan Snyder sold the team last year to a well-liked ownership group led by Josh Harris. With new blood in the franchise on the football side as well, fans are hoping they can break out of a mediocre stretch that has lasted for over two decades now.