One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do. Two can be as bad as one. It’s the loneliest number since the number one. It is pretty much a fact that either Carson Wentz or Jared Goff will be the number one pick in the NFL draft on Thursday 28th. If the former is the first pick then the latter will be second, and vice versa – but who will be which and which will be who? The Los Angeles Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles traded up for the top two picks, and the Rams have expressed their intentions of taking whoever they think is the better signal-caller. It is understood that the Eagles will also pick a quarterback around whom to build a franchise.
If the Rams pick Goff first (a strong sportsbook betting -850 favorite), it is assumed that the Eagles will pick Wentz second. Genre-savvy Sam Bradford – a former No. pick himself under contract with Philadelphia – has requested a preemptive trade, fully aware that Wentz’s being selected by his current team would more than likely made him redundant. Bradford may go may go to the Denver Broncos, if the Eagles lower their asking price – and presumably Bradford’s self-esteem along with it.
But that’s not where the NFL draft drama ends. Memphis QB Paxton Lynch could be the third player at that position to be picked in the first round, which is expected to occur based on the overwhelming sportsbook online odds that more than 2 ½ quarterbacks will be selected in the first round. Running backs are not as valued as they used to be in the NFL, even though Ohio State’s Ezekiel Elliott is trying harder than Randle Patrick McMurphy to change peoples’ minds as we head into the draft. Elliott is considered by quite a few to be the best prospect at his position since Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson was picked by the Minnesota Vikings in 2007.
Nevertheless, Elliott appears to be the only running back who will get picked in the first round – and possibly Alabama’s Derrick Henry being another alternative. Henry was awarded the Heisman Trophy over Elliot on the strength of a single season. The odds that more than 1½ running backs will be selected in the first round are set at +260, while the under is favored at -350. It is also hard to predict how many wide receivers will be selected in the first round, with under 3½ favored at -140. Ole Miss’ LaquonTreadwell, Notre Dame’s Will Fuller, Ohio State’s Michael Thomas, TCU’s Josh Doctson and Baylor’s Corey Coleman are all possibilities, but at least one or two of them should remain until the second round of the NFL draft.