If the top pick of the NFL draft ends up being a quarterback, as the betting odds suggest, most people assume it’ll either be former Heisman winner Bryce Young or Heisman finalist C.J. Stroud. The third name that usually comes up is Will Levis.
Those players have the top three betting odds to go No. 1 overall, followed by a couple of defenders.
One player that isn’t typically mentioned in the conversation is Florida’s Anthony Richardson, a physical beast with all the tools anyone could want but an underwhelming prospect during in his time in The Swamp. That may be changing soon.
In a two-round mock draft released Wednesday, CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso projected Richardson to be the first player off the board to the Indianapolis Colts, with Young falling second to the Houston Texans.
CBS Sports has projected Florida QB Anthony Richardson to be selected No. 1 in the 2023 NFL Draft👀https://t.co/y1EdRTjJWx pic.twitter.com/VFjUg5Tjfy
— On3 (@On3sports) February 22, 2023
This would be a stunning turn of events if it were to happen and would also require a trade, as the Chicago Bears currently hold the first pick in the draft. But as farfetched as it sounds, it was apparently enough to get the attention of oddsmakers — or they have the same intel as Trapasso.
Richardson’s odds to be drafted No. 1 overall, which opened at +10000 at BetMGM and moved to +4000 on Monday, were all the way down to +700 by Wednesday afternoon.
Other books didn’t drop him quite as low, but they all agreed enough to make him the consensus sixth favorite to go No. 1 overall behind Young, Stroud, Levis, Will Anderson and Jalen Carter. FanDuel had him at +750, which was fourth-shortest and better than Levis.
Anthony Richardson's odds to bet 1st Pick in NFL Draft at @BetMGM
+10000: Open
+4000: Monday
+700: Now 🚀 pic.twitter.com/8PaxFdM0D9
— John Ewing 🦁 (@johnewing) February 22, 2023
This type of leap is massive for a player people weren’t even sure would be a first-round pick just a few weeks ago, and it’s not likely an uninformed one. Trapasso believes Richardson has similarities to Jalen Hurts, which will impress new Colts coach and former Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen.
All eyes will certainly be on him next week in Indianapolis for the NFL Scouting Combine.
