Linemen top prop for 1st pick in NFL draft in Las Vegas
The NFL draft is still more than three months away from taking center stage in Las Vegas. But Station Casinos already is offering a draft prop on the first selection.
Ten of the last 13 No. 1 picks have been quarterbacks. But the top four favorites to go No. 1 this year are linemen.
Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson is the +110 favorite. Oregon defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux is the +125 second choice. Alabama tackle Evan Neal is the +250 third favorite and North Carolina State guard Ikem Ekwonu is the 8-1 fourth choice.
“With the draft being here, we’ve got a lot of stuff planned. We wanted to get the first pick up first and let the guests have some fun with it,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “We saw close to 600,000 guests attend the draft in Nashville (in 2019), and the league is talking about this being the biggest showcase draft event ever with potentially 1 million guests coming to Las Vegas.”
While Esposito noted that Hutchinson, Thibodeaux and Neal are currently projected to be the top three picks, he said it wouldn’t surprise him if a team trades up for a quarterback.
Pittsburgh QB Kenny Pickett is 25-1 to be the first pick and Mississippi QB Matt Corral is 30-1.
“Is there a Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck coming out? Not on the surface,” Esposito said. “However, it’s such a quarterback-driven league and so many teams need a quarterback that if a guy like Kenny Pickett or Matt Corral is healthy and lights up the combine, there’s a chance they could be in the discussion for the No. 1 pick.”
The draft is scheduled for April 28 to 30.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.