NFL DRAFT BETTING BLOG: RB prop wins at wire

Betting on the NFL draft has grown steadily over the past few years, but it is surging this year with major sports shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The four sportsbooks still operating in the Las Vegas Valley during the shutdown — Caesars Entertainment, Circa Sports, MGM Resorts and William Hill — posted hundreds of props leading up to Thursday’s first round of the draft.

Join us as we follow along with the draft from a betting perspective. Will Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa be among the first five selections? Will the New England Patriots draft quarterback Tom Brady’s successor in the first round?

We’ll be here throughout the first round and through the second and third rounds Friday.

UPDATES

Wrap-up: That’s the end of the first round. Here’s a final wrap-up of some major props:

Positions — Offensive players 18 (over 16½ -145); defensive players 14 (under 15½ -160); quarterbacks 4 (under 4½ -660); running backs 1 (over ½ -175); wide receivers 6 (over 5½ -145); tight ends 0 (under ½ -555); offensive linemen 7 (over 6½ -165); defensive linemen 3 (under 4½ +150); linebackers 5 (over 4½ +200); cornerbacks 6 (over 4½ -140); safeties 0 (under 1½ -135). More offensive players (-250) taken than defensive players. More offensive linemen (-180) than defensive linemen.

Conferences — More players taken from schools other than the SEC (17, -220) than SEC schools (15). ACC 3 (under 3½ -285); Big Ten 5 (under 5½ +135); Big 12 5 (over 3½ +100); SEC 15 (under 15½ -180).

Thanks for reading. We’ll be back Friday for the second and third rounds.

9:11 p.m.: The Chiefs were +150 to take an offensive player with their first pick. Edwards-Helaire slips in at the wire to clinch the prop for a running back being taken in the first round (-155 at William Hill and -175 at MGM). He was 7-1 to be the first running back taken at MGM. He also wins a matchup prop with J.K. Dobbins at +135 at Caesars and +130 at William Hill.

9:09 p.m.: NO. 32 PICK: The Kansas City Chiefs take Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, LSU.

9:04 p.m.: Gladney was +170 to be taken in the first round at William Hill.

9:02 p.m.: NO. 31 PICK: The Minnesota Vikings take Jeff Gladney, CB, TCU. He goes well under his draft position of 43 (-110) at William Hill.

9:01 p.m.: Igbinoghene clinches the over for cornerbacks at 4½ (-140).

8:59 p.m.: NO. 30 PICK: The Miami Dolphins take Noah Igbinoghene, CB, Auburn.

8:50 p.m.: The Titans were +115 to take an offensive player with their first pick. Wilson’s pick clinches the over for offensive linemen at 6½ (-165) and the over for Georgia players at 1½ (-140).

8:49 p.m.: NO. 29 PICK: The Tennessee Titans take Isaiah Wilson, OT, Georgia.

8:43 p.m.: The Ravens were -135 to take a defensive player with their first pick. Queen’s pick clinches the over for linebackers at MGM at 4½ (+200).

8:40 p.m.: NO. 28 PICK: The Baltimore Ravens take Patrick Queen, LB, LSU. He goes over his draft position of 23½ (-115) at MGM and 24½ (+110) at William Hill.

8:35 p.m.: The Seahawks were -165 to take a defensive player with their first pick. Brooks’ selection clinches the over for Big 12 players at 3½ (+100) at MGM.

8:32 p.m.: NO. 27 PICK: The Seattle Seahawks take Jordyn Brooks, LB, Texas Tech.

8:26 p.m.: The Packers were -200 to take an offensive player with their first pick. Will the QB order be Burrow-Tagovailoa-Herbert-Love cashes at +140 at Circa.

8:24 p.m.: NO. 26 PICK: The Green Bay Packers take Jordan Love, QB, Utah State. Green Bay traded up with Miami. Love goes well over his draft position of 19½ (-180) at William Hill and 20½ (-120) at Circa.

8:16 p.m.: Aiyuk’s pick clinches the over for 5½ wide receivers taken in the first round (-145). Aiyuk was +110 to go in the first round at MGM and William Hill. He also wins a matchup prop with Denzel Mims at +115 at William Hill.

8:14 p.m.: NO. 25 PICK: The San Francisco 49ers take Brandon Aiyuk, WR, Arizona State.

8:13 p.m.: The 49ers have traded back up, grabbing the Vikings’ pick at No. 25.

8:10 p.m.: The Saints were +105 to take an offensive player with their first pick. Ruiz was -110 to be drafted in the first round at William Hill.

8:08 p.m.: NO. 24 PICK: The New Orleans Saints take Cesar Ruiz, C, Michigan.

8:03 p.m.: Murray wins a matchup prop with Patrick Queen at -140 at Caesars and -145 at MGM.

8 p.m.: NO. 23 PICK: The Los Angeles Chargers take Kenneth Murray, LB, Oklahoma. He goes just over his draft position of 21½ (-125) at MGM and 22½ (-110) at William Hill.

7:59 p.m.: The Patriots have traded the No. 23 pick to the Chargers. Unless the Patriots trade back up, they will not take a quarterback in the first round, cashing the no at -320 (up from -160 earlier in the week).

7:57 p.m.: The Vikings were +115 to take an offensive player with their first pick.

7:54 p.m.: NO. 22 PICK: The Minnesota Vikings take Justin Jefferson, WR, LSU. He goes over his draft position of 20½ (-105) at Circa and 21½ (+165) at MGM.

7:48 p.m.: The Eagles were -240 to take an offensive player with their first pick. Reagor was +150 to go in the first round at MGM. He wins a “drafted first” matchup with Tee Higgins at +120 at William Hill.

7:45 p.m.: NO. 21 PICK: The Philadelphia Eagles take Jalen Reagor, WR, Texas Christian.

7:42 p.m.: Chaisson was -160 to be the second linebacker drafted at MGM.

7:39 p.m.: NO. 20 PICK: The Jacksonville Jaguars take K’Lavon Chaisson, LB, LSU. He goes over his draft position of 16½ (-135).

7:35 p.m.: Arnette was -550 not to be taken in the first round at William Hill. Nice cash for yes bettors at about +400.

7:32 p.m.: NO. 19 PICK: The Las Vegas Raiders take Damon Arnette, CB, Ohio State, with their second pick of the night. He did not have a draft position prop.

7:30 p.m.: Jackson was -120 to be drafted in the first round at William Hill. He wins a “who will be drafted first?” matchup with Josh Jones at MGM at -105.

7:25 p.m.: NO. 18 PICK: The Miami Dolphins take Austin Jackson, OT, Southern California. He did not have a draft position prop.

7:21 p.m.: The Cowboys were +200 to take an offensive player with their first pick. Lamb was 35-1 to be taken by Dallas at MGM. He’s also the first Big 12 player to be taken (prop number 3½).

7:19 p.m.: NO. 17 PICK: The Dallas Cowboys take CeeDee Lamb, WR, Oklahoma. He goes over his draft position of 12½ (+160).

7:15 p.m.: The Falcons were -400 to take a defensive player with their first pick. Terrell was -270 to be taken in the first round at MGM.

7:12 p.m.: NO. 16 PICK: The Atlanta Falcons take A.J. Terrell, CB, Clemson. He did not have a draft position listed at sportsbooks.

7:06 p.m.: The Broncos were -295 to take an offensive player with their first pick. Jeudy was 6-1 to be drafted by the Broncos at William Hill and +450 at MGM.

7:03 p.m.: NO. 15 PICK: The Denver Broncos take Jerry Jeudy, WR, Alabama. He goes over his draft position of 12½ (+170).

7:01 p.m.: The 49ers were +180 to take a defensive player with their first pick. He is the eighth player taken so far from the SEC (prop number 15½).

6:57 p.m.: NO. 14 PICK: The San Francisco 49ers take Javon Kinlaw, DT, South Carolina. He goes just over his draft position of 13½ (-125).

6:52 p.m.: The Bucs were -400 to take an offensive player with their first pick.

6:50 p.m.: NO. 13 PICK: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers take Tristan Wirfs, OT, Iowa. He goes well over his draft position of 7½ (-145) to 8½ (+130).

6:46 p.m.: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are trading up one spot. This is the first trade of the night. MGM had odds on there being as many as 6½ trades involving first-round picks tonight.

6:44 p.m.: The Raiders were -220 to take an offensive player with their first pick. Ruggs was 6-1 to be the Raiders’ first pick at William Hill and 5-1 at MGM. He was +375 to be the first receiver taken at Caesars, +325 at MGM.

6:40 p.m.: NO. 12 PICK: The Las Vegas Raiders take Henry Ruggs, WR, Alabama. He goes under his draft position of 13½ (-115) at Circa and 14½ (+105) at William Hill.

6:36 p.m.: The Jets were -560 to take an offensive player with their first pick. The Jets were -125 to take an offensive lineman with their first pick at Caesars.

6:32 p.m.: NO. 11 PICK: The New York Jets take Mekhi Becton, OT, Louisville. He goes just over his draft position of 10½ (-130).

6:28 p.m.: The Browns were -335 to take an offensive player with their first pick. Wills was 10-1 to be drafted by the Browns.

6:26 p.m.: NO. 10 PICK: The Cleveland Browns take Jedrick Wills, OT, Alabama. He goes over his draft position, which ranged from 7½ to 8½.

6:25 p.m.: The Jaguars were -150 to take a defensive player with their first pick. He was -455 to be the second cornerback taken at MGM.

6:23 p.m.: NO. 9 PICK: The Jacksonville Jaguars take C.J. Henderson, CB, Florida. He goes well under his draft position of 14½ (-140) at William Hill, 13½ (-175) at Circa.

6:17 p.m.: The Cardinals were +220 to take a defensive player with their first pick. He was 18-1 to go to the Cardinals at William Hill. He was a prohibitive -10,000 favorite to be the first linebacker taken at MGM.

6:15 p.m.: NO. 8 PICK: The Arizona Cardinals take Isaiah Simmons, LB, Clemson. He goes over his draft position of 6½ (-120).

6:13 p.m.: The Panthers were -350 to take a defensive player with their first pick. He was -455 to be the second defensive lineman taken and +250 to be taken by the Panthers at MGM.

6:10 p.m.: NO. 7 PICK: The Carolina Panthers take Derrick Brown, DT, Auburn. He goes under his draft position of 7½ (-140).

6:04 p.m.: The Chargers were -555 to take an offensive player with their first pick. Herbert was -105 to be the third quarterback drafted at William Hill and +110 at MGM. He was +150 to be taken by the Chargers at Circa and +200 at MGM.

6:02 p.m.: NO. 6 PICK: The Los Angeles Chargers take Justin Herbert, QB, Oregon. He goes over his draft position of 5½ (-120).

5:57 p.m.: The Dolphins were -1,000 to take an offensive player with their first pick at MGM. Tagovailoa was -150 to be taken by the Dolphins at William Hill, +125 at Circa, +110 at Caesars, -105 at MGM. He was -150 to be the second QB taken at MGM.

5:54 p.m.: NO. 5 PICK: The Miami Dolphins take Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama. He goes under his draft position of 5½ at Circa and MGM but goes over 3½ (-420) at William Hill.

5:53 p.m.: The Giants were -500 to take an offensive player with their first pick. Thomas was +650 to be the first offensive lineman taken and 10-1 to be the Giants’ first pick at Caesars. He was 7-1 to be the first offensive lineman taken at MGM.

5:46 p.m.: NO. 4 PICK: The New York Giants take Andrew Thomas, OT, Georgia. He goes well under his draft position of 10½ (-135).

5:40 p.m.: The Lions were -525 to take a defensive player with their pick. Okudah was -125 to go the Lions at William Hill and -110 at MGM. He was +165 to be the third overall pick and -2,000 to be the first cornerback taken at MGM. The first three being Burrow-Young-Okudah was +130 at Caesars at +150 at MGM.

5:38 p.m.: NO. 3 PICK: The Detroit Lions take Jeff Okudah, CB, Ohio State. He goes under his draft position of 4½ (under +105).

5:33 p.m.: NO. 2 PICK: The Washington Redskins take Chase Young, DE, Ohio State. His draft position was 2½ (under -1,200) at Circa. He was -1,250 to be the second pick and -1,250 to be taken by the Redskins at MGM.

5:27 p.m.: The Burrow pick is the first piece of several props. The total for LSU players picked in the first round is 5½ (under -360). The total for quarterbacks is 4½ (under -660). Alabama is -325 to have more players drafted in the first round than LSU (+250). The total for offensive players is 16½ (over -145).

5:25 p.m.: NO. 1 PICK: The Cincinnati Bengals take Joe Burrow, QB, LSU. The Heisman Trophy winner was -10,000 to be the first overall pick and -10,000 to be the first quarterback selected at MGM Resorts.

5 p.m.: The draft is about to begin. There isn’t much drama expected for the first two picks. Louisiana State quarterback Joe Burrow is a virtual lock to go No. 1 to the Cincinnati Bengals, and Ohio State pass rusher Chase Young is likely to be taken by the Washington Redskins at No. 2.

After that, nothing appears certain.

First post: We’re closing in on the first round. All props regarding specific players are off the board at Las Vegas-area sportsbooks, but MGM Resorts and William Hill still have some general props posted.

MGM has props on how many players will be drafted in the first round broken down by each position (5½ wide receivers, over -145, for example) and college conference (15½ players from Southeastern Conference schools, under -180).

William Hill has a prop on whether the Patriots will draft a quarterback in the first round (no -290).

We posted a full list of two-way props that were available in Las Vegas earlier this week.

Contact Jim Barnes at jbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0277. Follow @JimBarnesLV on Twitter.