NFL Draft Looming on the Horizon – January 17

As we reach the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, the remaining 24 teams are beginning preparations for the annual draft. The 2024 NFL draft will take place starting on Thursday, April 25. The draft will take place in Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit. The city’s Lions are still in the playoffs. Detroit won the franchise’s first playoff game in 30 years last week. The Lions will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday.

All college players eligible for the draft had until Monday, January 15, to submit paperwork seeking “special eligibility” for the 2024 draft. The full list of approved entries will be sent to all 32 NFL teams on January 19. There are some big names that have declared for this year’s draft. We’ll take a look at some of the names in the next section.

Underclassmen Are Top Picks In 2024 NFL Draft 

Regardless of what order they are taken in, the top picks in this year’s NFL draft are underclassmen. USC QB Caleb Williams, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2022, declared for the draft and many speculate the Bears could take him with the first pick. If Chicago decides Justin Fields is still their quarterback of the future, the Bears may opt for Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr., son of the Hall of Fame receiver with the same name and winner of this year’s Biletnikoff Award as the best receiver in college football.

North Carolina QB Drake Maye is a likely top-5 pick. He is another underclassmen who declared for the draft. Joe Alt is a massive (6-7, 315) offensive tackle that should be the first offensive lineman selected. Dallas Turner, Brock Bowers, J.J. McCarthy, and more all decided to forgo their remaining college eligibility and enter the 2024 NFL draft. Those three figure to be among the top-10 picks in April. 

The Draft in Other Sports

Each year, the NFL draft is the first among the four major North American professional sports. The 2024 NBA draft will be held on June 27. The 14 teams that do not make the playoffs will attend the NBA’s annual lottery on May 12. The winner of the lottery gets the first pick in the draft.

The 2024 NHL draft is next on the calendar. It begins one day after the NBA draft on June 28. The two-day event will take place in Las Vegas. All North American ice hockey players born between January 1, 2004 and September 15, 2006 are eligible for the draft. 

This year, the MLB draft will be held in conjunction with the league’s All-Star weekend. The All-Star game is set for July 16. The MLB draft is the longest of the four major sports, lasting 20 rounds (or more with compensatory picks). The NBA draft is the shortest at just two rounds. Both the NHL and NFL drafts are seven rounds.

Draft One of Our Cappers

If you like winning bets, consider drafting a team full of Sports Hub handicappers. Yesterday, the entire top-5 on our daily leaderboard was made up of Sports Hub exclusive handicappers. You won’t find these guys anywhere else but here. These five combined to go 22-1 and earn over  $2100! You can gain access to these guys and all of our great cappers by registering for a Sports Hub account. It’s easy and will pay off in the end.

Here’s a look at yesterday.

• Gino de Luca: Gino has been here before. Yesterday, he put five picks in the system and all five cashed. Gino’s 5-0 day earned him $500 and the top spot on the leaderboard.
• William Taylor: William went 6-1 and added $492 to his bankroll. His efforts yesterday give him a total of $1356 in winnings over the last 30 days.
• Tonny Ricci: Tonny went 4-0 and earned $400. He’s having a great week with $1265 earned over the last seven days. Tonny is 19-6 over the last week and is No. 1 on the seven-day leaderboard. He’s also No. 1 on the 7-day NBA leaderboard.
• Ross Walker: Ross also went 4-0 and added $400 to his bankroll. Over the last seven days, he’s 14-6 and has won $821. Over the last 30 days, he’s up $1791.
• Mario Deluca: Mario went 3-0 and won $345 yesterday. Over the last three days, Mario is 7-2 and has earned $535.

Jazz & Oilers Are Tearing It Up 

If you haven’t been paying attention, the Utah Jazz and the Edmonton Oilers are running roughshod through the NBA and NHL, respectively. They are two of the hottest teams in sports right now. Both teams have reaped the benefits of their recent NBA and NHL draft. Oh, and more football coaches are trending. Go figure.

Here’s what’s in the news today.

• Tomlin will be back: Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin, who abruptly ended a post-game press conference when he walked out after being asked about his future, has announced he will be the head coach of the Steelers in 2024. Tomlin has one year left on his contract.
• Utah Jazz: What is up with the Jazz? After a stretch where they went 1-5 between Nov. 29 and Dec. 11, the Jazz are 15-4. They’ve won six in a row and what’s more impressive are the teams they beat – Milwaukee, Denver, and Philadelphia are among the Jazz’ victims in their six-game streak.

• Edmonton Oilers: Edmonton beat Toronto last night 4-2. No big deal right? Yeah, well that was the Oilers 11th win in a row. Their last loss was on Dec. 19. The Oilers have won 19 of their last 22 games. Edmonton is now 24-15-1 and in fourth place in the Pacific Division.
• Harbaugh again: The NFL coaching carousel continues. After meeting with the Chargers brass, Harbaugh was back at it yesterday meeting with the Atlanta Falcons about their head coach opening. 

Basketball Rules Today’s Schedule

It’s a huge day for basketball, both the NBA and college hoops. There is another NBA doubleheader on the TV schedule and the No. 1 team in NCAAB is on its home court tonight taking on another ranked opponent. It’s an absolute must that you go to Sports Hub’s members’ area and check out all of our basketball picks for today. 

Here is today’s schedule.

1. NBA doubleheader: It’s an NBA doubleheader tonight. Milwaukee is at Cleveland in the first half of tonight’s doubleheader. The game starts at 7:30 p.m. and is on ESPN. The nightcap pits the Dallas Mavericks against the Los Angeles Lakers. Game time is 8:30 p.m. and the game will be televised by ABC. 
2. NHL on TNT: There are only three games on the schedule tonight. One of those – Chicago at Buffalo – is the TNT game tonight. The Oilers don’t play again until tomorrow night.
3. Huge night in college basketball: No. 1 UConn hosts No. 18 Creighton in a Big East showdown. It’s not the only battle of ranked opponents. No. 25 Texas Tech is at No. 5 Houston in a Big 12 matchup. Check out our picks database and make sure you check to see if Tonny Ricci or Bill Blatt have any predictions for tonight. They are No. 1 and No. 2 on the 30-day college basketball leaderboard.

4. International soccer: The English FA Cup has three matches today. Bettors can find soccer in Europe as well as Australia, South America, and the Israeli Premier League.
5. Tennis: The second round of the Australian Open continues today for both men and women.

That’s a wrap. Big day in college and NBA hoops. Make sure you’re checking our database for picks throughout the day. There are already over three dozen basketball picks in the system. Remember to look for those cappers that I told you about earlier. Have a winning day and stop back tomorrow for more great content about the best handicappers in the industry.