NFL Draft Starts Tonight in Detroit

The 2024 NFL draft kicks off tonight in downtown Detroit. The event will take place in Hart Plaza and Campus Martius Park in the downtown area of the Motor City. The 2024 NFL draft will officially begin at 8:00 p.m. ET. The Chicago Bears have the first pick and it is almost a foregone conclusion who the Bears will take. 

Chicago is expected to take USC quarterback Caleb Williams, the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner and the highest-rated quarterback in the NFL draft. At most sportsbooks, Williams is listed at -20000 odds to go No. 1. If you’re betting on the NFL draft this year, there are some much more valuable wagers than the first pick. Let’s take a closer look.

Finding Value in the 2024 NFL Draft

There is no question that the most important position in football is quarterback. That’s why the NFL draft this year is all about quarterbacks. Williams is expected to go No. 1 to Chicago. The Washington Commanders hold the second pick and they are in need of a quarterback as well. Early in the NFL draft process, the speculation was that Washington would take North Carolina QB Drake Maye. 

Now, it appears that the Commanders will select the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner, Jayden Daniels. Daniels passed for 3,810 yards and 40 touchdowns last season at LSU. Daniels is now a -750 favorite to be the No. 2 pick. Maye is listed at +600 to be the second pick and he’s given -280 odds to be selected at No. 3 by the New England Patriots.

One of the more interesting bets in this NFL draft is on the overall number of quarterbacks to go in the first round. After Williams, Daniels, and Maye, it is believed that former Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy is going to be taken by the Minnesota Vikings. Remember, the Vikings lost starter Kirk Cousins to Atlanta. They signed Sam Darnold, but envision McCarthy as a quarterback of the future.

After McCarthy, both Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr. could also be taken in Round 1. The total on quarterbacks in the first round has been set at 4.5. The Over has odds of -490. The Under checks in at +320. Some mock drafts have Penix going to the Raiders at No. 13. Will a team take a risk on a left-hander who’s had multiple knee surgeries and is already 24 years old? 

Handicappers Finding Value

Sports Hub handicappers like Knup Sports had themselves another great day at the sportsbook ticket window (more likely on the sportsbook app), but you get the idea. Knup Sports put together a solid 9-3 day on 12 picks and pocketed $575. That’s a great day no matter who you are.

Knup Sports, Jimmy Liu, and Tonny Ricci all had stellar baseball days, making the most of their MLB picks. Tonight’s a big NBA day once again, so don’t forget our top NBA cappers. Over the last five days, James Acker is 7-0 on NBA playoff picks. Bottom line…we’ve got great handicappers in all sports. If you like wins, join the revolution and reap the benefits!

Here’s what happened yesterday.

• Takin’ it to the top: Knup Sports, as mentioned, had a great day hitting on 9 of 12 total picks. They hit 5 of 7 MLB picks and the total profit for yesterday’s work was $575. That puts Knup Sports up $679 for the last seven days.
• Blatt: Bill Blatt is back in the Top 5. He hit 4 of 5 picks yesterday and took home $310. Bill went 3-1 on MLB picks and has two more baseball picks for today.
• Grant me some wins: Al Grant can do just that if you follow him here at Sports Hub. Yesterday, Al hit on all three of his picks and profited $305. He had the Brewers at +105 over the Pirates for the upset. Al is now up $790 over the last seven days and he’s our No. 2 MLB capper over the last seven days ($820).

• Sports Hub experts unbeaten: If you had simply picked the same as Jimmy Liu and Tonny Ricci yesterday, you would have gone 6-0 and added $600 to your bankroll. Both cappers went 3-0, all on MLB picks. Tonny is now up $1303 over the last 30 days.
• Don’t forget: Look for line movement before placing your bets. It’s something that our best cappers try to look for and take advantage of.

It’s NFL Draft Day Baby!

For fans of the NFL, the NFL draft offers an opportunity to get in some great wagers in the offseason. As mentioned, Caleb Williams is an overwhelming favorite to be drafted No. 1 by the Bears. There will be some surprises and bettors can find some great value in other markets like number of players drafted from a certain conference, number of wide receivers taken in the first round, and whether or not a player will be drafted in the Top 5 or Top 10.

Let’s see what else is trending in sports today.

• NBA playoffs: There are three games tonight. All three feature home teams that are down 2-0. Orlando, Philadelphia, and the LA Lakers will try and turn the tide in their respective series. Since 1969, only 33 teams have come back to win a seven-game series in the NBA playoffs.
• Threes all the way around: The Miami Heat put on a shooting show last night, hitting a record 23 three-pointers on their way to beating the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of their playoff series. Six players hit multiple three-pointers led by Tyler Herro’s six. Miami shot 53.5 percent from behind the arc. Game 3 is Saturday in Miami.

• Stanley Cup playoffs: It’s a similar story in the NHL where Tampa Bay and the New York Islanders return home both facing 2-0 deficits. NHL teams down 2-0 aren’t much better than NBA teams in the same boat. Roughly 13 percent of NHL teams facing this deficit go on to win their playoff series.
• Dodgers crushing the ball: The Dodgers had 20 hits last night in an 11-2 win over Washington. Shohei Ohtani had three doubles to raise his MLB-leading batting average to .371. Teammate Mookie Betts is second at .365 and catcher Will Smith is fourth at .352.

Sports Schedule Picks Up Heading to Weekend

Every Thursday, the sports schedule starts to get a little busier as we get closer to the weekend. The PGA Tour has another event – an interesting one – that starts today. The Madrid Open continues in Spain as part of the ATP and WTA Tours. 

The big event today is the 2024 NFL draft. Finally, we get to see which players will be selected by which teams at what pick. Somewhere in there, hopefully, we all nail our NFL draft picks. Good luck betting the NFL draft and the rest of today’s schedule.

Here’s what’s on tap for today.

1. Zurich Classic: This one starts today and it is a team event. Pairs of golfers compete for the top prize. The favorites to win the 2024 Zurich Classic are Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay at +400. Right behind them is Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry. They are given +800 odds. Not playing in the Zurich Classic is world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
2. Madrid Open: The Madrid Open continues for both the men and women today. It’s more Round 1 action for the men. The women begin Round 2 today. No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek plays later today.
3. Now or never in the NBA playoffs: The three series on the schedule tonight change locations and all three home teams are hoping that the new venue makes a difference. Orlando, Philadelphia, and the Los Angeles Lakers are all down 2-0 and could all use a win at home tonight.

4. Panthers, Islanders need wins: Florida and New York both return home down 2-0 in their Stanley Cup playoff series. The Lightning are favored (-115) at home tonight. The Islanders are a home underdog against Carolina (-165).
5. NFL draft: There are draft festivities all day long in downtown Detroit. The actual draft will begin at 8 p.m. when the league commissioner puts the Chicago Bears on the clock.
6. Thursday afternoon baseball: There are ten games on the schedule today, most of which are afternoon games. The lone night game pits Oakland at the New York Yankees in Game 4 of their series. The Chicago White Sox have lost six games in a row. They can’t lose today. They aren’t on the schedule!
7. Premier League: Brighton & Hove Albion hosts Manchester City in a Premier League match today. There is more soccer today, too, mostly in lower tier leagues around the world. 

Enjoy the NFL Draft

While the NFL draft starts tonight, remember the event continues through Saturday. Round 1 is tonight. Rounds 2 and 3 are on Friday with a start time of 7 p.m. The NFL draft concludes on Saturday with Rounds 4 through 7. Saturday’s coverage kicks off at noon. 

While you enjoy the draft, keep in mind you can take your sports betting to a whole new level by becoming a member of Sports Hub. It’s free and your membership gives you access to the best handicappers in the world. Our Sports Hub exclusive handicappers can only be found here. 

Have a great day and we’ll see you back here tomorrow.