Two months before the 2023 NFL Draft, Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson has drawn more bets to go No. 1 overall than any prospect in the class.
Richardson opened at +10000 when BetMGM released top pick futures in January. By Tuesday, the polarizing prospect had jumped to +1000, and he climbed further to +700 on Thursday.
BetMGM data analyst John Ewing explained the rise of Richardson began Monday, when 13 percent of bettors had placed wagers on the quarterback going first in the draft. After multiple draft-focused sites began discussing Richardson as a serious option for the top pick — including NFL.com and Pro Football Focus — the public rode the flame to the window and Richardson currently leads all prospects at 22.6 percent of those bets.
Field Level Media rates Richardson as the No. 4 quarterback in the 2023 draft behind Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud and Kentucky’s Will Levis.
Quarterbacks are the top four in the No. 1 pick futures odds at DraftKings.
Young (-160) is ahead of Stroud (+380), Levis (+650) and Richardson (+750). Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter is +850.
Richardson is drawing athletic comparisons to Cam Newton, who by way of Florida and then Auburn rose up draft boards after leading the Tigers to the national title and winning the Heisman Trophy. Newton was the No. 1 pick by the Carolina Panthers in 2011.
A word of caution when ingesting pre-draft buzz as gospel: The 2022 case of Liberty quarterback Malik Willis, the prohibitive favorite to be the first quarterback drafted who went closer to pick 100 than pick No. 1.
Willis was +4500 to be the No. 1 pick before the NFL Scouting Combine last February, then wowed in throwing sessions open to media and entered the top four in the top pick future.
Willis was productive in college — he threw for 5,117 passing yards and 47 touchdowns, rushing for 1,822 yards and 27 touchdowns — and in media interviews.
Willis was -200 to be the top quarterback drafted on the eve of the NFL draft. The over-under for his draft slot at pick 9.5 was -140.
But the Auburn transfer wound up falling all the way to No. 86 and the Tennessee Titans.
–Field Level Media