2021 NFL Draft First Round Prop Bets

The 2021 NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday, April 29^th, with the highly anticipated first round beginning at 8pm ET. Not only are the draftees looking forward to where they will end up, but fans are also excited to see who their teams will select and sports bettors are excited to place some wagers.

Like with any other major NFL event, there are numerous football wagers and prop bets listed for the 2021 NFL Draft. Let’s huddle up and look at some popular 1^st round prop bets for this year’s NFL Draft courtesy of BetOnline:

How Many Wide Receivers Drafted in 1st Round?

• Over 4½ WRs (-250)
• Under 4½ WRs (+170)

Ja’Marr Chase, DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle and Elijah Moore are the consensus choice by NFL Draft gurus for receivers drafted in the first round.

NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah only has those four receivers taken in the opening round of the draft. But, ESPN’s draft pundits Toddy McShay and Mel Kiper have more.

McShay believes that Kadarius Toney and Terrance Marshall Jr. will also be selected along with the foursome mentioned above. Kiper also has six including Marshall Jr. However, instead of Toney, he has Rashod Bateman.

For this prop bet, take Over 4.5 receivers as it seems that at least five or six wideouts will be taken in the 1^st round.

How Many Running Backs Drafted in 1st Round?

• Over ½ RBs (-250)
• Under ½ RBs (+170)

Running backs have become the least selected position in the 1^st round of the NFL Draft. This year, that trend is expected to continue. For this prop bet you have to decide if there will be at least one taken in the first round or none.

Najee Harris is the top running back in the 2021 NFL Draft. Both McShay and Kiper believe that Harris will be taken in the first round. In fact, McShay also has Travis Etienne selected in the first round as well. Jeremiah doesn’t have any RBs selected in the opening round.

I believe at least one RB will be selected. Harris is too dynamic to fall to the 2^nd round. Go with the Over ½ RBs for this prop bet.

How Many Offensive Linemen Drafted in 1st Round?

• Under 6½ OLs (-150)
• Over 6½ OLs (+110)

Penei Sewell is widely considered to be the top offensive linemen coming out in this draft. The offensive tackle is pegged to go in the Top 5.

All three of the draft pundits that we’re using for this betting article have just five offensive linemen going in the first round. To me, that’s a bit of a surprise considering how many teams need offensive line help.

With that said, it’s hard to argue against those gurus. Even if six are selected, that’s still below the O/U for this prop bet. So, let’s go with the Under for this wager.

How Many Offensive Players Drafted in 1st Round?

• Over 17½ Players (-165)
• Under 17½ Players (+125)

From the football prop bets above, we have at least four receivers (up to six), at least one RB, and at least five offensive linemen. That’s a minimum of 10 offensive players right there and potentially up to 12.

This year’s NFL Draft is going to be QB heavy especially at the opening of the first round. Three QBs are expected to go in the first three picks: Lawrence, Wilson and Jones. Then we also have Lance and Fields also expected to go in the Top 10.

That brings us to a minimum total of 15 offensive players. Tight end Kyle Pitts is also a Top 5 draft pick and probably the only tight end to be taken in the opening round.

So, now we have to decide if there will be just 16 offensive players or if we will see a few more. With the projections of up to six receivers taken and ESPN’s draft gurus thinking there will be two RBs selected, that puts us up to 19 offensive players drafted in the first round.

I like the Over for this prop bet, but it will be a nail biter.

How Many Cornerbacks Drafted in 1st Round?

• Over 4 CBs (-200)
• Under 4 CBs (+150)

The cornerback position will feature some incredible talent in this draft. Patrick Surtain II is the unanimous choice for being the first corner taken. In fact, some predict that he will be the first defensive player drafted this year.

Jaycee Horn is typically mocked as being the second corner. So, now we have to see how many more corners will be taken along with those two.

Kiper and McShay also have Caleb Farley and Greg Newsome II being selected in the 1^st round which is a total of four and a push for this prop bet.

Daniel Jeremiah sees things a little bit differently. In addition to those four corners, Jeremiah also has Asante Samuel Jr. and Kelvin Joseph being taken in the 1^st round which is a total of six.

Corners are typically a highly sought after position every year. My recommendation is to play this one safe and go with the Over.

At the very least we will have four CBs taken which is a push. But, you have to think that the odds are in favor of at least one more cornerback being selected due to the value that teams place on this position.

How Many Safeties Drafted in 1st Round?

• Over ½ Safeties (-200)
• Under ½ Safeties (+150)

Trevon Moehrig is the consensus choice for being the top player at the Safety position in this Draft. McShay has him going to the Raiders at 17^th, while both Jeremiah and Kiper think that Jacksonville will draft him at 25^th.

All three draft pundits believe that he will be the only Safety selected in the 1^st round of the 2021 NFL Draft. For this prop bet, the Over ½ Safeties is the right choice.

How Many Defensive Players Drafted in 1st Round?

• Under 14½ Players (-150)
• Over 14½ Players (+110)

In the previous two prop bets, we have anywhere from five to seven defenders being taken. I think six is an accurate number as I believe five corners will be drafted along with one safety.

Linebacker Micah Parsons, my favorite player coming out in this draft, leads the rest of the defensive players projected to go in the first round.

Let’s take a look what our three draft pundits have projected for the number of linebackers and defensive linemen selected in the 1^st round.

Both Kiper and McShay have three linebackers going in the first round. However, there are two other OLB players that can either be considered linebackers or defensive ends. Either way, that gives us five defenders from this group.

Jeremiah mocks five defensive linemen going in the opening round. McShay predicts three DL and Kiper agrees. This gives us at least eight defensive linemen and linebackers being selected.

In total, we’re looking at roughly 14 defensive players being selected based on the mock drafts of our gurus.

However, since I believe there will be 18 or 19 offensive players selected, that means only 13 or 14 defensive players can be taken since there’s only 32 selections in the 1^st round.

For this prop bet, go with the Under 14.5.