Top Markets To Back When Considering NFL Draft Betting at Bet365!

Every April, the top American Football prospects from universities and colleges across the United States can declare themselves eligible for the forthcoming NFL Draft. This creates a frenzy of speculation for those interested in the NFL, with many pundit making one, if not several, mock drafts of how things could turn out when teams make their selections.

As such, this also creates a real buzz of anticipation on the NFL Draft betting markets too, with fans of the sport and teams eager to have a bet on many different aspects of the draft.

And at bet365 Sport, you can enjoy a wealth of NFL Draft Betting markets and in this guide, we’ll bring you advice on what some of the top markets are, what they are about and some guidance you can follow when it comes to making your selections on any NFL Draft Betting market with bet365 Sport.

But first, if you are a novice to the NFL and don’t fully understand the draft, how it works, and how the order of selections is decided, you should read our simple Q&A format Part I Beginner’s Guide below. 

However, if you are well aware of how the draft process works, skip ahead to Part II of the article – the main Guide to NFL Draft betting.

Part I – A Beginner’s Guide To The NFL Draft

What is the NFL Draft?

The NFL Draft is the annual three-day event where the 32 professional NFL teams select the top college football prospects to join their roster as a professional player. 

Day one of the Draft features the First Round, usually of 32 picks, which is the most prestigious round of the Draft and which sees the top college prospects selected by the teams. 

The second day sees the second and third rounds of the draft completed and the third day of the draft sees rounds four to seven completed.

Commissioner Roger Goodell announces each draft pick or trade and the teams have a set time limit to make their picks. The time limit is 10 minutes for the First Round and decreases in time for subsequent rounds of the draft, (7 minutes for Round 2, 5 minutes for Rounds 3 to 6 and 4 minutes for Round 7).

When and Where is it Held?

The Draft is held at the end of April each year. It starts on a Thursday with the First Round, followed by Rounds 2 and 3 on Friday and finally Rounds 4 to 7 on the Saturday. 

The draft used to be held in Radio City Music Hall in New York, but has recently been moved to a new venue each year that has ties with a current NFL team. 

Recent venues for the NFL Draft include: Nashville, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Cleveland, Las Vegas, Kansas City, Detroit and Green Bay. Pittsburgh has been selected as the venue for the 2026 NFL Draft.

How is the Order of Teams Selecting in the Draft Decided?

The final ranking positions of all the 32 NFL teams from the previous season determine the draft order. The team with the worst regular season record picks first in the draft, while the Super Bowl winners pick 32nd in the draft.

For teams with the same record, a number of other factors, such as the strength of their schedule, or performance in head-to-head games, are the factors used to determine their exact position on this list.

Teams can trade away and acquire draft picks for the current and future NFL Drafts, which is why some teams may have two or more picks in any round of the draft.

What Options do Teams have with their NFL Draft Picks?

For each NFL Draft, all 32 teams in the NFL are awarded one pick in each round based on their position in the NFL rankings from the previous season. For example, in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Tennessee Titans have the first pick in each of the seven rounds. 

However, prior to a draft a team can trade away current draft picks or future draft picks in deals with other teams to acquire players and/or draft picks. This is why despite having the top pick in each round, the Titans do not have a third-round pick in 2025, as they traded away that pick previously.

A team can bundle a player or several players and future draft picks to trade with other teams to acquire players and/or draft picks in current or future drafts.

If a team infringes NFL rules, then they can be docked future draft picks as punishment.

What is a Mock Draft and are they important?

A mock draft is a draft made in advance of the real draft by an NFL pundit, writer or expert. They are very popular with readers and fans as it shows different potential draft scenarios that could play out and create debate amongst fans and other pundits over which player will be drafted where and why.

Most Mock Drafts only account for the first round of picks in the NFL Draft, others may include Rounds 2 and 3 and just a few will go on to complete the later rounds of the Draft made on the third day of picks. 

What are Compensatory Picks in the NFL Draft?

Each year a total of 32 compensatory picks are awarded by the NFL to teams that have lost unrestricted free agents (or compensatory free agents CFA’s) in Free Agency. Teams that have lost more CFAs than they signed will gain between one and four compensatory selections from the third round onwards and at the end of each of the rounds. 

The value of the pick (which round it is awarded in) is based on a calculation known only to the NFL, but which is based on a hypothetical value of a player lost in free agency over those gained. For example, if a team loses a player reckoned to be paid £10m a season, may receive a third round compensatory pick. While a team that lost a player paid £5m a season may receive a fourth round compensatory pick etc.

What Happens After the NFL Draft is Concluded?

Once the NFL Draft is concluded, the players will then report to their new teams facilities to begin pre-season workouts and to discuss terms on their contracts with their team.

First-round picks receive the highest initial rookie contracts, while picks later on in the draft will often be signed to practice squads for the NFL minimum wage and try to earn their place on the NFL roster for the new season.

Bet £10 Get £30 in Free Bets

Bet365 Review » Min Deposit: £5    » Expiry: 30 days    » Min Odds: 1/5 (1.20)

USE BONUS CODE: BET247

CLAIM OFFER

18+ New customer offer. Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply. he bonus code BET247 can be used during registration, but does not change the offer amount in any way. Registration required.

Part II – NFL Draft Betting Guide

There are a number of options when it comes to NFL Draft betting at bet365. We have outlined some of the most popular NFL Draft betting markets below and explained each type of bet.

Number 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 Overall Pick

These are bets on which of the college prospects will be drafted in any of the first five positions of the next NFL Draft.

These are the positions which allow teams to take the top players available, so speculation on which players will be selected by the teams holding the first five draft picks is always a hotly debated topic in the weeks leading up to the NFL Draft.

For this market, you will be backing a college prospect to be taken first, second, third, fourth or fifth in the forthcoming draft, and there are separate odds for the players listed for each of these options.

Key Strategic Considerations

• Look out for what positions the teams picking in the first five positions in the draft need and how that matches up with the top draft prospects.
• Be aware, trades can drastically alter the chances of a player being selected in a specific position.
• Use mock drafts as a guide to where the top players are most likely to end up.
• Previous picks can impact which players are selected in subsequent picks. A run on QB’s for example makes a QB-needy team more likely to trade up or draft a QB earlier than expected.

Draft Position

These are a series of over/under bets for many of the top college prospects based on which position they are likely to be selected before or after in the next NFL Draft.

For example, a top ranked prospect that is expected to be picked in the top ten may be offered two prices at over and under 5.5, meaning they could be picked in selections 1-5 (under) or selection six onwards (over). 

Key Strategic Considerations

• Performance at the NFL Combine can impact a players draft stock seeing them move up or down a teams boards. 
• Use Mock Drafts to consider where the experts feel a player is likely to be drafted based on team needs and potential earlier selections.
• Is there a team needing a particular player? If there is, how likely is it that team will try to trade up (or down) in order to secure that particular player?

Number of Quarterbacks, Running Backs, Offensive Linemen, Safeties etc Drafted in Round 1

This is a very simple bet which has options for some of the key positions in the NFL including the most important position og quarterback. Other options can include those positions listed in the titles above as well as defensive ends/Edge Rushers, wide receivers, tight ends, cornerbacks etc.

The aim is to pick whether there will be over or under the stated number of players in that position selected in the first round.

So, for example, in a draft that has many good potential first round quarterbacks, that betting line may be set at Over/Under 5.5 QBs selected in the First Round of the Draft. However, a draft with far fewer Round 1 talent quarterbacks may see the line set at Over/Under 2.5 Quarterbacks.

Key Strategic Considerations

• The positional depth of first round talent in each draft. In positions where there is perceived to be good depth in a draft, there are likely to be more players in that position selected in Round 1.
• Team needs also play a part with teams potentially selecting players with a Second Round grade late in the First Round if there has been a run on players being selected in that position.

Team to Draft Player

If you follow College Football in the United States as well as the NFL, then you may already be well aware of what the position needs are for each team.

Should that be the case, then the Team to Draft Player NFL Draft Betting market is one to consider closely.

Here, individual College players set to be drafted early in the NFL Draft are shown, together with a number of teams that could possibly select the player.

So if you know a team is in desperate need of a top ranking Wide Receiver and this team picks seventh in the draft, and the top ranking WR in the draft is not predicted to be picked in any of the first six picks, then you have a good fit for this particular bet.

Key Strategic Considerations

• Team need in specific positions against the likely positional options available to them at their pick in the draft is key. 
• It can be easier to match up positions that are not often selected in the First Round (such as running back) with potential teams as there tends to be fewer teams willing to make a move for these types of players this early in the draft.
• Teams also look for value with their picks. That can often mean sometimes they forego the pick many expected to take for a positional need and instead pick the best player available in the draft. If a team doesn’t look like getting a value pick or one that matches their needs, then they could trade out of that position.

Number of Quarterbacks, Running Backs, Offensive Linemen, Safeties etc Drafted in Entire Draft

This is a very similar bet to the one for the number of players in various positions selected in Round 1 of the draft, only this market is based on the entire draft.

Once again this is an over/under selection bet and punters are betting on how many players at stated positions will be selected in all seven rounds of the draft.

Key Strategic Considerations

• Depth at each position is key in terms of how many players at each position is selected.
• Remember, certain positions in the team require more players (wide receivers, cornerbacks, linebackers, and defensive and offensive line players) are usually picked in greater number than players such as quarterbacks, kickers, running backs, punt returners etc.

Conference Players Drafted In First Round

This is a bet on how many players from a stated College Conference will be selected in the first round of the draft. There are many different conferences in college football (Big 10, ACC, SEC, Big 12 to name but four) and these major conferences tend to attract the better players.

As such, these conferences tend to see more players from each of these conferences selected in the first round compared to the others.

Key Strategic Considerations

• The relative strength of each conference in terms of player ability will determine how many players are considered first round options. 
• The Big 10 and SEC tend to produce more First Round players than other conferences, especially in recent times.

Exact Position of Mr Irrelevant

The final player selected in the draft each year is known as Mr Irrelevant. This seemingly cruel title implies that this final pick is not expected to have a major impact at NFL level. However that is not always the case as current San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Brock Purdy, was Mr Irrelevant a few years ago and soon became the 49ers first-choice QB. 

This bet is a wager on the position of Mr Irrelevant in the draft and as it is almost impossible to pick the player that will be selected last, it is generally a good value bet based on the different selections that could be Mr Irrelevant. 

Key Strategic Considerations

• Very few. Historical drafts may give you an idea of the type of player picked last in each draft, but this is not an indicator of how a team will draft in future.
• Positional needs and depth for the team picking last in the draft are a good place to start when considering which position they may draft with that final pick.

Playing Position of Number 1 Overall Pick

A similar bet to the position of Mr Irrelevant, this is a bet on which position in the NFL team the first player picked in the draft will play.

In almost all modern drafts, it is a skill position that is selected with the first pick, most often a quarterback.

From 2009 to 2024, a quarterback was selected first 12 times, with a defensive end selected three times and a tackle once. No other position has been selected first in an NFL Draft since 1996 when a Wide Receiver (Keshawn Johnson) was selected first by the New York Jets.

Key Strategic Considerations

• Modern history of the draft shows that a Quarterback, Defensive End or Offensive Tackle are the likeliest picks to be first choice in the draft.
• Of those three positions, Quarterback is by far the most common selection.
• Mock drafts will give you an idea of the most likely number 1 pick and position they play in.

Hopefully, you will now have a good understanding of how the NFL Draft works and how you can enjoy betting on it with bet365 Sport!

All contents are ©

18+ Worried about your gambling?   Gamcare - When the fun stops – STOP!