There's A New Favorite To Go No. 1 In NFL Draft
01/06/2025 07:22 PM
The Tennessee Titans are unofficially on the clock to start the 2025 NFL Draft.
After the New York Giants ceded control of the No. 1 pick with a Week 17 win, the New England Patriots lost the first choice by defeating the Buffalo Bills right before firing head coach Jerod Mayo on Sunday. As a result, the Titans possess the top selection after completing a 3-14 campaign with a 23-14 loss to the Houston Texans.
Shedeur Sanders entered the final weekend as a betting favorite to go first overall on April 24. However, a new front-runner emerged after the order crystallized.
As noted by Ben Fawkes, FanDuel Sportsbook and BetMGM each have Cam Ward as a -135 favorite.
The betting market appears convinced the Titans will pick a quarterback to replace Will Levis. Sanders remains prominently in the conversation with +105 odds on FanDuel and +100 on BetMGM. Meanwhile, Travis Hunter's line ballooned to +1000 on FanDuel and +1100 on BetMGM.
Perhaps oddsmakers are worried that Deion Sanders won't want Shedeur to play in Tennessee. The Colorado football head coach has said he's willing to intervene to get his son in the right landing spot with a track record of developing quarterback.
It could also be one of many random swings in public perception over the next few months. Numerous smokescreens and horse-race updates from insiders will likely continue changing the odds.
Tom Pelissero could have caused the latest swing. On Friday, the NFL Network insider told Rich Eisen that some scouts don't have "anything close to a first-round grade" on Sanders.
"The idea that he's just going to walk in and be the No. 1 pick, that's probably pushing it," Pelissero said of Sanders. "...If I were guessing who comes off the board first, I'd say Shedeur is not the first Colorado player off the board as it stands today."
KOA Colorado's Benjamin Allbright also claimed that the Titans "love" Ward, who threw 39 touchdowns during his senior year at Miami.
Eight quarterbacks have gone with the No. 1 pick in the last 10 years, so nobody seems convinced that the Titans will eschew a need under center to take Hunter.
