The biggest live event on the spring calendar is less than a week away.
With the rest of the sports world shut down due to COVID-19, the anticipation continues to build towards the 2020 NFL Draft, which runs virtually April 23-25, with the first round going Thursday night starting at 8 p.m. ET and running until 11:30 p.m.
By this point, most football fans have already read their fair share of mock drafts.
However, even the best NFL Draft experts will admit how difficult it is to navigate the unpredictability of the league’s 32 general managers.
It’s easy to understand why it’s so tough to project how the selection process will unfold.
Perspective is important, which led us to this question:
What would the 2020 NFL Draft look like if the picks were dictated by the betting odds we see in the prop markets?
We took the time to build a mock draft based primarily on that information.
Here is a look at the top 10 picks for the 2020 NFL Draft as dictated by the sports betting odds posted by Bodog.
1. Cincinnati Bengals: QB Joe Burrow, LSU
Burrow is the first overall pick.
The Bengals can’t pass on the opportunity to hit the reset button with a legitimate franchise quarterback.
Coming off one of the best college football seasons ever at the position, Burrows is listed at -10000 to go first overall.
2. Washington Redskins: DE Chase Young, Ohio State
Young is listed at -1400 to be drafted second overall.
There is always the possibility a team attempts to trade up to No. 2 if they become enamored enough with a quarterback prospect.
However, the fact that this line has already shifted from -1200 to -1400 over the past couple of days seems to reaffirm the position that Young’s ceiling is too high for Washington to pass on with this pick.
3. Detroit Lions: CB Jeffrey Okudah, Ohio State
Bodog considers the trifecta of Burrow, Young, Okudah the most likely exact outcome of the first three picks at -125 odds.
Detroit is listed at -600 to use its top pick on a defender.
Okudah is the betting favourite to go third overall at -110 odds.
This pick has been a popular trade target in mock drafts that feature teams that want to move up to select a quarterback.
However, with the draft position over/under prop bets for Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert set at 4.5 and 5.5 respectively, the odds dictate that the Lions stay put and take Okudah third overall.
4. New York Giants: OT Tristian Wirfs, Iowa
This pick is where things get interesting from a betting perspective.
Earlier this week, Bodog had Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa as the betting favourite to be the second offensive player drafted after Burrows at +150 odds.
Since then, Tagovailoa has dropped to +235 to be the second offensive player drafted, while teammate Jedrick Wills Jr. has emerged as the betting favourite at +200.
The Giants are listed at -220 to select an offensive player and they need help at tackle so Wills would make sense at fourth overall.
However, when we look at the draft prop for the first offensive lineman drafted, it is Wirfs listed as the favourite at -140 compared to Wills at +165.
Also, Bodog’s “Who Will Be Drafted First” prop bet lists Wirfs at -170 versus Wills at +130 in a head-to-head matchup.
All things considered, Wirfs makes the most sense at fourth overall.
5. Miami Dolphins: QB Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama
Trades are the most unpredictable aspect of the NFL Draft.
While the betting odds initially dictated the Dolphins would have to trade up in order to select Tagovailoa, the latest update has them staying put and landing their franchise quarterback at fifth overall.
Nobody will be shocked if a team trades up to draft Tagovailoa.
However, his prop bet draft position is set at over 4.5 -240.
There has been a lot of talk about Herbert being the second quarterback off the board.
Bodog has Miami at EVEN money to take either one of Tagovailoa and Herbert.
Still, Tagovailoa at least temporarily remains the slight favourite over Herbert in Bodog’s “Who Will Be Drafted First” prop bet at -135 to -105, so he gets the edge at this pick.
6. Los Angeles Chargers: QB Justin Herbert, Oregon
Another interesting note from Bodog: L.A. is listed at +110 to be the team that drafts Herbert compared to +150 to be the team that gets Tagovailoa.
While they might be tempted to grab one of the top defensive prospects still on the board, the Chargers are listed at -550 to go offence with their first draft pick.
Herbert remains the betting favourite to be the third quarterback off the board at -115.
This pick also lines up with Herbert’s draft position over/under prop at 5.5.
7. Carolina Panthers: LB Isaiah Simmons, Clemson
Carolina is listed at -550 to draft a defensive player with its first pick.
The Panthers get an absolute gift here with Simmons – an ideal replacement for the retired Luke Kuechly.
Simmons is listed at -4500 to be the first linebacker off the board.
The Clemson linebacker’s draft position over/under is set at 6.5.
8. Arizona Cardinals: OT Jedrick Wills Jr., Alabama
Acquiring DeAndre Hopkins without spending a first-round pick means Arizona can address another immediate need with a tackle at No. 8.
This pick also lines up with Wills’ draft position over/under at 8.5.
9. Jacksonville Jaguars: DL Derrick Brown, Auburn
This was another interesting pick since Jacksonville is the betting favourite to draft Utah State quarterback Jordan Love at +300 odds.
While they could still be in the market for a quarterback, Bodog has the Jaguars listed at -200 to use their first pick on a defender.
The betting favourite to be the second defensive lineman drafted at -450, this selection also lines up with Brown’s draft position over/under at 8.5.
10. Cleveland Browns: OT Mekhi Becton, Louisville
This pick also checks the boxes for a team that needs protection help.
Cleveland is listed at -600 to spend its first selection on offence.
Becton fills a significant void as the best remaining tackle on the board.
Becton’s draft position prop has been bet to over 8.5 -190.
Note: Part 2 of this two-part series on NFL Draft prop bets will run during the evening of Monday, April 20 at TSN.ca
*All Betting Information appears as listed by Bodog on Friday, April 17, 2020.
EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers signed defenceman Travis Dermott to a professional tryout on Friday.
Dermott, a 27-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., produced two goals, five assists and 26 penalty minutes in 50 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season.
The six-foot, 202-pound blueliner has also played for the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Toronto drafted him in the second round, 34th overall, of the 2015 NHL draft.
Over seven NHL seasons, Dermott has 16 goals and 46 assists in 329 games while averaging 16:03 in ice time.
Before the NHL, Dermott played two seasons with Oilers captain Connor McDavid for the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. The team was coached by current Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion, led the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan vote her first year on the ballot — an important part to possible selection to the hall’s next class.
The organization released the voting results on Friday. American doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan finished second with Canada’s Daniel Nestor third.
The Hall of Fame said tens of thousands of fans from 120 countries cast ballots. Fan voting is one of two steps in the hall’s selection process. The second is an official group of journalists, historians, and Hall of Famers from the sport who vote on the ballot for the hall’s class of 2025.
“I am incredibly grateful to the fans all around the world who supported me during the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan votes,” Sharapova said in a statement. “It is a tremendous honor to be considered for the Hall of Fame, and having the fans’ support makes it all the more special.”
Sharapova became the first Russian woman to reach No. 1 in the world. She won Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. She also won the French Open twice, in 2012 and 2014.
Sharapova was also part of Russia’s championship Fed Cup team in 2008 and won a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012.
To make the hall, candidates must receive 75% or higher on combined results of the official voting group and additional percentage from the fan vote. Sharapova will have an additional three percentage points from winning the fan vote.
The Bryans, who won 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, will have two additional percentage points and Nestor, who won eight Grand Slam doubles titles, will get one extra percentage point.
The hall’s next class will be announced late next month.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural road had a blood-alcohol level of .087, above the .08 legal limit in New Jersey, a prosecutor said Friday.
Gaudreau, 31, and brother Matthew, 29, were killed in Carneys Point, New Jersey, on Aug. 29, the evening before they were set to serve as groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding.
The driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins of nearby Woodstown, New Jersey, is charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. At a virtual court hearing Friday, a judge ordered that he be held for trial after prosecutors described a history of alleged road rage and aggressive driving.
“’You were probably driving like a nut like I always tell you you do. And you don’t listen to me, instead you just yell at me,’” his wife told Higgins when he called her from jail after his arrest, according to First Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Flynn of Salem County.
The defense described Higgins as a married father and law-abiding citizen before the crash.
“He’s an empathetic individual and he’s a loving father of two daughters,” said defense lawyer Matthew Portella. “He’s a good person and he made a horrible decision that night.”
Higgins told police he had five or six beers that day and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving, according to the criminal complaint. He also failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said. A prosecutor on Friday said he had been drinking at home after finishing a work call at about 3 p.m., and having an upsetting conversation with his mother about a family matter.
He then had a two-hour phone call with a friend while he drove around in his Jeep with an open container, Flynn said. He had been driving aggressively behind a sedan going just above the 50 mph speed limit, sometimes tailgating, the female driver told police.
When she and the vehicle ahead of her slowed down and veered left to go around the cyclists, Higgins sped up and veered right, striking the Gaudreas, the two other drivers told police.
“He indicated he didn’t even see them,” said Superior Court Judge Michael J. Silvanio, who said Higgins’ admitted “impatience” caused two deaths.
Higgins faces up to 20 years, a sentence that the judge said made him a flight risk.
Higgins has a master’s degree, works in finance for an addiction treatment company, and served in combat in Iraq, his lawyers said. However, his wife said he had been drinking regularly since working from home, Flynn said.
Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 10 full seasons in the league and was set to enter his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets after signing a seven-year, $68 million deal in 2022. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America.
Widows Meredith and Madeline Gaudreau described their husbands as attached at the hip throughout their lives. Both women are expecting, and both gave moving eulogies at the double funeral on Monday.
