The Loop
Trevor Lawrence a massive favorite to be selected first overall in the 2021 NFL Draft
Despite his questionable decision-making (we're only half-kidding), Joe Burrow did still go No. 1 overall to the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL Draft. Ever since his dazzling performance in the College Football Playoff, and perhaps even earlier than that, Burrow to the Bengals was the lock of all locks.
But it wasn't that way prior to last season, when Burrow was still a relative unknown to the casual football fan. Before his emergence, Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was the surefire No. 1 pick, but injuries, and the play of Burrow, changed that.
Oddsmakers are not banking on a similar situation happening next season, if there is one, instead making Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence a massive favorite to be the first pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. According to SportsBetting.ag, Lawrence is a -400 favorite, with Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields checking in as the second favorite at +500. Oregon offensive tackle Penei Sewell is +1200.
If it's Lawrence or Fields, it would mark the fourth straight year a quarterback was taken with the first pick. Six of the last seven drafts have started with a quarterback being selected, with only Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett bucking the trend in 2017.
SportsBetting.ag also released offensive and defensive Rookie of the Year odds. Burrow leads the way on offense at +200, while Tagovailoa is +800. Burrow's former LSU teammate Clyde Edwards-Helaire, now a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, is +900 along with Indianapolis Colts running back and former Wisconsin Badger Jonathan Taylor. Alabama wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, who was taken 15th by the Denver Broncos, is at +1000. The third quarterback taken off the board, Oregon's Justin Herbert, is +1200, and he's +260 to be the starter for the L.A. Chargers in week 1.
On the defensive side of the ball, Ohio State's Chase Young, taken second by the Washington Redskins, is the ROY favorite at +500. Clemson's Isaiah Simmons, now an Arizona Cardinal, is +800. After that, there is a large gap, with Chargers linebacker Kenneth Murray and Baltimore Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen each at +1400.