- Jalen Carter has +100 odds to be the first defensive player drafted.
- Will Anderson has +125 odds to be the first defensive player drafted.
- The Chicago Bears have the first overall pick in the draft.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – With the NFL Draft continuing to approach, more and more NFL Draft odds are getting unloaded. One of the odds that should catch the eyes of many are those on which defensive player will be drafted first.
While NFL betting sites have several names on the odds board, it’s clearly a two-man race between former Georgia Bulldogs defensive lineman, Jalen Carter, and former Alabama linebacker, Will Anderson.
First Defensive Player To Be Drafted
- Jalen Carter +100
- Will Anderson +125
- Tyree Wilson +600
- Myles Murphy +2000
- Devon Witherspoon +5000
- Christian Gonzalez +5000
- Will McDonald IV +7500
- Lukas Van Ness +7500
Both players have had outstanding college careers with Carter having 83 total tackles, 4 pass deflections, 6 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles. Anderson had 204 total tackles, 4 pass deflections, 34.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, an interception, and a touchdown.
Just by looking at the numbers, it's clear that Anderson is the more explosive player and also can play multiple positions on defense whereas Carter is limited to just the defensive line. That alone should give him the upper hand over Carter despite what the NFL Draft odds are reading.
Teams To Cash The Odds
Looking at the NFL Draft order, these odds could be settled with the very first pick in the Chicago Bears. While the Bears have been rumored to several outlets involving their pick such as taking a QB, trading the pick, or selecting a defensive player, it has been reported that they will likely stick with Justin Fields at QB leaving them explore defensive players or make the pick.
#Bears GM Ryan Poles said the plan is to have Justin Fields as their starting QB next season, but they will do their homework on this year’s quarterback class (which any good GM would do).
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 28, 2023
If Chicago does look to take a defensive player, it would make sense for them to take Will Anderson to fill their losses of Khalil Mack and Roquan Smith who were both linebackers for the Bears.
If the Bears to end up trading back, depending on who they trade the pick to, the next option for these odds to be settled would come with the third pick in the Arizona Cardinals. If the Cardinals do settle these odds, Carter is the smart option being that they lost J.J. Watt on the defensive line and need to find a way to fill that role.
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Samuel has been writing professionally for 4 years. He comes from a sports writing background where he enjoys writing mostly about basketball and football both professional and collegiate. He is a recent graduate of Florida State University where he majored in Editing, Writing and Media with a minor in Communications. During his free time, you can find him watching or playing sports as well as playing videogames and listening to music.