NFL Draft Betting: How Many Receivers Will Be Taken in Round 1?

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The sporting action is largely geared toward basketball and baseball during this time of year, but for gridiron diehards, the 2024 NFL Draft can't come soon enough.

With the annual event taking place in Detroit for this season, football's draft (April 25-27) is very near. As always, there are myriad looming questions and storylines to dive into. Still, this draft is tougher to gauge than most. The opening round is projected to have a heavy offensive emphasis.

FanDuel Sportsbook has you covered with various NFL Draft odds. For the sake of this article, let us focus on the wideouts -- how many receivers will be selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft?

Notably, quarterbacks are expected to dominate the initial picks before giving way to other offensive positions -- we'll likely have at least one bookend tackle and a couple skill players taken in the top 10.

With April 25th looming quite closely, let us sift through the incoming wide receiver class; will there be seven or more WRs selected on Day 1? Interestingly, seven is the all-time record for WR in the opening round, set in 2004. Let's dig in.

All NFL odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

NFL Draft Odds

Total Number of Receivers Drafted in Round 1 -- Over/Under 6.5

Over: +182 | Under: -250

As alluded to, the first three teams at the 2024 NFL Draft -- the Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders and New England Patriots -- are all expected to be prioritizing the signal-caller position. Still, pick No. 4 could and should give way to our first receiver.

The Arizona Cardinals appear positioned to draft Ohio State Buckeyes star playmaker Marvin Harrison Jr. Not only is Harrison a 6-foot-4 problem on the outside, but he is the son of an NFL Hall of Famer at his same position. Naturally, the older Marvin Harrison passed his route-running skills on to the much-taller Junior.

Outside of the first four picks, there are two more wideouts who will most likely be selected within the top 10: Malik Nabers (Louisiana State Tigers) and Rome Odunze (Washington Huskies). Both possess solid size along with game-changing home run abilities. Odunze owns -1350 odds to be a top-10 pick while Nabers sits at +155 odds to be a top-five pick.

Being that teams like the Los Angeles Chargers (5th), New York Giants (6th), Tennessee Titans (7th), Bears (9th) and New York Jets (10th) are on the clock early, it is probable that Nabers and Odunze find their first NFL homes in that bunch. Incidentally, that amounts to three receivers gone prior to the 11th overall pick. To go over 6.5 in this market, can we count on four more wideouts being taken before the second round begins?

In 2023, four total receivers were selected on the first day of the draft. For 2022, six players wideouts heard their name called in Round 1.

Back in the present, there are several talented wide receivers behind the trio of Harrison, Nabers and Odunze. For starters, Nabers' teammate at LSU, Brian Thomas Jr., has a rare blend of size and speed. He stands at 6-foot-5, and brings three years of SEC experience. Thomas scored 17 times last season. Thomas' draft position over/under is set at 16.5. By the draft position market, Thomas is the last lock to go in Round 1.

After Thomas, a tandem of Texas Longhorns in Adonai Mitchell and Xavier Worthy offers high potential at the flanker spot. Mitchell has an all-around skillset and is a true receiver while Worthy recently eclipsed the all-time NFL Combine mark by running a 4.21 40-yard dash. Worthy's draft position over/under is listed at 29.5 while Mitchell isn't available in the market, which doesn't mean he won't be a first-round selection.

Worthy, Mitchell and Ladd McConkey of the Georgia Bulldogs will likely be the wideouts who swing this market one way or the other. McConkey's draft position over/under is up at 35.5, with -130 odds on the over.

However, Pro Football Focus estimates McConkey to be selected by the San Francisco 49ers at 31st overall whereas Worthy is seen as the Kansas City Chiefs' pick to conclude the round. That translates to seven receivers taken in the first (tying an NFL Draft record).

At FanDuel Sportsbook, there are markets on which position specific teams will choose with their first pick. When it pertains to S.F. and K.C., wide receiver (+340) is listed as the second-favorite for the 49ers while the Chiefs have that spot labeled as the odds-on favorite (-125). In addition to Kansas City, only two of the other 22 available teams have WR as the favorite in this market at FanDuel: the Buffalo Bills and Carolina Panthers.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.