What Vegas says will happen: 2026 NFL mock draft built entirely on betting odds

3 min read
What Vegas says will happen: 2026 NFL mock draft built entirely on betting odds - Image 1
What Vegas says will happen: 2026 NFL mock draft built entirely on betting odds - Image 2
What Vegas says will happen: 2026 NFL mock draft built entirely on betting odds - Image 3
What Vegas says will happen: 2026 NFL mock draft built entirely on betting odds - Image 4

What Vegas says will happen: 2026 NFL mock draft built entirely on betting odds

Using betting odds -- including draft-position over/unders and each team's first-pick position odds -- this mock projects the top 32 picks

What Vegas says will happen: 2026 NFL mock draft built entirely on betting odds

Using betting odds -- including draft-position over/unders and each team's first-pick position odds -- this mock projects the top 32 picks

Article image
Article image
Article image

We're just a day away from the 2026 NFL Draft, and that means it's time to put together my annual NFL mock draft based solely on how the betting market sees the draft. This exercise takes into account the odds for players to go at each specific pick in the top 20 but leans primarily on two other factors the further we get from the top: the over/under on a player's draft position and the odds for the position of each team's first pick. All odds used are from DraftKings.

When it comes to making picks in this mock draft, we start with a player's draft position over/under or the odds that he will go top five, top 10 or in the first round. That can create a little friction; for example, Sonny Styles is the fifth-most likely player to go in the top five but only at +110, while his draft position over/under has him at -150 to go over 5.5. We're going to give more weight to the -150 side and make sure he's not a top-five pick and stick to that method for every other draft position over/under.

Even with that being the case, we are able to get the 10 most likely top-10 picks off the board in the top 10, and the 32 most likely first-round picks by that market inside our mock draft.

Our other consideration is the position of a team's first pick, where we are able to match them without violating our previous rule. With the Lions at -380 to take an offensive lineman first, we will make sure they take an offensive lineman first. But when a team isn't as strong at one position, like with the Chiefs having a close split between offensive line, defensive line, corner and receiver, we have more leeway. If a team had minus odds to take a position first, I did my best to stick to that, including trading around the board three times where a prospect wouldn't fit for the initial team but we wanted him inside a certain range.

With that explanation out of the way, let's get to the picks.

The 2026 NFL Draft will take place Thursday through Saturday in Pittsburgh. You can find more draft coverage at CBSSports.com, including weekly mock drafts and regular evaluations of the top prospects.

Like this article?

Order custom jerseys for your team with free design

Related Topics

Related News

Back to All News