NFL Draft Odds: Jones or Fields to San Fran?

We have movement on the NFL Draft odds front.

Just a week ago, it seemed all but a done deal that former Alabama quarterback Mac Jones was going to be the future signal caller for the San Francisco 49ers at -300 odds, according to BetMGM.

I don’t know if it was the additional Pro Day or what, but suddenly, former Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields has skyrocketed to overtake Jones as the favorite to go third overall, currently sitting at +100 on DraftKings.

Jones is still in the mix at +120, but that’s a hop and a skip away from what the odds were just a week ago.

For some reason, I felt all along the Jones hype was a smokescreen. So much of what you hear in the immediate weeks leading up to the draft is. It just didn’t seem to make sense for the 49ers to trade up as far as they did for Jones, who at the time, was projected to be selected outside of the top 10, according to many mock drafts at that point.

The feeling with this draft from day one was that the draft really started at No. 2 with the New York Jets. But once the Jets stuck a deal to move Sam Darnold to the Carolina Panthers, it was apparent they were thinking quarterback with the second pick. Zach Wilson is currently -5000 odds to be selected at No. 2, so that’s a safe bet of all safe bets. 

Once San Francisco traded up to No. 3, there was a lot, and I mean a lot of buzz that their guy was Jones. Todd McShay even went on ESPN and said as such, as the people he talked to around the league really felt that was going to be the move for them.

I’m not sure if there’s been a recent change of heart within San Francisco’s organization, or if it was all a ruse to possibly get a team to overpay to move into the top five for another one of the top quarterbacks. All I can see, is that, 10 days before the draft, we truly have anarchy.

Fields has been looked at as the real wild card in this draft. As of last week, I had seen him going anywhere from No. 3 to the 49ers, or falling out of the top 10 entirely. Since the early mocks when I saw Jones widely regarded as a pick outside of the top 10, I haven’t seen such varying opinions.

My instinct is to stay away, as the odds are almost sure to move again before draft day, especially with teams like the Atlanta Falcons and the Miami Dolphins being open to trading their picks, four and six, respectively.