NFL Draft Betting: Jayden Daniels Surges Into No. 1 Overall Pick Conversation

It was long thought to be a two-quarterback race atop the NFL draft, but that could be changing.

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels’ odds to go No. 1 overall at FanDuel have been slashed from 75-to-1 all the way down to +1600 in a matter of days.

He is still behind odds-on favorite Caleb Williams and contender Drake Maye, but now Daniels is seen as a darkhorse moreso than an extreme longshot.

Just three days ago, Daniels sat behind wideout Marvin Harrison, Jr., quarterback J.J. McCarthy, tackle Olu Fashanu, quarterback Michael Penix, tackle Joe Alt and tight end Brock Bowers in the odds to be the No. 1 overall pick, but has leapfrogged all of them.

Here is a look at the odds to be the first pick in the draft, according to FanDuel on November 30th:

• Caleb Williams -300
• Drake Maye +250
• Jayden Daniels +1600
• Marvin Harrison, Jr. +2000
• J.J. McCarthy +3000
• Olu Fashanu +3000
• Michael Penix, Jr. +5000
• Joe Alt +5000
• Brock Bowers +6000
• Laiatu Latu +8000
• Jared Verse +8000
• Bo Nix +10000
• J.C. Latham +10000
• Riley Leonard +10000
• Dallas Turner +10000
• Kool-Aid McKinstry +10000
• Carson Beck +10000
• Tyler Van Dyke +10000
• Shedeur Sanders +10000

Daniels just wrapped up an extremely impressive senior season at LSU.

The former Arizona State quarterback dominated in 2023, finishing with 3,812 passing yards, 40 touchdowns and four interceptions with a yards per pass attempt average of 11.7. His previous career-high was 8.7 yards per attempt as a freshman with the Sun Devils.

Daniels was also dominant with his legs, carrying the ball 135 times for 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns for a yards-per-carry average of 8.4.

Williams and Maye were projected to be far ahead of the others heading into the season but some flaws showed up for both.

There is an NFL draft wager at FanDuel in which a bettor can take either Williams at -300 odds to be the No. 1 pick or the field at +195, so the sportsbook is still confident he will be the first player selected.

However, Daniels’ surge should be raising some eyebrows, and he seems likely to put up some blazing athletic testing numbers at the scouting combine ahead of the draft.

Daniels was only fifth among quarterbacks in the odds to be the No. 1 overall pick earlier this week, but now he sits at No. 3, and could threaten to edge closer to Maye and Williams if the momentum continues to swing in his direction.