Who will go No. 1 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft? originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Football season is upon us, and as both professional and collegiate training camps open up around the country, it’s only natural for fans to begin clamoring about the next group of top-level prospects.
Although the 2023 NFL Draft is still nine months away, it’s never too early to begin thinking about which player will hear their name called first in Kansas City next April.
The odds of the No.1 pick are always in flux throughout the football season, with different NFL teams occupying the coveted top spot on the draft board — and players’ stock rising and falling as the competition heats up on the collegiate field.
Let’s take a preseason look at the college football players who have the best odds to walk across the podium before their peers and shake Commissioner Roger Goodell’s hand in 2023.
Who are the top prospects for the 2023 NFL Draft?
Quarterbacks Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud have generated a lot of attention since the 2022 NFL Draft which saw just one signal-caller selected in the first round (Kenny Pickett).
This year’s crop of college quarterbacks present no such dearth in talent as Stroud and Young boast potential and pedigree that lines up with what fans expect from QB’s going No. 1 in the draft.
Beyond the quarterbacks, Young’s Alabama teammate and edge rusher Will Anderson holds the next best odds to be selected first overall in Kansas City next April.
After Anderson, sits Stroud’s left tackle at Ohio State — Paris Johnson. Sensing a theme this college football season?
Who is the favorite to go No. 1 in the 2023 NFL Draft?
Young, the defending Heisman Trophy winner, has the best odds to go first overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Alabama quarterback has 2-to-1 odds — edging out Ohio State’s Stroud by a few decimal points.
Stroud, who also has a few teammates who could rise up and claim the top spot, is listed at +210 to go No. 1 in the 2023 draft.
Anderson is the next favorite at 3-to-1 odds. If Anderson does wind up going first, it would make NFL Draft history as the Alabama defensive end would become the second consecutive edge rusher to go No. 1.
Georgia’s Travon Walker went first to the Jacksonville Jaguars in April 2022.
2023 NFL Draft No. 1 pick odds
Here’s where the top 25 college football prospects stand heading into the 2022 college football season, according to our partner, PointsBet:
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Bryce Young (Alabama, QB) +200
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C.J. Stroud (Ohio…