First-Round Receiver for Packers? Not So Fast, Sportsbooks Say

Here are the odds for the first position drafted this year by the Green Bay Packers along with the odds to be the first receiver selected.

The temporary NFL draft exhibit at the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame features information about Wisconsin's first experience hosting the event when it was held in Milwaukee in 1940. | Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers haven’t drafted a receiver in the first round since 2002, in case you hadn’t heard. Given the state of the Packers’ receiver corps, with Christian Watson sidelined by a torn ACL and no significant additions made in free agency, could this be the year?

Perhaps, though sportsbooks aren’t buying it.

At FanDuel Sportsbook, cornerback is a slight favorite over defensive line/edge to be the position of the Packers’ first draft pick. At DraftKings Sportsbook, defensive line/edge is the slight favorite over cornerback.

At both sportsbooks, receiver is a distant third in the odds, followed by offensive line.

Here are the odds at FanDuel Sportsbook:

Cornerback: +170

Defensive Lineman/Edge: +185

Wide Receiver: +430

Offensive Lineman: +470

Linebacker: +2900

Safety: +5000

Here are the odds at DraftKings Sportsbook:

Defensive Lineman/Edge: +150

Cornerback: +160

Wide Receiver: +330

Offensive lineman: +380

Tight End, Safety, Linebacker: +3500

Running Back: +7000

Quarterback, Kicker/Punter/Long Snapper: +25000

At FanDuel, it’s a two-horse race to be the first receiver selected, with team draft boards impacted by the skills they value.

For teams seeking a big target, Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan would be their man. He is the betting favorite to be the No. 1 receiver at -200. For teams valuing speed, Texas’ Matthew Golden would be their man. He is next at +150. For teams wanting a ready-made, plug-and-play receiver, they might prefer Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka. He has the third-shortest odds, though they’re at a distant +1600.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst was at all three of their pro days. Golden was in Green Bay on Friday for a predraft visit.

Nobody else is even close, with Missouri’s Luther Burden a distant fourth at +7500.

The odds are similar at DraftKings, with McMillan at -185, Golden at +150, Egbuka at +1300 and Burden at +5000.

The over/under on first-round receivers at DraftKings is 2.5.

The Packers also hosted three edge defenders for predraft visits: Texas A&M’s Shemar Stewart, Tennessee’s James Pearce and Georgia’s Mykel Williams. In odds to be the first defensive lineman off the board, Penn State’s Abdul Carter is the runaway favorite at DraftKings. Michigan’s Mason Graham is the huge favorite to be the second defensive lineman off the board, followed by Stewart, Williams, Michigan defensive tackle Kenneth Grant, Marshall edge Mike Green and Pearce.

“I think we can do everything we need to do with the players we have on our roster right now,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said of the pass rush this week at the NFL owners meetings. “I think there’s a significant amount of improvement for those guys, not only in Year 2 of a scheme but just individually, as well.

“We’ve invested in that quite a bit already, and I’m excited to see the growth that those guys will have. If the draft happens to bring us some more ammunition in that caliber, great, but I don’t think it’s something that’s necessarily that we’ll have to go chase.”

The Bears, who rebuilt their offensive line this offseason, have the second-shortest odds for Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty as well as Penn State tight end Tyler Warren.