Anthony Richardson lands here in betting odds-based NFL mock draft
Just two days remain until the 88th annual edition of the 2023 NFL draft held in Kansas City, Missouri, starting on Thursday, April 27, and running until Saturday, April 29. While the league prepares for its spring festivities the media and fans have been wondering where their favorite players will go and who their favorite teams select.
Among the many mocks floating out on the interwebs ahead of the big day is CBS Sports writer R.J. White’s offering, in which he employed the bookmakers’ projections to compose his predicted draft order. In his mock, former Florida Gators quarterback Anthony Richardson lands at No. 8 overall with the Tennessee Titans.
Richardson is minus-130 to go in the top five at DraftKings despite his minus-320 odds to go Over 4.5 in draft position, and he’s minus-800 to go inside the top 10. It feels like we need to force him onto a team somewhere in the top 10, but the most likely candidate is Tennessee, which is minus-115 to draft an offensive lineman first and plus-115 to take a quarterback, a closer gap than with any other candidate for QB. The pick value chart pegs a 2024 second-rounder as a price that makes sense to move from No. 11 to 8, and the Falcons now potentially have three second-round picks (including the conditional pick in the Calvin Ridley deal) to help move up for a QB in next year’s draft.
The projection is consistent with most mocks in that Richardson is selected among the first 10 picks, but a tad bit later than many.
Then there is offensive lineman O'Cyrus Torrence, who White has nabbed at No. 29 by the New Orleans Saints via a trade with the San Francisco 49ers.
We’re running out of runway to get a sixth offensive lineman in the mix, so let’s have the Saints bypass defensive lineman/edge rusher (plus-105) for an offensive lineman (plus-200), specifically someone who can fill a need at guard. Torrence is minus-175 to be a first-round pick, and the Saints met with the Florida prospect during the draft process, so it’s a match that makes sense.
Torrence’s projections vary from the mid-first round to the early-second round according to most popular mock drafts — a window that includes the aforementioned prediction.
The most recent UF alumni taken in the first round of the draft are cornerback Kaiir Elam (2022, No. 23), tight end Kyle Pitts (2021, No. 4), wide receiver Kadarius Toney (2021, No. 20) and cornerback CJ Henderson (2020, No. 9).
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