C.J. Stroud suddenly becomes a heavy favorite to go No. 2

Less than an hour before the start of the 2023 NFL draft, Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud is suddenly the favorite to be the No. 2 overall pick.

After weeks of talk that Stroud’s stock could be dropping and that the Texans didn’t think highly of him, multiple sports books on Thursday evening changed their odds considerably and made Stroud a heavy favorite to be the second pick in the draft.

Stroud is currently a -380 favorite to go No. 2 at Draft Kings, a -430 favorite to go No. 2 at FanDuel, and other books have taken all betting for the No. 2 pick off the board, which may be an indication that they think there’s someone out there with inside information who is putting a lot of money on Stroud.

So either someone knows the Texans are taking Stroud No. 2, someone knows the Texans and another team are finalizing a trade and that team is taking Stroud No. 2, or someone betting on bad information is about to lose a lot of money when Stroud doesn’t go No. 2.

We’ll find out in about an hour.

C.J. Stroud suddenly becomes a heavy favorite to go No. 2 originally appeared on Pro Football Talk