In selecting Joey Bosa with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, the San Diego Chargers ended weeks of assumptions the former Ohio State defensive end would be the first defensive lineman off the board. One year later, we knew Myles Garrett would be the first defensive lineman drafted, as we did with Bradley Chubb in 2018, Nick Bosa in 2019, and Chase Young in 2020.
We don’t know this year. Without an elite edge rusher, and the potential of a top-10 shutout for all defensive positions, we don’t know which defensive lineman will be selected first in the 2021 NFL Draft.
As of Monday, April 26, Jaelan Phillips sits atop NFL Draft odds to be the first defensive lineman drafted (+100) but is closely followed by Kwity Paye (+120) and two other players with odds higher than +1000. No other position has more than three players above +1000.
- Jaelan Phillips (+100)
- Kwity Paye (+120)
- Christian Barmore (+500)
- Gregory Rousseau (+900)
Twelve more players are listed, though none are higher than +3500 (Jayson Oweh), and eight have odds of +125000 or worse. And, for what it’s worth, the over/under total on defensive linemen drafted in the first round is 4.5: over 4.5 (+105) and under 4.5 (-130).
For the first defensive lineman drafted, public betting mirrors the odds as those four players are receiving the highest share of tickets and handle. Here’s the full ticket and handle breakdown for NFL Draft betting:
| Player | Tickets | Handle |
|---|---|---|
| Jaelan Phillips | 33.3% | 61% |
| Kwity Paye | 27.8% | 22.8% |
| Christian Barmore | 22.2% | 10.5% |
| Gregory Rousseau | 8.3% | 2.4% |
| Jayson Oweh | 4.2% | 2.1% |
| Levi Onwuzrike | 2.8% | 0.7% |
| Joe Tryon | 1.4% | 0.5% |
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