Officially, the 2021 NFL Draft will begin with Roger Goodell’s proclamation, “The Jacksonville Jaguars are on the clock,” shortly after 8 p.m. ET on Thursday night. Unofficially, the draft will begin about 20 minutes later after Goodell says, “With the second pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the New York Jets select Zach Wilson, quarterback, BYU.”
In the four weeks since the San Francisco 49ers acquired the No. 3 overall pick from the Miami Dolphins, Mac Jones, Justin Fields, and Trey Lance have been atop NFL Draft odds for the selection. And for all but a few days of that time, Jones has been the favorite, carrying minus odds as reports swirled of the 49ers’ preference for the former Alabama quarterback.
Jones is also the favorite of bettors.
Two weeks ago, one day after Fields temporarily passed Jones as the odds favorite, Jones led in handle share (53.1 percent) while trailing Fields in ticket share (54.8 percent to 20.5 percent). As of Monday, April 26, Jones has extended his handle share to nearly 20 percentage points but trails Fields and Lance in ticket share:
| Player | Tickets | Handle |
|---|---|---|
| Trey Lance | 33.3% | 21.5% |
| Justin Fields | 30.2% | 28.1% |
| Mac Jones | 19% | 47.4% |
| Kyle Pitts | 9.9% | 1.8% |
| Zach Wilson | 6.2% | 1.1% |
| Ja’Marr Chase | 0.6% | 0.1% |
| Penei Sewell | 0.4% | 0% |
| DeVonta Smith | 0.1% | 0% |
| Trevor Lawrence | 0.1% | 0.% |
Lance had only 11 percent of the tickets and 2.8 percent of the handle on April 16. Now, as Ian Rapoport reports, the 49ers are “down to” Lance and Jones – Lance has been popular with bettors.
“My understanding is they would be comfortable with two [quarterbacks] and that would exclude Justin Fields,” Rapoport said on NFL Network on Monday. “…[M]eaning the 49ers are down to Mac Jones and Trey Lance. Do they know for absolute certain? No. My understanding is they do have a favorite. They’ve had a favorite for this entire time.”
Of the nearly 150 NFL Draft Specials, none have been more popular than the third overall pick. Click here to view odds for that draft prop bet and others, and listen to High Motor by BetMGM for more news and analysis on the NFL Draft:
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