NFL draft pick tips: It's all about offence in 2021 NFL Draft in Cleveland

American football betting tips for the 2021 NFL Draft on Thursday in Cleveland, Ohio.

Best bets

Under 13.5 defensive players drafted in first round
2pts Evs BoyleSports

Under 4.5 cornerbacks drafted in first round
2pts 10-11 BoyleSports

NFL Draft analysis

The first pick of the 2021 NFL has been pretty much known for the last two years and quarterback Trevor Lawrence heads into Thursday night's big event in Cleveland as a 1-100 chance to be taken with the first pick.

Lawrence has been a hot property since leading Clemson to the College Football National Championship as a freshman in 2019 and the Tigers returned to the title game the following year before making a semi-final exit in 2021.

He remains a consensus choice to be Jacksonville's pick with the first selection in their first year under new coach Urban Meyer, while late-rising QB Zach Wilson is 1-50 to be taken by the New York Jets with the second pick.

Many pundits say this year's draft really begins at the third pick, which now belongs to the San Francisco 49ers after a monster trade with Miami.

They are widely considered to have moved up for a quarterback, likely to be either the steady Mac Jones (4-9 to go third), the promising but untried Trey Lance (7-2) or the one-time solid second choice Justin Fields, who is out of favour at 5-1.

It's possible that quarterbacks could be taken with the first four picks, although Kyle Pitts, rated the best tight end to emerge for a decade, should get top-five consideration too.

With those quarterbacks, offensive tackles Penei Sewell and Rashawn Slater and a host of top-notch wide receivers in Ja'Marr Chase, DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle all expected to be taken early, it's possible the first defensive player may not be off the board until at least the tenth pick.

Two bets to consider are under 13.5 defensive players being taken in the first round and under 4.5 cornerbacks being taken on the first day.

There are a host of defensive players with first-round skills but who either have doubts over their medical history or who opted out of the 2020 season, such as Caleb Farley, Jaelan Phillips and Gregory Rousseau.

That may lead the teams at the bottom of the first-round list to prefer to take a shot on one of the many talented receivers, offensive linemen or running backs than taking a risk.

Patrick Surtain II, Jaycee Horn and Greg Newsome look the only three cornerbacks certain to go on Thursday, with Farley's injury history and Asante Samuel Jr's small stature possibly pushing one or both of them into day two.

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