Saquon Barkley may be only rusher to be selected in first round

Sky Sports Action, 12.30am Thursday night

The first game of the new NFL season is still more than four months away but anticipation will hit fever pitch when the college draft starts in Texas on Thursday.

The cream of the collegiate crop will be standing by the phone dreaming of taking the first step towards an illustrious professional career.

Cleveland, who were winless last season, get the first go and we progress towards the Super Bowl champions Philadelphia at 32, before the whole thing starts again until 256 players have been selected.

However, teams can trade their positions with their rivals, which explains why the Browns have the fourth pick as well - they made a deal with Houston last year.

The whole process takes three days and due to the inexperience of the talent on offer, prices for next season are unlikely to be affected much.

However, there is plenty of fun to be had trying to anticipate what is going on and plenty of teams with early picks desperately need quarterbacks, including the Browns.

USC's Sam Darnold, who is favourite at 1-2 to be first overall pick, Wyoming's Josh Allen and Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield are all expected to go early and it is possible that six or seven QBs could be picked up in the first-round.

The New York Giants are in second spot and could join the quarterback party now that regular signal-caller Eli Manning is 37, but they are expected to go for Penn State's exciting running back Saquon Barkley as their rushing game has been in poor shape for quite a while.

Most teams do not have a priority in that department and may elect to wait until the second round to boost their options in the position, so it is worth taking Betway's 39-20 that no more than one rusher goes in the first round.

Alabama receiver Calvin Ridley is fancied to be the first player in that position to be selected and it is possible that he will go before the 17th pick.

Green Bay, who are 14th on the list, are in the market for a wideout following the departure of Jordy Nelson to Oakland, while Baltimore, who are 16th, are also looking to strengthen that area of their offence.

Recommendations
Under 1.5 running backs drafted in round one
1pt 39-20 Betway
C Ridley selected before 17th overall pick
1pt Evs bet365, Betway

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