As the 2023 NFL Draft draws closer, we are starting to see clarity at the top of the board.
Bryce Young is an overwhelming favorite to go No. 1 to the Carolina Panthers, and the intrigue has lied at No. 2 with the Houston Texans. While Will Levis has become the odds on favorite to become the second pick, Texas Tech pass rusher Tyree Wilson has quietly climbed to second as well and is now the odds on favorite to be the first defensive player selected.
Alabama’s Will Anderson has spent the better part of the past two months as the heavy favorite to be the first defensive player picked, but Wilson has emerged as a serious candidate to be second or third selection on Thursday night and it’s reflected in the odds.
Here are the updated odds:
2023 NFL Draft first defensive player selected odds
Tyree Wilson favored to be first defensive player selected
Wilson is a tantalizing prospect, and his upside is starting to gain traction ahead of the first round of the NFL Draft. Well connected NFL media member Lance Zierlein mocked that the Texans could select Wilson No. 2 several weeks ago, and since then the drum beat has gotten louder.Â
Wilson is now the odds on favorite to be the first defender taken and also is behind only Will Levis to be the No. 2 pick, currently held by the Texans. If Houston opts to stand pat and take a defender, it appears that Wilson is the most likely pick.
What if the odds are correct though and the pick will be Levis? Well, the Cardinals have also been linked to Wilson as well.
The Cardinals have been shopping this pick for weeks now, but if the team can’t find a suitor it may stay pat and take the top defender on its draft board which very well can be Wilson.
There are other scenarios that can open up more variance, like the top four picks all being quarterbacks, leaving the pick up to the Seahawks at No. 5, who have been linked to both Wilson and Anderson as well. The two pass rushers are the favorites to be the fifth selection.
However, there’s a ton of momentum towards both Houston and Arizona standing pat, and both teams may have Wilson as the top defensive prospect.
Stay tuned on this very fluid situation on draft week.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
