What Impact Does the Draft Have on the Odds of Winning?

The National Football League draft is one of the most exciting times of the year for football fans. It takes place every spring and can be traced back to 1936, when the first NFL draft took place at the Ritz-Carlton in Philadelphia. Having previously been stage behind closed doors, the NFL draft has become a popular spectator event and is screened live on televisions across the world.

For those unfamiliar with how the NFL draft works, it takes place over 7 rounds but each team can have different amounts of selections throughout the draft. Each of the 32 teams receives one player pick in each of the 7 rounds. There can also be as many as 32 compensatory picks and these can be traded. The order in which the draft picks take place is determined by the position each team finished last season. So, the team with the worst record has the opportunity to pick first whereas the team that won the Super Bowl gets the last pick in each round.

Therefore, the team who had the worst record now has the chance to improve their roster ahead of the new season by choosing what they believe to be the best players in each round of the draft. 

If you fancy having a wager on the NFL and believe the draft picks make a big difference to the winning chances of a team, check out Ace Betting Sites, where you will find a huge range of the best online bookmakers. The question is, what impact does the daft have on the odds of a team winning the Super Bowl in that season?

It would seem sensible to predict that the team who have the first NFL draft pick will improve on their previous seasons performance as they have the choice of new talent. However, having finished bottom of the pile in the previous season, the team have a significant amount of work to do in order to climb to the top of the NFL and reach the Super Bowl. For example, in 2018 the Oakland Raiders finish bottom of the AFC and the following season they moved up to 9th place but it was not enough to clinch a place in the playoffs. Looking at the 2018 NFC and it was Arizona Cardinals who finished bottom and they moved up to 12th place in 2019.

This is only using two seasons as an example but simply by having the first draft pick, it is unlikely to propel a team to the top of the conference and on to the Super Bowl. Therefore, you are unlikely to see the odds of NFL teams to win the Super Bowl having finished bottom the previous season to fluctuate a great deal. At the beginning of a new NFL season, the draft picks will be scrutinised by the bookmakers but it is unlikely to have a huge impact on their decision making when it comes to creating the odds for the Super Bowl winner.