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2020 NFL Draft Betting: Best Bet for No. 2 Pick

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The top pick in the 2020 NFL Draft seems like a foregone conclusion. Barring some kind of miracle, LSU Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow will be the top pick in the draft. The oddsmakers at PointsBet have listed Burrow at -3334 to go first overall, so that seems like a sure thing. So that begs the question: who goes No. 2?

Although the odds have long pointed to Ohio State Buckeyes defensive lineman Chase Young, is he the best bet to be second overall? Let’s take a closer look. Here are all of our 2020 NFL Draft Prop Bets.

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Chase Young

Odds: -313
The Buckeyes defensive lineman would probably be in the conversation to be the top pick in the NFL Draft in most years but given what Burrow did last season, it’s easy to see why Young is very likely not to be the top pick. However, Young seems to make plenty of sense as the No. 2 pick.

While the Redskins didn’t do too bad with pressure last year – they were 10th in the NFL in sacks with 46 – we know that in the modern-day NFL, you can never have enough good pass-rushers. New head coach Ron Rivera is typically a defense-first guy and the Redskins could have the makings of a very scary front seven if they add Young to a group that already includes Montez Sweat, Ryan Kerrigan, Jonathan Allen, Matt Ioannidis, and Daron Payne. Rivera is on the conservative side and taking a guy like Young – who many view as the best overall prospect in this year’s draft class and the best defensive prospect in years – at No. 2 is the smartest pick they can make.

Tua Tagovailoa

Odds: +210
The counter-argument to drafting Young is that the Redskins don’t really need him. The team needs a lot of work and has already traded away their second-round pick (part of the deal to acquire Montez Sweat last year), so they need to be plugging holes, not being redundant. Ryan Kerrigan and Sweat are a fairly good tandem and the Redskins and overall, as mentioned, the Redskins pass rush is pretty good.

Say what you want about the Redskins current “franchise” quarterback Dwayne Haskins but to me, he doesn’t look like he’s going to be much in the NFL. Of course, a lot can change from Year 1 to Year 2 but he rarely showed flashes where I said “yeah, that’s a guy that really impresses me”. Even if it was just in short bursts. If the new Redskins regime feels the same, they have to go with Tua Tagovailoa because you can’t win in this league without a good quarterback.

Even if the Redskins would rather pass on Young to trade back and acquire more assets, which is possibly a decent strategy, whoever takes their place will go with Young. Teams who want to cut the line for Tua and get ahead of the Miami Dolphins can trade for the No. 3 (Detroit Lions) or No. 4 (New York Giants) picks. They don’t need to get up to No. 2.

Justin Herbert

Odds: +5000
There are some other options as Burrow is at +2200 to go No. 2 and Isaiah Simmons is at +4500. We did see some surprises last year as Daniel Jones went way earlier than anyone thought as did Clelin Ferrell. Even so, I don’t see that type of situation here.

Is it possible that a team sees Herbert as the better option over Tagovailoa? Sure. Is it possible that he gets drafted as high as No. 2? Yes. Do I really see it happening? No.

Best Bet for No. 2 Pick: Chase Young (-313)

The best bet here is that Burrow goes No. 1 and that Young goes No. 2. The intrigue of the 2020 NFL Draft starts after that.

Here are all of our 2020 NFL Draft Prop Bets.

Get 4 Risk-Free Bets up to $1,000 at PointsBet >>

Dave Golokhov is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Dave, check out his archive and follow him @davegolokhov.