SPORTS-STARVED FANS, BETTORS SET RECORDS >>
The first round of the 2020 NFL Draft shattered viewing records and saw sportsstarved bettors flock to get in on Thursday’s action.
While the telecast of the event conducted remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic averaged more than 15.6 million viewers across platforms, PointsBet USA saw nearly eight times the total bet compared to 2019. Meanwhile, PlaySugarHouse saw more than triple the handle and bet counts in New Jersey on Thursday night than it did for the entirety of last year’s draft.
Both sportsbooks offered hundreds of prop bets, with one PlaySugarHouse.com bettor wagering $5,000 that CeeDee Lamb would be the first wide receiver selected — contributing to that being the most popular bet of the night at the book. The former Oklahoma star ended up being the third receiver off the board behind the Alabama duo of Henry Ruggs III and Jerry Jeudy.
Ruggs III was +180 to be drafted ahead of Jeudy (-225) at DraftKings, which also saw Clyde EdwardsHelaire (+130) go to Kansas City with the final pick of the night in a head-to-head offer against Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins (-159), who remains available.
PointsBet director of communications Patrick Eichner told Field Level Media that Round 1, “turned out to be better than a typical MNF or TNF game, as we initially expected, and ended up more so on par with a marquee NFL playoff matchup (not quite the Super Bowl, but a playoff game is certainly a fair comparison).” SEC SETS FIRST-ROUND RECORD >> The first round of the NFL draft opened and closed with players from the Southeastern Conference, a fitting way to mark the league’s record-setting night.
The football powerhouse had 15 players selected Thursday, smashing the previous mark of 12 set by the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2006 and matched twice by the SEC (2013, 2017).
The SEC’s most promising crop to date was flush with players from Alabama (four) and LSU (five). It included reigning Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow at the top followed by several more next-level starters — maybe even stars — at nearly every position.
The league fell just short of having as many players drafted in the first round as the rest of college football combined. Oddsmakers had listed the over/under for SEC players at 15½.