The Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers sent shockwaves through the NFL on Friday afternoon with a major NFL Draft shakeup.

Chicago sent the Panthers the number one overall pick in April’s draft in exchange for pick No. 9, pick No. 61, a 2024 first-round pick, a second-round pick 2025, and wide receiver DJ Moore.

What a haul.

Following the trade, Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud shot up the board as the favorite to be the number one overall pick, according to our NEW exclusive wagering partners at FanDuel. Here’s their full list of odds:

2023 NFL Draft – Number One Overall Pick

CJ Stroud                                      -320

Bryce Young                                +300

Anthony Richardson                  +350

Will Levis                                    +2200

Jalen Carter                               +9500

Will Anderson                           +9500

Prior to Friday’s trade, Alabama QB Bryce Young was the clear-cut favorite to be the number one overall pick. He impressed at the NFL Combine with his height and weight despite not doing any on-field drills, and was all but the consensus number one quarterback in the class.

Somebody knows something inside the Panthers building. There’s no other reason for the odds to have changed that fast. It’s clear that they’ve identified their guy – and for that, they should sprint the card up to the podium as soon as the draft opens. Carolina has put a high-quality offensive coaching staff together this offseason in Frank Reich, Josh McCown, and Jim Caldwell – and they will now be able to mold Stroud into the quarterback that they want to win with.

Interestingly enough, reports quickly came out of Carolina post-trade that the Panthers could potentially trade back again. From Pro Football Talk:

The Panthers quickly got out word to their local writers that they could trade back. Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer and Joe Person of TheAthletic.com had nearly identical tweets: The Panthers feel they now “control” the draft, and they are not discounting backing up in the draft to recoup some of the compensation they lost if they have a couple of quarterbacks they like.

Because of the word “control” alone – they won the trade… but so did the Bears.

Chicago moved themselves back just eight spots, picked up three additional picks, and will now bring in a bonafide number-one wide receiver in DJ Moore to pair with franchise quarterback Justin Fields. This was a win-win for both franchises.

We still have plenty of offseason left to unfold before we begin to think about the draft – but for now, it feels like CJ Stroud is set to be a Carolina Panther.

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The four finalists for the prestigious award were announced on Monday night with quarterbacks Stetson Bennett, Max Duggan, CJ Stroud, and Caleb Williams set to attend the ceremony in New York on Saturday, December 10th. Here’s a look at BetOnline.ag’s odds on who will win the award:

Odds to Win 2022 Heisman Trophy

Caleb Williams              -2500

Max Duggan                  +1200

Stetson Bennett           +2500

CJ Stroud                      +3300

USC QB Caleb Williams is the heavy, heavy favorite here at –2500. I wrote about Williams’ chances to win the award a few weeks ago:

USC’s Caleb Williams has been outstanding in 2022. The sophomore has thrown for 3,480 yards, 33 touchdowns, and only three interceptions while also adding 7 touchdowns on the ground.

A win against Notre Dame this coming Saturday could wrap up the award for Williams who currently holds -130 odds to do so. A loss to the Irish, however, would jolt CJ Stroud to the front of the board.

USC beat Notre Dame, but then lost to Utah 47-24 in the PAC12 Championship game. Williams has continued to play well – but the loss knocked the Trojans out of the College Football Playoff. They’ll play Tulane in the Cotton Bowl.

In the meantime came Max Duggan. Duggan (+1200) has been outstanding in 2022, throwing for 3,321 yards and 30 touchdowns, rushing for six more on the ground, and helping the TCU Horned Frogs get to their first College Football Playoff in program history. His performance in the BIG12 Championship game could certainly be considered a Heisman moment, despite the Frogs losing 31-28 to Kansas State.

The two other finalists, Stetson Bennett (+2500) and CJ Stroud (+3300), also led their respective teams to a spot in the CFP, but their invites to New York feel more like lifetime achievement awards than 2022 accomplishments. The race is between Williams and Duggan.

The Pick: Caleb Williams is likely going to win it, but I love Max Duggan’s value at +1200. His performance on Saturday is certainly deserving of some votes, and TCU playing in the playoff will also help his cause.

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However, with a dominant performance and a win against Ohio State this coming Saturday, there’s still a chance that Michigan running back Blake Corum could run away with the award. Here are the odds to win according to our partners at BetOnline.ag:

Odds to Win 2022 Heisman Trophy

Caleb Williams              -130

CJ Stroud                       +110

Blake Corum               +1400

Here’s a case for each player to win it:

Caleb Williams

USC’s Caleb Williams has been outstanding in 2022. The sophomore has thrown for 3,480 yards, 33 touchdowns, and only three interceptions while also adding 7 touchdowns on the ground.

A win against Notre Dame this coming Saturday could wrap up the award for Williams who currently holds -130 odds to do so. A loss to the Irish, however, would jolt CJ Stroud to the front of the board.

CJ Stroud

Ohio State’s CJ Stroud has also been sensational this season. He’s thrown for 2,991 yards, 35 TDs, 4 INTs, leads the nation in QBR at 89.7, and most of all has led the Buckeyes to an 11-0 record thus far.

The sophomore QB was destined to win the award in 2021 before Alabama’s Bryce Young ran away with the award, and has a chance to add Heisman Trophy Winner to his resume prior to entering the 2022 NFL Draft.

Blake Corum

Rounding out BetOnline’s Heisman contenders is Michigan running back Blake Corum. Corum has paced the Wolverine’s offense this season with 1,457 rushing yards, 5.9 yards per attempt, and 18 rushing touchdowns – and with a win against Ohio State on Saturday could become the first running back to win the Heisman since Derrick Henry in 2015.

My Pick: This is Caleb Williams’ award to lose right now. He’s hot at the perfect time and could realistically get USC into the College Football Playoff for the first time in its existence. I almost bet it at +1200 just a week ago, so -130 is the best you’ll probably get moving forward.

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Phil Jerkovec, a redshirt junior, announced last December that he would not yet declare for the NFL draft – instead opting to come back to Chestnut Hill for another year:

Jerkovec, who transferred from Notre Dame and has dealt with injury throughout his lengthy college career, seems to finally have the stability he needs heading into his third year at BC.

The Eagles went 6-6 last year and were supposed to play in the Military Bowl against East Carolina – but the game was canceled due to COVID. I wrote a preview on the game (read HERE), and naturally picked BC to win and predicted Jerkovec would have a day.

The kid is good, and according to our exclusive gambling partners at BetOnline.ag, he’s in the conversation to be the number one overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Here are their odds:

Number One Overall Pick – 2023 NFL Draft

CJ Stroud                                    +200

Bryce Young                                +250

Will Anderson                             +300

Paris Johnson                             +900

Tyler Van Dyke                          +1600

Jaxon Smith-Njigba                  +1600

Phil Jerkovec                            +1600

Spencer Rattler                          +1800

The first two names on this list, CJ Stroud (+200), and Bryce Young (+250), are the two best quarterbacks in college football. Stroud has the shortest odds to win the Heisman according to BetOnline, with +325 odds to win the trophy. Young is third at 7/1.

Young’s teammate, linebacker Will Anderson, is the first non-QB on the list with 3/1 odds to go number one. Anderson is the nucleus of the Alabama defense. He led the nation in sacks last season with 17.5 and recorded 57 solo tackles.

South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler is, shockingly, on this list. The former Oklahoma Sooner was projected to be the number 1 pick last season – but spiraled miserably with Lincoln Riley in Norman before being benched for Caleb Williams. Taking Rattler at 18/1 is charity.

I ultimately think Bryce Young at +250 is the best bet here. The Crimson Tide are due for a national championship, and he’ll be in the spotlight every week.

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Our friends at BetOnline.ag ran the data, and fans in 26 out of 50 states believe that Young should take the trophy home. Here’s a look at the map:

Rounding out the top five are Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud (16 states), Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson (5 states), Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker (2 states), and Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett (one state).

Here is BetOnline’s  full list of odds to win take the prestigious trophy home:

Bryce Young – Alabama                             -220

Aidan Hutchinson – Michigan                  +550

C.J. Stroud – Ohio State                            +625

Kenny Pickett – Pittsburgh                     +1400

Will Anderson – Alabama                       +2000

Kenneth Walker III – Michigan State  +2500

Matt Corral – Ole Miss                             +2500

Jordan Davis – Georgia                            +3300

Desmond Ridder – Cincinnati                +5000

Bryce Young has Alabama ranked number three in the country, and a win against #1 Georgia on Saturday would put the Crimson Tide in the College Football Playoff for the seventh time in eight years. Young has thrown for 3,901 yards this season with 40 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions. He also has two touchdowns on the ground.

Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson has flown up the board this week after the Wolverines took down the Ohio State Buckeyes for the first time since coach Jim Harbaugh’s took over in Ann Arbor. Hutchison is third in the nation with 13 sacks this season, and also has two forced fumbles. The maize and blue will take on the 13th ranked Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big 10 Championship game on Saturday.

Rounding out the top three is Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud. Stroud led the Buckeyes offense this season throwing for 3,862 yards and 38 touchdowns, though he failed to get them past Michigan last weekend. This will certainly hinder his chances at taking the Heisman home.

With Stroud not having another game left to fill his resume and a defensive player not having won the award since Charles Woodson in 1997, Bryce Young at (-220) is clearly the safe play here. Don’t get cute with it – Young is your Heisman winner.

The Heisman Trophy ceremony will take place on the night of December 11th and will air on ESPN. Be sure to get your bets in before next Saturday using BetOnline.ag!

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