NFL teams have been resistant to taking running backs high in the draft, but the betting market believes Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love could change that this year.
Love was an odds-on favorite to be taken fourth overall in Thursday's draft, listed at -105 at DraftKings as of Wednesday morning. The Tennessee Titans own the fourth overall pick. But Love's odds to go even earlier have seen more dramatic movement.
At BetMGM, Love's odds to be the No. 3 pick opened at 30-1 but had shortened to 2-1 this week. Love accounted for over 30% of the money that had been bet on the sportsbook's betting market on the third pick -- nearly as much as had been bet on Ohio State LB Arvell Reese and Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey combined as of Tuesday.
The Arizona Cardinals own the third pick. Love would be the first running back taken with a top-three pick since the New York Giants drafted Saquon Barkley at No. 2 in 2018.
Bookmaker Christian Cipollini, who oversees the draft odds for BetMGM, said that while he's not convinced the Cardinals will take Love at No. 3, enough action came in to force them to adjust their odds.
"We did take action on Love at No. 3, and he has come from 30-1," Cipollini told ESPN. "This is the difficulty of draft trading. It's all on word of mouth, instead of on the field. We have to trade off rumors and need to decipher what's truth and what's just noise. Thursday at 8 p.m. can't get here soon enough."
Caesars Sportsbook also reported seeing interest in Love to go high in the draft.
"Love has been bet heavily in the third, fourth and fifth positions," Joey Feazel, lead football trader for Caesars Sportsbook told ESPN. "But both the draft betting market and news coming out of the league suggest Love is a special running back that may be the most talented in this draft."