Vegas Play of the Day: NFL draft

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Thursday, April 27, 2017 | 11:41 a.m.

We’ve entered the third season of the annual Play of the Day competition, effective July 1.

Starting bankrolls have reset to $10,000, with the maximum bet being to win $1,000 and the minimum wager $300. Ray Brewer won the 2015-2016 season, after Taylor Bern prevailed in 2014-2015. Bern stepped away in the middle of the 2016-2017 season with a 16-12 record and $13,317 bankroll, with Mike Grimala taking his place.

Under 2.5 running backs selected in the first round of the NFL draft, plus-300: $300 to win $900

This marks the first year that sports books are accepting prop bets on the NFL draft, so of course I'm making it my Play of the Day.

The over/under for running backs selected in tonight's first round is set at a tantalizing 2.5, and a case could be made either way. Two backs, LSU's Leonard Fournette and Standford's Christian McCaffrey, are certain to be taken early, probably in the top half of the first round. Florida State's Dalvin Cook is the third-ranked RB on most boards, and most see him as a first-round talent, but I think there's a real chance he slips all the way to Round 2.

In the Las Vegas Sun's mock draft, Fournette went sixth overall, McCaffrey went 14th, and the next 18 picks came and went without Cook's name being called. Running backs just aren't highly valued in today's NFL, and Cook hasn't separated himself as a next-level performer the way Fournette and McCaffrey have. He's also got some lingering injury questions about his shoulder, which is sure to give some teams second thoughts about picking him.

The allure of the +300 is too much to pass up. Take the under and root for Cook to slide tonight.

Current Standings: Grimala (8-11, $8,733), Granger (15-19-1, $8,247), Keefer (42-36-3, $7,880), Brewer (29-29-1, $7,485)