There are not a lot of clear expectations for the first round of the 2017 NFL draft after Myles Garrett likely goes No. 1 overall. There is even talk Mitchell Trubisky could go first, but whatever the case, most of the first round is up in the air.
One player who has had a lot of momentum the past two months is Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey. Prior to the Combine, McCaffrey was projected in the early second round. Since then, he has steadily climbed to the point that some are suggesting he could be a top ten pick. Now we can say top eight, at least according to one person.
Told yesterday that McCaffrey doesn't get past Carolina
— Greg Gabriel (@greggabe) April 23, 2017
Gabriel spent 30 years in NFL scouting, including nine years as Chicago Bears director of college scouting. He has plenty of sources, but one has to wonder if McCaffrey really might go this high, or if someone wants another team trading up.
If you want to buy into this, there is an offshore bookmaker who is happy to take your money for a wager. Bookmaker.eu is offering OVER/UNDER numbers on when players will be drafted. McCaffrey is listed at 8.5. It is my understanding that OVER means he is drafted after pick 8, and UNDER means he is drafted before pick 9. The UNDER is slightly favored, which suggests oddsmakers have been hearing the same thing.
At one point mock drafts had McCaffrey potentially going to the 49ers at No. 34. I would have loved to see that given his versatility as a running back and wide receiver. One mock draft suggested him to the 49ers at No. 2, but that seemed to be an exception. I doubt we see him going No. 2, but where might he go compared to Leonard Fournette?