Ben FawkesSenior sports betting analystMon, April 27, 2026 at 2:34 PM UTC·2 min readThe 2026 NFL Draft is in the books, which means it’s already time to start looking at next year’s draft and some potential top picks. In what is expected be a terrific draft for quarterbacks — although, the 2026 draft was thought to be just that a year ago as well — Texas QB Arch Manning is the favorite to go No. 1 overall at BetMGM.
Manning (+175) has the best odds, followed by Oregon QB Dante Moore (+500) and Notre Dame QB CJ Carr (+650). Carr and Manning are +750 co-favorites to win the 2026 Heisman Trophy at BetMGM.
Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith has the best odds for any non-QB at +750 and is the only other player currently with single-digit odds. Buckeyes QB Julian Sayin (11-1) and South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers (12-1) have the next-best odds to be the first player selected.
New Indiana QB Josh Hoover — the transfer from TCU who will replace Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza — has 40-1 odds.
Manning, the son of Cooper and nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning opened as the favorite to go No. 1 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft as well (and win the Heisman) at BetMGM. He struggled in his opening game at Ohio State, going 17-of-30 for 170 yards with a touchdown and interception in a 14-7 loss.
Manning decided in December to return to Texas and not enter the 2026 NFL Draft. The Longhorns made a late bid for the College Football Playoff, but finished just short at 9-3. Manning played better down the stretch, finishing the season with 3,163 passing yards, 26 TDs and seven INTs, which included leading the Longhorns to a dominant 41-27 win over Michigan in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.
A quarterback has been selected No. 1 overall in eight of the past nine drafts (in 2022, Jacksonville took DE Travon Walker with the first pick), with Mendoza going No. 1 to the Las Vegas Raiders this year.
The 2027 NFL Draft will take place next April in Washington D.C.