2024 NFL Draft odds: Texas’ Jonathon Brooks favored to be first running back taken

Last updated: 2024/03/26 at 3:04 PM

BigP Published March 26, 2024

The 2024 NFL Draft is less than a month away and, unlike many other positions, there appears to be no clear No. 1 running back prospect.

The offseason has been headlined by big-name running backs making moves in free agency, but there are still options left in the draft.

Texas running back Jonathon Brooks is the favorite to be the first RB picked at +225, despite coming off a late-season ACL tear.

Let’s take a look at the odds at DraftKings Sportsbook.

FIRST RUNNING BACK SELECTED: *

Jonathon Brooks, Texas: +225 (bet $10 to win $32.50 total)
Trey Benson, Florida State: +300 (bet $10 to win $40 total)
Jaylen Wright, Tennessee: +350 (bet $10 to win $45 total)
Blake Corum, Michigan: +400 (bet $10 to win $50 total)
MarShawn Lloyd, USC: +600 (bet $10 to win $70 total)
Braelon Allen, Wisconsin: +1600 (bet $10 to win $170 total)
Bucky Irving, Oregon: +2000 (bet $10 to win $210 total)
Audric Estime, Notre Dame: +4000 (bet $10 to win $410 total)

* odds as of 3/26/24

Blake Corum and Bucky Irving in Joel Klatt’s top five running backs

FOX Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt is a little more hesitant about taking Brooks early, ranking him as the third-best running back heading into the draft and acknowledging that Brooks’ knee injury has to be factored into his evaluation.

“It’s a bummer that Brooks tore his ACL late in the year because I think he would’ve been the top running back in the class. But you’ve got to mix that injury in with the evaluation of Brooks. He’s great catching it out of the backfield, and he’s got home run ability, and he barely cracked the 200 rushing attempts mark. Many of these other guys have double or triple that number.”

In his latest mock draft, Klatt had no running backs being taken in the first round, before listing Florida State’s Trey Benson as his top player at the position.

“I like his vision. There are times when Benson can be a bit upright, but that’s usually the case for taller running backs, like Derrick Henry. I’m not trying to compare him to Henry, but he’s shown that playing upright can work at the next level. His style will play well in the NFL.”

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