Sportsbooks were not happy with the way the first three picks in the 2022 NFL Draft fell.
In the lead-up to Thursday's draft, rumors started to fly. Those rumors proved to be true and the first three picks of Travon Walker, Aidan Hutchinson and Derek Stingley Jr. were all of the biggest liabilities at various sportsbooks.
The first big domino was Georgia's Walker going No. 1 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The buzz started on Monday and money started to fly in on Walker going first overall. Sportsbooks were hoping it was just a smokescreen.
Walker became a major liability. BetMGM reported that Walker accounted for 17.5% of the tickets and 42.9% of the handle to go first overall. At WynnBet, Walker got 22.86% of the tickets and 49.4% of the money to go first overall. PointsBet took 30.2% of their first overall bets on Walker and 37.5% of the total handle.
Hutchinson was the No. 1 pick in most draft rankings leading up to the event and was the favorite to go No. 1 for much of the pre-draft process. Once the Walker smoke started, Hutchinson became the logical prediction to stay home and play for the Detroit Lions. That's exactly how it worked out.
Hutchinson accounted for 27.8% of the tickets and 50.7% of the handle at BetMGM to go No. 2 overall. PointsBet reported that Hutchinson got 41.3% of the bets and 41.1% of the bets for No. 2.
The third overall pick appeared to be up in the air until Tuesday, when rumors started swirling that the Houston Texans loved Stingley.
Bets started flying in on Stingley as he accounted for 22.3% of the bets and 61.4% of the handle at BetMGM. Stingley got 28.9% of the tickets and 54% of the money to go No. 3 at PointsBet.
It's fair to say that most sportsbooks got crushed when the first three picks went pure chalk.
