Each spring, fans from the NFL’s 32 franchises gather for a springtime rite of passage that has become a measuring stick of a club’s immediate future, the NFL Draft.
This year’s version, and the accompanying Ohio sports betting that will go with it, descends upon Downtown Detroit in late April. Over the last 10 years, the difference between the NFL’s “haves” and “have nots” has been spelled out by the value (or lack thereof) clubs derive from their first-round picks.
Since 2014, Ohio’s two NFL franchises have seen their share of struggle, both when it comes to drafting value off the field and as far as win percentage on it. The Browns have posted the leagues’ 14th-best AV per first round pick average at 28.1, while going 61-101-1 (.377) to post the league’s 23rd-best win percentage during that stretch.
Downstate in Cincinnati — where the Bengals Super Bowl odds are +1400 — the team has more disparate results, with the 13th-best win percentage (.491) since 2014, offset by posting the 28th-best AV per first round draft pick average during that stretch at 19.1.
Utilizing ProFootballReference.com, BetOhio.com combined the total approximate value of the career of each NFL teams’ 1st round NFL draft picks from 2014 to 2023. The teams were then ranked on the average approximate value per pick to see what team has utilized their picks the best.
NFL Teams Ranked By Value of 1st Round Draft Picks
Ohio betting apps list San Francisco as the Super Bowl favorite at +500, followed by back-to-back champion Kansas City at +650.
Bengals Near Bottom of Draft Value List
The last 10 years have been far less than kind to Ohio’s two NFL franchises when it comes to value, with the Browns posting the NFL’s 14th best AV per first round pick between 2014 and 2023, at 28.1 AV per pick, while the Bengals ranked in a tie with the Green Bay Packers for 28th by that metric, at 19.1 AV per pick.
Despite getting value in the draft, the current Browns Super Bowl odds are in the middle of the NFL at +3000.
Leaguewide, the Los Angeles Rams have the NFL’s best approximate value per 1st round pick since 2014 (71.3 AV per pick), followed by Dallas (41.3 AV per pick) Chicago (36.1 AV per pick) and Buffalo (35.8).
The Bengals are squarely inside the bottom five when it comes to AV average, with their total of 19.1 AV per pick ranking in a tie with Green Bay for 28th overall. Philadelphia (18.8 AV per pick), New England (17.0 AV per pick) and Seattle (15.7 AV per pick) are the league’s worst teams at drafting for value since 2014.
When broken down by raw AV totals alone, Baltimore (428 AV), Dallas (372 AV), the Giants (340 AV), Cleveland (337 AV) and New Orleans (336 AV) are the NFL’s leaders, though teams like the Giants had a lot more draft capital (12 picks) than the AV-per-pick leaders like the Rams (four picks), Cowboys (nine picks), Bears (seven picks) and Bills (nine picks).
