Morning Coffee: Sanders slides to second round of NFL Draft

Picture this: Shedeur Sanders is the favourite to go No. 1 in the 2025 NFL Draft at FanDuel.

Only this time around, Sanders is the frontrunner to be the top pick in Round 2 – not Round 1.

Last night, Sanders watched the entire first round of the NFL Draft pass by without a single team calling his name.

Not at one, not at two, not even at 32.

The same player that so many football fans bet on to go No. 1 overall at FanDuel is still available heading into the second round tonight on TSN.

Per the FanDuel traders, 19 per cent of the bets and 12 per cent of the handle was on Sanders to go first overall.

It’s an unprecedented turn of events so wild that they might be able to convince Kevin Costner to use it as the plot for a Draft Day sequel.

Sure, Sonny Weaver Jr. might have traded his team’s entire war chest of picks for the chance to draft Sanders.

In the real world, not one of the 32 current NFL general managers was willing to risk a first-round pick on him.

Sanders opened as the favourite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft when FanDuel went live with that market one year ago.

The star quarterback was still the top choice to go first overall at FanDuel as recently as December.

Fast-forward to Draft Day, Sanders to be a first-round pick could be found at -2500 at FanDuel on Thursday morning.

No one can stop a ticking clock.

That number represented a 96.2 per cent implied chance.

In the final days before the NFL Draft, the FanDuel traders were forced to adjust Sanders’ Draft Position over/under from 3.5 all the way to 21.5.

Per the ESPN Analytics team, there was only a 3 per cent chance that Sanders would still be available at 33rd overall prior to the start of the first round.

Turning the page this morning, the Draft Day nightmare isn’t over yet.

After the first-round snub, FanDuel made Sanders the favourite to be selected with the first pick in the second round at -150 late last night.

Sanders to go 33rd overall is -125 at FanDuel this morning.

Regardless of where he’s ultimately selected, Sanders will have plenty of motivation to prove every single team that passed on him made a mistake.

The next step is for an NFL team to draft him tonight.

Come on, Tom.

Say it with me.

Shedeur Sanders, no matter what.

This is the Morning Coffee for Friday April 25th, 2025.

Ward, Jeanty Open As Top Choices To Win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year

While Sanders waits for his name to be called tonight, fantasy football fans are already discussing how high they would draft the top stars from this year’s rookie class.

Quarterback Cam Ward is the favourite to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year at +330 after he was selected first overall by the Tennessee Titans.

Running back Ashton Jeanty is a close second choice to win that award at +340 after he went sixth overall to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Then it’s Sanders’ former Colorado teammate Travis Hunter at +600, who the Jacksonville Jaguars traded up to get with the second overall pick.

One of my favourite strategies in fantasy football leagues is to cross reference the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds with average draft position numbers to find value.

With Jeanty and Omarion Hampton off the board, it will be interesting to see where the remaining top prospects at the running back position are drafted tonight.

Maple Leafs take 3-0 series lead in Battle of Ontario

For a moment last night, I started to drift and wonder when Auston Matthews would finally score his first goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It didn’t take long for the Toronto Maple Leafs captain to give me an answer.

Matthews scored his first of the playoffs on a beautiful set-up from Mitch Marner just 30 seconds into the third period of Game 3 against the Ottawa Senators.

Less than an hour later, he set up the overtime winner by Simon Benoit as Toronto beat Ottawa 3-2 to take a 3-0 series lead.

Soak it up, Leafs Nation.

The Maple Leafs have their first 3-0 lead in a Stanley Cup Playoffs series since they swept the Senators in 2001.

Teams that take a 3-0 series lead in a best-of-seven have gone on to advance 98 per cent of the time.

Toronto to advance went from -750 to -3500 at FanDuel.

Ottawa’s odds to win the series ballooned to +1400.

Next up, the Maple Leafs can complete the sweep with another win in Game 4 on Saturday night.

The forecast is calling for rain in Toronto this weekend, but that won’t damper the celebrations in the city one bit if the blue and white find a way to break out the brooms in the Battle of Ontario.

In the meantime, we have three games on deck tonight.

The Edmonton Oilers are expected to bounce back as a favourite to win Game 3 on home ice against the visiting Los Angeles Kings.

The Oilers are +350 to win that series – the shortest price of the five teams that fell behind 0-2 in the first round.

One of those teams is the Montreal Canadiens.

Unlike Edmonton, the Habs are currently an underdog to win Game 3 on home ice tonight.

The Canadiens are +740 to win its series – an 11.9 per cent implied probability.

Regardless, the atmosphere at the Bell Centre should be electric as playoff hockey returns to Montreal.

In terms of a FanDuel Best Bet for tonight, I’m going to stick with the Oilers series and lock in a Same Game Parlay with Connor McDavid 1+ point, Leon Draisaitl 1+ point, and Adrian Kempe 2+ shots on goal at -120 odds.

While I’m on the Kings to win the series, I’m not about to bet on Edmonton to be swept on home ice.

Still, I don’t love the idea of taking the Oilers at -140.

And I don’t expect their superstar players to go down on home ice without a fight.

Meanwhile, Kempe registered a game-high eight shots on goal in Game 2 and has 11 shots on goal through two games.

Give me an SGP with Draisaitl 1+ point, McDavid 1+ point, and Kempe 2+ shots on goal at -120 odds as a FanDuel Best Bet for Game 3 tonight.

Have a great weekend, everyone!