The combine: It’s not just a machine for harvesting crops …

In today’s Betting Life newsletter presented by BetMGM:

• NFL Combine: Who doesn’t love Indy in February?
• Mock Draft: Version 2.0.
• Packers Merchandise: NSFW (sort of)!
• NBA Best Bet: Backing the…Pistons?
• It’s 2/26: Take it away, Matthew Freedman …

While on-field drills don’t begin until Thursday, players can start checking in today for the combine, where they’ll have interviews, medical evaluations, and weigh-ins for the next few days.

After that, we’ll have a solid four days of workouts.

• Thu: DLs, LBs
• Fri: DBs, TEs
• Sat: QBs, WRs & RBs
• Sun: OLs

It’s uncertain how many of the top prospects plan to participate in combine drills, but for most of the 321 invitees the next seven days will be among the most important of their careers.

🏈 2024 NFL Mock Draft

With the combine about to start, now feels like a good time to update my mock draft.

Here’s my top 10, with a few notes.

• 1.01 (Bears): QB Caleb Williams
• 1.02 (Commanders): QB Jayden Daniels
• 1.03 (Patriots): QB Drake Maye
• 1.04 (Cardinals): WR Marvin Harrison
• 1.05 (Chargers): TE Brock Bowers
• 1.06 (Giants): WR Malik Nabers
• 1.07 (Titans): OT Joe Alt
• 1.08 (Falcons): EDGE Dallas Turner
• 1.09 (Bears): WR Rome Odunze
• 1.10 (Jets): OT Olumuyiwa Fashanu

🤷‍♂️ QBs Jayden Daniels vs. Drake Maye

In Mock Draft Version 1, I had Maye at No. 2, but I’m pivoting to Daniels. He’s gaining steam in the market and mocks, and I already had him ranked ahead of Maye in my way-too-early 2024 fantasy top 150 rankings.

I think the No. 2 pick is probably a coin flip between Maye and Daniels, so I like the latter at +155 (FanDuel), where I’ve logged him in our FREE Fantasy Life Bet Tracker.

🙌 WR Marvin Harrison

I’m yet to see any non-QB selected higher than Harrison in any mock. I bet him at -475 to be the top non-QB selected, but he might still offer value at -650 (DraftKings).

💪 TE Brock Bowers

Bowers seems likelier now than he did a month ago to fall out of the top 10, but he’d be such a natural fit on the Chargers in OC Greg Roman’s offense.

🤝 WRs Malik Nabers & Rome Odunze

In Version 1, I had Odunze falling down the board all the way to the Dolphins at No. 21 — but here I’ve moved him into the top 10.

With more research, I now have Nabers and Odunze together in a small tier below Harrison, and there are enough WR-needy teams in the top 10 to warrant the selection of all three.

I especially like the idea of Odunze going to the Bears to partner with WR D.J. Moore and TE Cole Kmet as a solid pass-catching unit for Williams.

See the Rest of Freedman’s Mock Draft!

🛑 The Sports Calendar Never Slows Down!

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📺 God of Thunder: Thor Nystrom and Matt Freedman talk combine and NFL draft. 

🤪 Crazy for Carl. A golf bet only true degens can appreciate. 

🧇 Waffle House Red Zone? Quite the idea…and Matthew Berry is here to help.

🎩 Hatty Light. Auston Matthews is burning up the league. 

🎧 Rogan + Walters: When Uncle Billy speaks, we listen.

🧀 NSFW gift for the everyday Green Bay fan. “Go, Pack, go.”

👑 The King takes off his crown. The football writer formerly known as “Monday Morning QB” to retire.

🐯 The band is back together. The Bengals will have this key piece back for 2024-25.

🍌 Disgusting. Why do this? WHY???

Monday features a relatively small four-game NBA slate, and most of the top teams in basketball have the night off. That said, there are still some opportunities to look for betting value. Matt LaMarca breaks down his best bets for Monday’s slate…

💰 Detroit Pistons (+11.5) at New York Knicks (-115; BetMGM)

The Pistons are having a historically bad season. They’ve won just eight of their first 56 games, and things haven’t gone much better for them of late. They’re just 2-8 over their past 10 games, and they’re 23rd in Net Rating over that time frame.

Still, this team does at least have some talent. Cade Cunningham is averaging 22.2 points per game in his third NBA season, while Jaden Ivey has shown flashes. He’s averaging just 15.1 points per game for the year, but he’s increased that figure to 19.0 over his past nine outings.

The Pistons are catching the Knicks at a good time, who continue to deal with a bunch of injuries in their frontcourt. Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, and Mitchell Robinson remain out with injuries, and the team has not been the same with all three players sidelined. They’re merely 19th in Net Rating over their past 10 games, and they’ve lost five of their past six contests.

The shorthanded Knicks should still have enough firepower to get past the Pistons, but this spread seems a bit too long. I’ll grab the points with Detroit.

💰 Lamar Stevens Under 13.5 points + rebounds (-115; DraftKings)

It has been a disastrous season for the Grizzlies, who have dealt with injuries to virtually every key player on the roster. They’re currently playing without Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Marcus Smart, and Brandon Clarke, which has opened up plenty of opportunities for the rest of the roster.

Stevens is one of those players. He’s put together some solid performances recently, averaging 11.3 points and 7.0 rebounds over his past four games.

However, Stevens played just 15.7 minutes in his last outing after averaging 25.1 minutes over his previous three. If he’s going to continue to see such limited playing time, it’s going to be tough for him to hit the over on 13.5 points + rebounds. He’s never even come close to hitting that average throughout his career, and it seems as though his opportunities in Memphis are drying up quickly. This is the perfect opportunity to sell high.

MORE BETS for Monday’s NBA slate!