The NFL Countdown

NFL Football is only 85 days away. Thank God. It's about this time of year, right after the NHL & NBA Playoffs conclude, that you really start feeling the itch for professional football. The season kicks off with Thursday Night Football on NBC on September 6th when the Atlanta Falcons travel to the reining Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles. It's a match that puts the last two NFC Champions against each other in what will be a frenzied environment as Philly will be welcoming home a Super Bowl winning team for the first time in the history of the franchise. With 12 weeks left until the 2018 NFL Season kicks off it's the perfect time to look at some NFL Future odds, especially since there's no more NHL or NBA betting action. It's easy to predict that the New England Patriots will win the Super Bowl or that the Eagles will repeat now that they'll have QB Carson Wentz back after his season-ending injury. But there's not much money in that. The Patriots are 6-1 favorites and Philadelphia has the second best odds at 8-1. They key to Future betting is value. You want to invest in teams who are solid enough that they can make a title run, but are also enough of an underdog that it will be worth your investment. Below are 5 teams that we believe have enough talent to win a championship while giving you generous enough odds to make it worth your while. AFC Los Angeles Chargers. 20-1 odds to win the Super Bowl Lock City unanimously agrees that this is the best value of any of the 32 teams. The Chargers have all the pieces. They have a lethal offense led by franchise QB Phillip Rivers. Melvin Gordon is more than solid and reports suggest he will be given a bigger role as a receiver this year. And WR Keenan Allen came back in a big way last year posting over 100 catches and coming just 7 yards shy 1,400 yards. Losing Hunter Henry really hurts. But the offense is very talented and if they can stay healthy they can cause a lot of damage. The Defense can really get after the passer. Joey Bosa is an absolute stud. He's the anchor on the front seven. And they'll add First Round pick Derwin James from Florida State to a secondary that played well last year. If the pieces fall in place this team will not only compete for the AFC West they can compete for a Super Bowl. At 20-1 they are a very intriguing investment. Pittsburgh Steelers. 12-1 odds to win the Super Bowl The Steelers have two huge question marks. When will Le'Veon Bell show up? And how can they replace Ryan Shazier? After Shazier's injury the defense just didn't look the same. He was impossible to replace in the middle of last season. He will be almost as difficult to replace this year. But if they can find a way to get better in the middle of that defense this team will compete for a Super Bowl. First off, no one besides maybe the Patriots have such an easy path to the playoffs. The Steelers are better than Cincinnati, Cleveland & Baltimore. Getting to the playoffs is an important first step to winning a title and barring a disaster the Steelers should win their division. When Bell returns they have an elite offense. They have a dominating line, a 2-time Super Bowl winning QB, the best WR in the league and the best RB in the football. This is a Super Bowl offense. The question is the defense. But the defensive line and the secondary are both solid. Only three teams have better odds of winning the Super Bowl. But at 12-1 there is value here. If they stay healthy the Steelers will compete for their 7th championship. If that happens a $100 bet would pay you $1200. NFC 1) New York Giants. 33-1 odds to win the Super Bowl The New York Giants are a long-shot to win the Super Bowl but at 33-1 there's too much value not to make this list. They went 3-13 last year and had the 2nd overall pick in the draft so this would obviously be a historic rebound. But the team passed on several potential franchise caliber signal-callers with that second overall pick. They put their faith in Eli Manning having a bounce back campaign this season and there's reason to believe he will. He will have Odell Beckham Jr. back and that will be a very welcome re-addition to that offense. That unit wasn't nearly as dangerous after his injury last year. His addition will help Manning tremendously. Another monster addition to the offense will be Saquon Barkley. The rookie running back out of Penn State is projected to be a monster dual threat out of the backfield. He will be a lethal center piece. They have questions on the defensive side of the ball and on the offensive line but history is on the side of the Giants' chances of rebounding. Since the year 2000, teams that draft running backs in the top 5 of the draft see the biggest improvements in wins the next season compared to any other position. These teams see on average 5 more wins. The odds of New York putting a title run together aren't great. But things could fall their way enough to give them a chance. At 33-1 it's worth consideration. 2) San Francisco 49ers. 20-1 odds to win the Super Bowl San Francisco might be a year or two away. But they are putting a team together there that will compete for championships very soon. General Manager John Lynch is doing an outstanding job in his first few seasons in the Bay. He's making good decisions and he's keeping things simple. The 49ers found their QB of the future in Jimmy Garoppolo after they got him in a trade from New England. He's the real deal. He owns a 7-0 career record as a starter and the team just gave him 137 and a half million over the next 5 years. He has a couple of very capable receivers in Goodwin & Garcon. The team might be a year away but the foundation is there. It wouldn't be a surprise to see them “arrive” a little early. 3) New Orleans Saints. 16-1 odds to win the Super Bowl 16-1 are great odds for a team that came one miracle play away from playing in the NFC Championship. They have a future Hall of Fame QB in Drew Breez. They have coach Sean Payton. They have arguably the best 1-2 punch at RB in the league with Ingram and Kamara. And they have Michael Thomas at wide out. That's one lethal offense. Their defense improved last year and features a young, opportunistic secondary. Honestly, would you be all that surprised if New Orleans gets to the Super Bowl next year? At 16-1 there's plenty of value here. They were one play away from the NFC Championship game last year. They lost on a freak walk off touchdown from 61 yards away. This team has the pieces and wants to get the taste of the “Minnesota Miracle” out of their mouth. “The Smart Money” Here's the complete list of each team's odds of winning the Super Bowl. Futures odds from Vegas Insider New England Patriots 6/1 Philadelphia Eagles 8/1 Minnesota Vikings 10/1 Los Angeles Rams 12/1 Pittsburgh Steelers 12/1 Green Bay Packers 14/1 New Orleans Saints 16/1 Houston Texans 20/1 Jacksonville Jaguars 20/1 Los Angeles Chargers 20/1 San Francisco 49ers 20/1 Atlanta Falcons 22/1 Dallas Cowboys 33/1 Denver Broncos 33/1 New York Giants 33/1 Oakland Raiders 33/1 Baltimore Ravens 40/1 Carolina Panthers 40/1 Kansas City Chiefs 40/1 Detroit Lions 50/1 Indianapolis Colts 50/1 Seattle Seahawks 50/1 Tennessee Titans 50/1 Cleveland Browns 66/1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 66/1 Arizona Cardinals 75/1 Washington Redskins 75/1 Buffalo Bills 80/1 Chicago Bears 100/1 Cincinnati Bengals 100/1 Miami Dolphins 100/1 New York Jets 100/1