The busy part of the 2022 NFL offseason is finally over. Teams around the league have rebuilt their rosters in free agency and through the draft, with most teams set.
Our betting experts have everything you need to know to access each team’s win total and how they stack up against each other.
Futures week schedule
Monday: NFL win totals
Tuesday: Playoff yes/no
Wednesday: League leaders
Thursday: Award-winners
Friday: Super Bowl, Conference and Division odds
All odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook.
Josh Allen is the early favorite to win the NFL MVP award. Is that where your money is going or is there someone else that you should wager on?
Joe Fortenbaugh, ESPN betting analyst: Russell Wilson at 16/1. He’s playing in the hottest division with an arsenal of weapons at his disposal, not to mention an offensive-minded head coach in Nathanial Hackett who will do everything in his power to maximize Wilson’s skill set, unlike whatever it was that Seattle was doing over the last decade. Remember, Russ has never received a single vote for the MVP award. With all eyes on Denver this season, he’ll have a chance to wow the voters on a regular basis.
Aaron Schatz, Football Outsiders editor-in-chief: The best bet for MVP is always the quarterback of the best team, and this year that’s Allen. However, if I wanted to bet on someone else, I would stick some money on Justin Herbert +1200. Herbert was fifth in Football Outsiders’ DYAR last year, and was actually unlucky when it came to interceptions. It’s certainly possible that with so much talent in the AFC West, voters will look to reward whichever quarterback gets his team into first place in that division, and right now we think that Herbert has the best chance to be that guy.
Eric Moody, ESPN betting analyst: I agree 100% with Fortenbaugh. Wilson is someone I’m very comfortable wagering on to win the NFL Most Valuable Player Award. Denver needed to improve their quarterback situation. The Broncos have missed the playoffs in each of the last 6 seasons following their Super Bowl 50 win. Since Peyton Manning retired prior to the 2016 season, Denver has used 11 different starting quarterbacks, which is tied for the most in the NFL. During that span, only three teams have had a worse total QBR. The Broncos will tailor this offense to Wilson’s strengths and the results will be glorious in 2022.
Aaron Rodgers is 10-1 to win his third straight MVP award, something that hasn’t been done since the guy he replaced, Brett Favre, won 3 straight from 1995-97. Will the narrative be voter fatigue or can he win a third one, this time without Davante Adams?
Erin Dolan, ESPN betting analyst and Daily Wager contributor: Simple to me- no, he will not. The narrative will be voter fatigue and I think that the loss of Davante Adams will be detrimental. Are there other spectacular players on the Packers squad. Yes, but to break up the type of chemistry those two had is tough. Read this stat twice. Adams leads the NFL in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns in the last four seasons. In the last two seasons, Adams had 232 receptions from Rodgers. The next closest player is Aaron Jones with 99. Enough said.
Which other awards are you eyeing?
Seth Walder, ESPN sports analytics writer: For defensive rookie of the year I’m looking for a long shot with a chance to hit double-digit sacks and I’ve got the perfect candidate: Broncos pass rusher Nik Bonnito at 60-1. His path to playing time isn’t perfect with Randy Gregory and Bradley Chubb ahead of him. But if he can get on the field, we’re talking about the player that led the entire FBS in pressure rate — ahead of Kayvon Thibodeaux and Will Anderson Jr. — on a good team (which means the sack opportunities will be there).
Does Aaron Donald’s newly signed contract impact how you look at the Defensive Player of the Year market? Donald remains the co-favorite with TJ Watt at 7/1.
Tyler Fulghum, ESPN betting analyst: It does not. Coming off a Super Bowl victory in which he dominated, I wouldn’t be surprised if Donald is better than ever in 2022. I wouldn’t bet against him. The Rams defense will once again feature two more first-ballot Hall of Famers playing alongside Donald (LB Bobby Wagner and CB Jalen Ramsey) so there is no reason to think it won’t be an elite unit. The Rams offense is potent enough to put Donald and the Rams defense into a lot of positive game scripts where they can attack the QB. 7/1 is value in my eyes for the best football player in the universe.
With only one quarterback picked in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft and potentially no Week 1 rookie quarterbacks starting, how are you handicapping Offensive Rookie of the Year?
Schatz: I understand that quarterbacks tend to win Offensive Rookie of the Year but there’s definitely a good chance no rookie quarterback will start more than half the season. Therefore I would lean towards another strong wide receiver rookie class, in particular the receivers who will get as much usage as possible because there just aren’t other alternatives on their rosters. That points to either Treylon Burks (+800), whose main competition for targets is Robert Woods coming back from injury, or Drake London (+700), because the Falcons can’t throw every single pass to Kyle Pitts, can they?
Walder: It’s boring but I’m probably leaning just toward Kenny Pickett (+600). The bias toward QBs for this award is real — look no further than when Justin Herbert beat out Justin Jefferson in 2020 (unjustifiably, in my opinion). And while Pickett isn’t a lock to start games I’m not banking on Mitchell Trubisky to keep him on the sidelines for all that long. Plus, with a strong defense the Steelers may win some games with Pickett on the field.
Source: www.espn.com