Super Bowl XLV Odds That Have Changed the Most This Offseason (2019 NFL)
With the 2019 NFL regular season approximately three months away, teams have begun their mandatory minicamps as they prepare their journeys to capture the Lombardi trophy. There have been many offseason moves that have occurred this year which has changed the fortunes of a number of teams across the league considerably. Here is a list of a few teams that have had their odds dramatically change on FanDuel since February 2019.
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Cleveland Browns +4,000 to +1,400
This seems to be a no-brainer as the Browns have made some huge splashes this offseason. For starters, they acquired New York Giants star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. in exchange for Jabrill Peppers and a 2019 first-round draft pick. They even signed free agent running back Kareem Hunt who was released by the Kansas City Chiefs due to a domestic violence video that came to the public light in December 2018. The Browns have a young talented quarterback in Baker Mayfield along with other dangerous weapons like Jarvis Landry, Nick Chubb, and David Njoku. Furthermore, they got stronger on the defensive side of the ball as well with key additions of Olivier Vernon, Sheldon Richardson, and rookie cornerback Greedy Williams. Between the beginning of February and today, the Cleveland Browns’ chances of winning the Lombardi Trophy increased exponentially from +4,000 (20th) all the way up to +1,400 (5th). On paper the Browns appear to be the offseason champions, but how this team translates on the field come Week 1 and beyond is all that is going to matter. With all of this talent present on the Browns’ roster, it is no wonder why many critics believe they can make a Super Bowl run.
Chicago Bears +2,000 to +1,600
The Chicago Bears also made some moves during the 2019 offseason to improve their chances of making a deep postseason run come January. They started off by trading Jordan Howard to Philadelphia for a conditional sixth-round draft pick. As a result, the Bears ended up replacing Howard with rookie running back David Montgomery from Iowa State in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. They even added some depth on offense with the additions of running back Mike Davis and wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson. In addition, quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is certainly coming into his own as he threw for 3,223 yards and 24 touchdowns in 2018. What’s more, he rushed 68 times for 421 yards and three additional touchdowns as well. Trubisky is surrounded by some very talented weapons like Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel, and Tarik Cohen. Adding in the recent acquisitions and draft picks just makes Trubisky even more threatening for opposing defenses. Lastly, the Bears strengthened their defense which was already strong initially, with the arrival of safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. Let’s also not forget the presence of Khalil Mack who terrorized offenses throughout the league in 2018 with 12.5 sacks. Expect to see Chicago in the conversation for a title this season.
Pittsburgh Steelers +1,400 to +2,300
Back in February 2018, the Pittsburgh Steelers had the seventh-best odds to win the Super Bowl. Between the span of three days in mid-March Pittsburgh lost two of their most prolific offensive weapons to opposing AFC squads. First, on March 13, star wideout Antonio Brown forced his way out of Pittsburgh and was shipped to Oakland. Then, on March 15, the saga between the Steelers and Le’Veon Bell came to an end when he agreed to terms with the New York Jets on a five-year $70 million deal with $20.5 million in guaranteed money. After losing Bell and Brown, the Steelers chances of winning the Lombardi Trophy dropped all the way down to 12th. Even though Juju Smith-Schuster is a rising stud at wide receiver and James Conner is definitely a capable running back, it still won’t be the same with the presence of two out of the three “killer B’s†now gone. Pittsburgh’s defense also had some major holes last season, and while they did add some nice draft picks like rookie linebacker Devin Bush, they will still need some time to develop in order to compete with the elite talent throughout the league. Pittsburgh could very well push for the playoffs in 2019 like they have the last several seasons, but the chances of them winning a Super Bowl this year does not seem likely.
Baltimore Ravens +2,000 to +3,400
The Baltimore Ravens are another team whose chances of winning a title in 2019 have dropped dramatically throughout the course of the offseason. The Ravens were tied with the Falcons for the 10th-best odds at the beginning of February to compete for a championship in 2019. Unfortunately, much like the Steelers, their odds took a sharp dip over the next few months. They lost some key names on defense such as C.J. Mosley to the Jets and Eric Weddle to the Rams. The Ravens even took a bit of a hit on their offensive personnel as John Brown heads off to Buffalo. Baltimore did acquire a young, talented wide receiver in the first round of this year’s draft in Marquise Brown. Interestingly enough, he is related to the star wide receiver Antonio Brown now on the Oakland Raiders. Is it possible that Marquise Brown is everything his cousin is? Despite that and a few other offensive additions via the NFL Draft, the Ravens took quite a hit in the 2019 offseason, and it will be interesting how they compete against the Steelers and the rising Cleveland Browns within their division this year.
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Matthew Catalano is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Matthew, check out his archive and follow him @MatthewCatala16.