The 2016 NFL Draft has come and gone. Aside from whatever Ryan Fitzpatrick and the New York Jets are doing, free agency is essentially in the books. Tom Brady is suspended again -- and this one might stick. We now know, more or less, what each team will look like when the 2016 season kicks off.
All of which makes this the perfect time to take a look at next year's Super Bowl odds.
After Super Bowl 50 in February, Bovada listed the New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers as the early favorites to win Super Bowl 51 with 9-to-1 odds. After free agency and the addition of Martellus Bennett and Chris Long, New England's odds improved to 15-2 in March.
Bovada released its most recent odds and the Patriots continue to be the favorites, now at 7-1 to win next year's Super Bowl. That's a slight improvement over their odds from March, despite the fact that Brady's four-game DeflateGate suspension was reinstated in April, and following a lackluster draft for the Patriots (SB Nation's Dan Kadar gave New England a "C" for its draft picks).
In the NFC, the Seahawks' odds improved from 10-1 in March to 8-1 after the draft. Seattle is coming off a 10-6 season and addressed its biggest weakness by drafting offensive tackle Germain Ifedi in the first round to help bolster the offensive line. Although the Seahawks lost Marshawn Lynch to retirement, Thomas Rawls looked incredibly explosive before breaking his ankle last season and they drafted running back C.J. Prosise in the third round.
The Super Bowl odds for last year's NFC champions, the Carolina Panthers, decreased to 11-1 after the draft. The defending Super Bowl champions also face longer odds after the draft. The Denver Broncos, likely due to the uncertainty at the quarterback position, have 16-1 odds, down from 10-1 in March.
As for the true long shots, Bovada lists the Tennessee Titans, San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns with the worst Super Bowl odds, each at 100-1. Good news for the Browns, though: After they made several trades in the draft to acquire 14 picks, their odds are up from 150-1. And as Leicester City in the English Premier League proved, long odds can still be overcome.
Below are some highlights from Bovada's odds. The odds listed in the left column are from March, and the column to the right are the most recent.
There are also some interesting prop bets for the coming season. First overall pick Jared Goff has 2-1 odds to win Offensive Rookie of the Year as quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams. Right behind him is running back Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys with 5-2 odds. For No. 2 pick Carson Wentz, you can bet on how many games he'll actually start for the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2016 season, with the over/under set at 3.5 games.
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