The NFL draft was held last week as the Cleveland Browns took Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield with the first overall pick. Mayfield was one of four quarterbacks taking in the first ten picks as USC’s Sam Darnold went to the New York Jets with the third overall pick. Josh Allen of Wyoming went to Buffalo with the seventh picks, and UCLA’s Josh Rosen was 10th as he went to Arizona. Now that the dust has settled, let’s take a look at the post-draft Super Bowl odds.
The Browns are rated at +8000 to win the Super Bowl at BetDSI Sportsbook and that might be being generous. However, there are few teams that are as intriguing heading into next season than Cleveland. Mayfield will probably start the season on the bench behind Tyrod Taylor. However, you would think that the Browns will be grooming the former Sooner for the future. They also took cornerback Denzel Ward out of Ohio State with the fourth overall pick, but the Browns also picked Nick Chubb out of Georgia in the second. The running back had an excellent season as Georgia went to the national-title game, and the Browns have some good, young pieces for the future.
The New York Giants have odds of +5000 to win the Super Bowl, and they picked running back Saquon Barkley out of Penn State with the second pick. Barkley was a Heisman finalist last year, losing out to Mayfield, but he can be an impact player right away for the Giants. New York’s offense needs a little life breathed into it, especially considering the contract situation surrounding wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. This also takes some pressure off quarterback Eli Manning, and you could argue that Barkley has the best chance to start out of all of the top picks.
The San Francisco 49ers had an interesting draft as they have Super Bowl odds of +2000. Many experts feel like they’re the next team to watch, and much of that is down to quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who led the team to five straight wins to end the 2017 season. They signed Garoppolo to a massive contract in the offseason and then drafted him some help as guard Mike McGlinchey out of Notre Dame went with the ninth pick. Wide receiver Dante Pettis out of Washington was then picked 44th. The 49ers are definitely on a mission to protect their prized investment.
Most of the top teams stayed the same in terms of their Super Bowl odds. However, Atlanta comes in at +1800 and they might have made a huge move by picking Calvin Ridley with the 26th pick. Ridley had huge numbers out of Alabama, which is where Julio Jones played his college football. There has been a bit of a fuss made that Jones deleted anything with the Falcons on his Instagram. This caused some executives to come out and say that Jones and the Falcons have a good relationship. It wouldn’t be a major surprise at all if this move was made in part to appease Jones. Also, with mentoring from Jones, Ridley has the chance to be a very good receive for the Falcons.
