Following the 2013 NFL draft Bookmaker recently released futures odds for 13 players and the field as far winning next season’s AP Rookie of the Year award by making the biggest impact for their new team. Last season it was a three-way race between rookie quarterbacks with Robert Griffin III edging-out Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson to take top honors. There are a couple of quarterbacks on this year’s list but 2013 could be the year of the receiver with number of wide-outs and tight ends considered among the favorites.

Heading that list is former West Virginia wide receiver Tavon Austin, who was drafted eighth overall by St. Louis after offensive and defensive lineman filled out the first seven selections in the draft. He has been opened as the odds-on-favorite to win Rookie of the Year at +300. The Rams actually traded-up with Buffalo to get Austin so you know right off the bat he is going to be an instrumental part of an offense that finished the regular season ranked 18th in the NFL in passing yards per game.

The team’s leading receiver in 2012, Danny Amendola is now with New England so Austin should open the regular season in the No.1 wide receiver position. The Rams also drafted his teammate at West Virginia, Stedman Bailey in the third round. These two receivers formed quite the duo for the Mountaineers last season with each hauling-in 114 receptions for a combined 2,911 yards and 37 touchdowns.

The next two favorites to win this award at +800 are tight end Tyler Eifert, who went 21st overall to Cincinnati and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who was selected by Houston with the 27th overall pick. Eifert played his college ball at Notre Dame and at 6-foot-5, 250 lbs. adds some tremendous size to go along with an incredible pair of hands. He will join former 2010 first-round pick tight end Jermaine Gresham to take a page out of Bill Belichick’s playbook with the use of a double tight-end set in New England. More and more teams are starting to realize the value of having bookend tight-ends that can run-block, stay in to protect the quarterback on certain downs as well as control the middle of the field because of their size and sure hands.

Hopkins is a dynamic playmaker that can make a potent Houston offensive attack led by Arian Foster on the ground and Andre Johnson through the air, all that much better. Quarterback Matt Schaub may have a tough time keeping everyone happy with just one football, but the former Clemson Tiger is a threat to take it all the way to house any time he gets his hands on it so head coach Gary Kubiak will be sure get him as many touches as possible.

Along with New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith, there are three other players at +1000 to win the AP Rookie of the Year award including running backs Eddie Lacy and Giovani Bernard and tight end Zach Ertz. There is some tremendous value in all four of these players considering that they were passed over in the first round to fall into the second round. Ertz, who played for Stanford, went to Philadelphia with the third pick in the round followed by Cincinnati taking Bernard fifth (37th overall). Next to go at seventh was Smith and Lacy lasted all the way to the 29th pick of the second round when he went to Green Bay.

Of the four, the best value has to be with Lacy, who followed in Trent Richardson’s footsteps at Alabama. The Packers are in desperate need of adding a major boost to a running game that was ranked 20th in the NFL last season. He should get every chance in the world to try and bring back some balance to a pass-happy attack led by Aaron Rodgers.

Some other names of note include Buffalo quarterback EJ Manual at +1200, Minnesota wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson at +1500 and Philadelphia quarterback Matt Barkley as a +2500 longshot. The field bet for this futures prop is +250.

It is obvious that only one of the 32 teams in the NFL can win the Super Bowl each season so it is the job of every front office and head coach in the league to devote all of their time and energy in the early part of the offseason finding the missing pieces that will move their team to the top of the heap in next season’s chase for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

The first opportunity to fill these holes is through the free agent market, but the best way that most of the past Super Bowl Champions earned their rings was by building a team through the NFL draft. Last month in New York City, the league staged its seven-round draft so now is a great time to take a look back at a few teams that are in great position to leverage the value in their picks to take that ultimate step to NFL glory.

The San Francisco 49ers have gone to the last two NFC Championship Games and came up just short in last year’s Super Bowl, so all eyes have been on them to see how they plan to close the gap to go all the way next season. Before free agency and the draft, the 49ers opened as odds-on-favorites to at least make it back to the Super Bowl and right now they are BetOnline’s second-favorite at +750 to win it all. The addition of safety Eric Reid fills the hole left by Dashon Goldson and Vance McDonald should be able to fill the shoes left by the departure of tight end Delanie Walker. The biggest thing that San Francisco did to draw value out of the draft, was using its other nine picks to add depth to an already talented roster. This is crucial to making a run all the way to a title when the injuries start to pile up along the way.

Another perennial favorite to win a Super Bowl is the Green Bay Packers. Heading into next season they have been opened as co-favorites with San Francisco at +400 to win the NFC and at +1000 to win it all. One of the biggest problems that have kept the Packers from winning the conference the past two seasons has been their inability to consistently run the ball. That could all change this season after Alabama running back Eddie Lacy fell into their lap in the second round and UCLA’s Johnathan Franklin was added in the fourth. Much like the 49ers, Green Bay used its other picks in the draft to sure up the depth in its roster especially along the offensive line and the wide receiver position.

The New England Patriots were once again opened as favorites to win it all when the future odds were first released and not much has changed with them listed at +275 to win the AFC and at +700 to win Super Bowl XLVIII. The loss of Tom Brady’s favorite target, wide receiver Wes Welker could still end up putting a dent in those plans, but the addition of wide receivers’ Aaron Dobson in the second round and Josh Boyce in the fourth were steps in the right direction. Head coach Bill Bilichick used his other five picks on the defensive side of the ball to inject some additional youth into this unit. No team better exemplifies the term ‘next man up’ as anyone who plays for New England fully understands the importance of this concept when it comes to winning games.

A couple of other favorites to win it all did a good job at taking a few steps closer to achieving that goal especially the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC and the defending Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens in the AFC. The Seahawks added even more depth to their defensive front seven after addressing that area in free agency and the Ravens went heavy on defense has well in an effort to rebuild that unit with youth after the departure of long-time veterans Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. Seattle is currently listed as a third-favorite at +475 to win its conference and Baltimore is the fourth-favorite to win the AFC at +700.

Tim Tebow electrified college football fans when he played quarterback for Florida in a career that included a Heisman Trophy as a sophomore and a BCS National Championship as a junior. Ever since Denver selected him in the first round of the 2010 draft, he has been a lightning rod of controversy in the NFL. The fans still love him for the ability to make plays and the overall excitement he brings to the game, while the experts continue to constantly dog him about his deficiencies at the quarterback position.

This past week Tebow was released by his current team, the New York Jets after they decided to draft quarterback Geno Smith in the second round of this year’s draft. As expected, he cleared waivers and is now free to sign with any team he wants. The problem is that nobody is really sure whether or not there is another NFL team that is willing to add him to its roster along with all the media attention such a move would surely bring.

There is so much interest in this story, that Sportsbook.ag has released a couple prop bets for Tebow’s future in professional football.

Signs with an NFC Team -110

Tebow has played for two AFC teams in his NFL career so there may be a bit more value in the odds for that conference, but you never know who might be interested in the NFC. The one team that has surfaced from this conference in the latest rumor mill is the Washington Redskins, although that is far from official. Given the success of Robert Griffin III as a mobile quarterback in Mike Shanahan’s offensive scheme it could make some sense, especially since RG III is still on the mend from knee surgery. This scenario, at best remains a reach.

Signs with an AFC Team -110

The rest of the teams that have reportedly expressed some interest in possibly signing Tebow are all in the AFC, making this prop the most likely one to cash in on. The teams on the list include San Diego, New England, Cleveland, Miami and Oakland.

The two that jump out for me are the Patriots and the Raiders. Bill Belichick could care less about the media circus that Tebow would bring to Foxborough and is only interested in whether or not he could help the team. He is also the right head coach to develop productive ways to utilize Tebow’s unique skill set in the Patriots’ offensive scheme.

The Raiders land on the short list simply because of a past history of giving just about anyone a second chance to resurrect their career. If Al Davis was still alive this would probably be a no-brainer, but for now it is a longshot at best considering that they just drafted former Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson in the fourth round.

Signs with the CFL +400

If the rest of the spring and then summer progress with no real interest from an NFL team, the likelihood that the CFL becomes the next stop in Tebow’s career increases dramatically. He does not want to have to go ‘north of the border’ to play football but the competitive nature inside could enough of a motivating factor to push him into the only other viable option on the table. He would become an instant hero in the CFL while getting a chance to prove he can still be a starting quarterback at the professional level. It is well worth a small play on this prop once June 1 rolls around if the current odds remain the same.

Signs with the Arena League +1000

Tebow obviously wants to continue his career, but not at the risk of forever tarnishing his reputation. He would jump at the chance to play in Canada before falling all the way down to this level.

Does not play another down of professional football +400

As mentioned before, the competitive juices continue to burn for Tebow as far as wanting to prove he still has what it takes to play quarterback at the next level and I would be completely surprised if there was not at least one NFL team out there willing to give him a spot on the roster. At the very least, one of the eight CFL teams will make him an offer that cannot refuse.

Starting this Thursday night at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, the NFL will conduct its annual draft of eligible college players starting with all 32 picks in the first round. The second and third rounds will be held on Friday night and the draft will conclude on Saturday afternoon with rounds four through seven.

Many of the major sportsbooks have released odds for a number of prop bets surrounding the outcome of this year’s draft creating the perfect opportunity to cash-in on the event. The following is a look at some of the more intriguing props as provided by Bovada.

Number of offensive players selected in the first round

Under 13 -110

Over 13 -130

Using Scouts Inc’s Top 32 Players as a guide, you find that there are exactly 13 offensive players on the list. While that may be just a coincidence, it still provides a general indication of just how many players on that side of the ball are expected to be selected in the first round. If you consult some of the mock drafts that are out there for the entire first round you would find that many have less than 13 going in the first round. While anything can happen come Thursday night, using the two mentioned sources as your primary handicapping tool, the best play for this prop is UNDER 13.

Number of defensive players selected in the first round

Under 19 -110

Over 19 -130

You can use the same exact criteria mentioned above to stick with the OVER 19 for this prop. Adding even more value to this pick is the fact that once you get past the top offensive lineman on the board, teams tend to shift their focus on selecting the best available defensive player on the board at any position. This lends itself to creating far more opportunities to drive this total number well over 20. Citing WalterFootball.com’s April 22 mock draft, it had 12 offensive players and 20 defensive players selected in the first round, which was actually one of the higher ratios of offense to defense that I came across.

Number of safeties chosen in the first round

Under 2.5 +100

Over 2.5 -140

Going back to our original list of the top 32 players for this year’s draft you find that there is just one safety on the list; Kenny Vaccaro from Texas. This guy is going to be a top 15 pick so we can count him as a lock. Things get interesting from there as several mock drafts have Florida International’s John Crypien, Florida’s Matt Elam and Eric Reid from LSU also going in the first round which would take this prop well over the total if they are correct. The fact that all three of these players are being highly touted heading into Thursday night’s first round is enough for me to go with the OVER 2.5 as my pick for this prop.

Number of wide receivers chosen in the first round

Under 3 +150

Over 3 -200

They money line is heavily skewed towards the over for this prop telling me that the Oddmakers may know something we do not. There are only two wide receivers listed on the top 32 list; West Virginia’s Tavon Austin at No.14 and California’s Keenan Allen at No.22. It has been widely speculated that Austin is going to go to San Diego with the 11th overall pick, but he is the only unanimous wide receiver taken in the first round in all the mock drafts that I consulted. Allen was not even mentioned as a first round pick on any of the boards.

A few wide receivers that were listed as potential first round picks were Cordarrelle Patterson and Justin Hunter from Tennessee, but that only adds-up to a total of three. The one wildcard in the bunch could be Clemson’s DeAndre Hopkins, who is listed as high as going 22nd to St. Louis on one particular mock draft board. This is a prop I would probably stay away from, although if I had to make a play it would be on the UNDER 3, which has a far more favorable money line.

The 2013 NFL draft from Radio City Music Hall in New York will take place next week starting with the first round on Thursday night, April 25 and concluding with rounds 3-7 on Saturday afternoon.

While the list of the top prospects available this year is littered with both offensive and defensive lineman, who are expected to fill most of the first 10 overall selections, it is some of the marquee names that are catching most of the attention with the betting public. The following is a look a few of Sportsbook’s prop bet odds for the draft position of three of the highest profile players out there.

Geno Smith, Quarterback- West Virginia

In what is thought of as a very thin draft class for quarterbacks, Geno Smith remains at the top of almost everyone’s list to be drafted first. The money line that he is selected with one of the first six picks in the first round is even money and -130 that he goes later than that. Depending on which mock drafts you place most of your confidence should be your guide for this bet. A good deal of the boards have Philadelphia selecting him with the fourth overall pick, but if that fails to happen, he would probably go to Buffalo with the eighth overall pick.

New Eagles head coach Chip Kelly needs a long-term solution at this position and Smith certainly fits his fast-paced style of offense. That being said, stick with the OVER on this one as there are probably going to be quarterbacks such as Florida State’s EJ Manual or Syracuse’s Ryan Nassib still on the board when Philadelphia picks early in the second round, which would also be a good fit at a much lower risk.

Matt Barkley, Quarterback-USC

Barkley was once thought of as a top five pick earlier in his college career, but a less than stellar performance in his senior season with the Trojans dropped his stock dramatically. The prop bet for this selection revolves completely around the first round. The money line for UNDER 32.5 is even and listed at -130 for OVER.

Quality quarterbacks are hard to come by in the NFL, so there always a chance that some team out there will take a flyer on Barkley with a first round pick in hopes they can correct whatever flaws they have uncovered and tap into the raw talent that he does have to play in the NFL. Looking through the projected first round picks for all 32 teams, there is just too much other talent out there for a team to risk a No.1 pick on a project like this. I would have to go with the OVER on this one as well.

Manti Te’o, Linebacker- Notre Dame

The ongoing saga of Manti Te’o will eventually have a happy ending as far as the draft, but the question remains how far will all the drama and possible baggage he is currently carrying cause the former top-10 projected pick to drop. The money line on UNDER 26.5 is set at -135 while the OVER is listed at +105.

Putting the whole girlfriend hoax and poor showing at the NFL Combine behind, Te’o is still a very talented player that can fill a number of roles on defense. He showed much better speed and strength during his Notre Dame Pro Day workout which had to have caught the interest of a couple of teams picking lower than 26th in the first round. One possibility is Chicago at No.20, but a more likely landing spot could be St. Louis at No.22. If he is still on the board after the Rams make their selection then he could possibly fall all the way to 32nd as the final pick in the first round to Baltimore. In a class that is deep at inside linebacker, I would take the more favorable money line on this bet and go OVER as well.

The NFL will stage its annual college draft later this month with the opening round taking place on Thursday, April 25th, but all 32 teams have been hard at work trying to add some missing pieces to the Super Bowl title puzzle through free agency which began in early March.

With over a month of big name signings under our belt it is a good time to take a look at a few of the moves that have already had an impact on a team’s futures odds to win Super Bowl XLVIII.

At the top of the list in terms of impact on the current odds is wide receiver Wes Welker leaving one top contender to play for another. When Bovada first released its Super Bowl futures odds, which was actually less than a week after Baltimore won last season’s title, the New England Patriots were slight favorites over the Denver Broncos to win it all in the AFC. Welker’s decision to turn down the Patriots’ final offer and sign with the Broncos created a firestorm of comments about the move. The bottom line is that this was obviously enough to close the gap between the two teams as both are now listed at 15/2 to win it all next season.

San Francisco opened the offseason as the odds-on-favorite to take that one final step to a NFL title in 2013 and its activity over the past month has helped to keep it at the top at 7/1. First, the 49ers pulled off a trade with Baltimore to add Anquon Boldin to the list of targets that Colin Kaepernick will be able to utilize in the passing game. They then addressed the defensive side of the ball by signing free agent defensive lineman Glenn Dorsey, who was with Kansas City last season. They also decided to take a flyer on cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, who was recently released by Philadelphia after a disastrous two-year stint with the team.

A team with some solid value in its current Super Bowl odds is the Atlanta Falcons at 14/1. They snapped their playoff jinx by making it all the way the NFC Championship in 2012 and came dangerously close to winning that game. They took a major step towards getting back there in 2013 by convincing future ‘Hall of Fame’ tight end Tony Gonzalez to stick around for one more run at a title as opposed to hanging up his spikes. The Falcons decided to part ways with Pro Bowl running back Michael Turner, but quickly fill that void by signing another Pro Bowler in Stephen Jackson away from St. Louis. For good measure they added another former Pro Bowler by signing defensive lineman Osi Umenyiora, who decided to part ways with the Giants after a long stint with the team.

If it is true that defensive wins championships, the current 9/1 odds that the Seattle Seahawks win Super Bowl XLVIII are another valuable proposition. The Seahawks finished the 2012 season ranked fourth in the NFL in overall defense but more importantly they were ranked at the top of the list in points allowed; giving-up an average of just 15.3 points a game. To make sure it stays at the top, Seattle went out and signed defensive ends Cliff Avril, who was a free agent from Detroit and Michael Bennett from Tampa Bay.

Later this month the NFL will conduct its annual college player draft with the first round set for Thursday, April 25 followed by the second round on Friday and rounds 3-7 on Saturday afternoon. All told, there will be over 200 players selected and every single one of them will be hoping for a chance to make their presence in the league felt from Day 1.

The reality is that only a handful of these players will make any kind of impact with their new team right off the bat and a good majority of them will have their hands full just trying to make a career out of playing in the NFL. Last season’s draft was an exception to the rule with three quarterbacks (Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson) leading their new team to the playoffs despite the fact that none of the three teams were expected to finish higher than third or fourth in their division.

Looking ahead to this year’s draft, it is hard to find any player that could have that kind of impact next season, but there are a few that could step right into a starting role on opening day and definitely make their team much more competitive.

Offensive linemen have dominated the top of the draft over the past several years and for good reason. If you cannot run the ball and protect your quarterback on passing downs, you will not win too many games. This why many of the draft experts have tackles Luke Joeckel from Texas A&M and Central Michigan’s Eric Fisher along with Alabama guard Chance Warmack going in the first five picks of the draft. Any of these three players will fill a major hole for whichever team selects them, and while their impact may not show up on your fantasy league point standings, they could actually help a team such as Kansas City or Philadelphia cover the spread in a few more games than it did last season.

Quality linemen on either side of the ball are in such high demand that 14 are listed as part of NFLDRAFTSCOUT.com’s most recent Top 25 player list. The prized defensive lineman of this year’s draft should be Florida defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd, who is ranked as the fourth-best player overall. Defensive end’s Bjoern Werner from Florida State, Oregon’s Dion Jordan and BYU’s Ezekiel Ansah comprise three of the spots on the list from six to 10.

If you are looking for a high impact player that does not play on the line, the pick of the draft could be Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner, who is listed as the fifth-best overall player in this year’s crop. Cordarrelle Patterson from Tennessee is one of just two wide receivers listed in the top 25 at No. 11 with West Virginia’s Tavon Austin holding down the No. 18 spot on the list.

Speaking of the Mountaineers, the first quarterback on the list at No.9 is Geno Smith, whose stock continues to rise as we get closer and closer to the Chiefs being officially on the clock. Smith is reportedly drawing some serious interest from new Kansas City head coach Andy Reid, who had a long and successful run with Donovan McNabb after taking him with the second overall pick in 1999 when he took over as the new skipper with the Eagles. Ironically enough, if Reid decides to pass on Smith, his replacement in Philadelphia, Chip Kelly is reportedly lobbying hard to make him his team’s top pick at No.4 overall.

Even the worse teams in the NFL tend to play better at home and while they may not win a game straight-up, they have a much better chance of covering against the spread than they would on the road. Quality teams will always win the majority on their home games SU, but since they are usually a heavier favorite they may be less likely to cover the spread.

The opposite trend exists on the road. It is much more difficult to win SU on the road no matter how good a team you have, but when it comes to covering on the road, the numbers remain slightly skewed in their favor especially for teams with losing records.

The following is a look at last season’s results in both of these areas as well as a few handicapping tips you can use to take advantage of these trends for wagering on next season’s games.

2012 Total NFL Home and Road ATS Trends

Looking back at the 2012 NFL regular season, 23 of 32 teams (71.9 percent) had a .500 record or better at home SU but this number drops to 17 of 32 teams (53.1 percent) posting a .500 record or better at home ATS.

When it comes to road games, only 15 of the 32 teams (46.9 percent) ended the regular season with a SU record of .500 or better last year. That number jumped up to 18 of 32 teams (56.3 percent) when adding-up which ones had a .500 record or better ATS on the road in 2012. These numbers bear out that the spreads for home teams tend to be a bit more inflated than they should.

This is in direct response to the fact that the Oddsmakers are well aware that the majority of the betting public has a tendency to wager on favorites, especially when they are playing at home. Opening lines for most home favorites will consistently be hedged a bit higher because they know that the majority of the money will still gravitate to that side even if the spread is wider than it should be. This is especially true when a marquee team such as Dallas or New England is playing at home.

This concept preys on the age old notion that everyone likes a winner. If a team is favored on the opening line, the betting public already assumes it is going to win, so the only question in their minds is by how many points? This is the absolutely the worst approach to correctly handicapping a matchup to come up with a probable winner ATS. Always keep in mind, that the spread for a game is always designed to move money from one side to the other, not to predict actual outcomes.

2012 ATS Home Losers and Road Winners

The key to using these skewed lines to your advantage is to track which teams have historically won ATS on the road in recent years as well as which teams have trouble covering as a favorite at home. Looking back at last season’s results, the Philadelphia Eagles (0-7-1 ATS) and the Dallas Cowboys (1-7 ATS) had the worst records at home and the St. Louis Rams (7-1) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-1-1 ATS) had the best records on the road.

These results should come as no real surprise considering that the Cowboys and especially the Eagles came nowhere close to living up to their expectation as winners, while the Rams and the Bucs overachieved in their role as expected losers. In order to successfully wager on the NFL, you have to be able to dispose of all preconceived notions of how a team is expected to play and focus mainly on the matchup at hand in terms of each side’s current form.

Just hours after the free agent market opened up, the Miami Dolphins positively impacted their futures position with the signing of former Pittsburgh wide receiver Mike Wallace, who was thought to be the No.1 player available at that position. The Dolphins continued to dish out the cash by adding former Ravens’ linebacker Dannell Ellerbe and former Raiders linebacker Phillip Wheeler to bolster their defense.

BetOnline had opened Miami at +2000 to win the AFC next year and +5000 to win the Super Bowl. While these moves alone will not make the Dolphins one of the top contenders for either title, their overall odds are sure to come down.

The biggest loser after Day 1 was last season’s Super Bowl champions. The Baltimore Ravens has already lost the heart and soul of their defense when Ray Lewis decided to retire, but the loss of Ellerbe was unexpected. Add in the fact that they decided to part ways with safety Benard Pollard and their other safety Ed Reed is currently testing the free agent waters, one of the best defenses in the league for the past several seasons will have a completely new look come opening day. With wide receiver Anquon Boldin traded to San Francisco and offensive lineman Bryant McKinnie most likely moving on as well, the Ravens suddenly have quite a few holes to fill on both sides of the ball to try and successfully defend their title.

It would have been a tall task for Baltimore to repeat even without these losses as the last team to win back-to-back world titles was the New England Patriots in 2004 and 2005. The Ravens opened at +1600 to defend their title, but look for that number to rise when the adjusted futures odds are released.

A couple of the biggest names still on the board that have the ability to further impact the futures odds if they land with the right team are offensive tackle Jake Long, wide receiver Wes Welker, defensive end Cliff Avril, wide receiver Greg Jennings and running back Steven Jackson. Most of these players might a bit past their prime or nursing some lingering injuries, but they all have the potential to fill a burning need on a number of different teams around the league.

History has shown us that it is very hard to build a championship team through the free agent market as most of the biggest stars never live up to their new fat contract. Just ask the Philadelphia Eagles how that plan went after their major free-agent spending spree before the start of the 2011 season. They landed the biggest available free agent in cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and after two seasons he is back on the market after getting cut by Philadelphia earlier this week.

The beginning of March brings us one step closer to the start of NFL free agency and next month’s college draft as all 32 teams continue to try and find the missing pieces that will get them to a Super Bowl next season. This week, NFL Betting Trends wrap-ups its look at winning the conference championship in 2013, with BetOnline’s futures odds for a few of the teams favored to win the NFC.

The San Francisco 49ers won the NFC last season with 28-24 road victory over Atlanta after coming just short in the game in 2011 with a loss to the New York Giants. Given that all the pieces from a shutdown defense and a highly productive offense should remain in place, it is east to see why the 49ers have been opened at +400 to win the conference again in 2013. The one wildcard in this whole scenario is quarterback Colin Kaepernick. He certainly looked like the real deal over the second-half of the regular season and in the playoffs, but defensive coordinators will now have plenty of time to scheme against him. If he returns to form right out of the gate, San Francisco is going to be very hard to beat, but the pressure will be dialed-up on the third-year vet to play at that same high level.

As long as Aaron Rodgers lines up behind center, the Green Bay Packers will remain one of the favorites to win the NFC. For 2013, they have also been opened at +400 to get back to the Super Bowl. One of the issues for the Packers heading into next season could be finding a few new targets for Rodgers in the passing game with Donald Driver retiring and Greg Jennings’ future with the team still up in the air. Green Bay will also have to address a running game that ranked 20^th in the league last season as well as plug a few holes on a defense that was ranked 17^th at stopping the run. None the less, the Packers’ overall talent remains deep enough to secure another NFC North title and favorable seed for the playoffs.

The third favorite to win the NFC nest season is the Seattle Seahawks at +600. The Seahawks are coming off a very successful season that took them all the way to the Divisional Round of the playoffs. The main problem I have with them getting even farther next season is two-fold. First, Seattle still has to contend with the 49ers in the division and would most likely have to once again take the wildcard route to get to the title game. The second is quarterback Russell Wilson. There is no doubt that his performance last season as a rookie was both unexpected and spectacular. The big question is how will he avoid the dreaded sophomore slump that has affected so many other quarterbacks in the past? Just ask Cam Newton how his second season in the NFL went.

The Atlanta Falcons have been one of the most consistent teams during the regular season over the past few years and 2012 was no exception with a NFC-best record of 13-3. All of their past issues have come in the playoffs, but they are still +800 fourth-favorites to break through and finally win the NFC next year. The Falcons may have already taken a step backwards after having to release some high-profile veterans such as Michael Turner, John Abraham and Dunta Robinson due to salary cap issues. They will also have to contend with the rejuvenated New Orleans Saints who have head coach Sean Payton back at the helm.

The odds for a few of the other main contenders to win the NFC next season are the Saints at +1000, the New York Giants at +1100 and the Washington Redskins at +1200.

2013 NFC Championship Futures Odds

Arizona Cardinals         +5000
Atlanta Falcons         +800
Carolina Panthers         +2000
Chicago Bears         +1600
Dallas Cowboys         +1400
Detroit Lions         +2500
Green Bay Packers         +400
Minnesota Vikings         +2500
New Orleans Saints         +1000
New York Giants         +1100
Philadelphia Eagles         +2000
San Francisco 49ers         +400
Seattle Seahawks         +600
St Louis Rams         +3300
Tampa Bay Buccaneers         +3300
Washington Redskins         +1200