With Free Agency still very much in progress and the 2023 NFL Draft looming next weekend, while the 32 teams in the NFL are not playing any games, they are still very busy preparing for next season.
As such, a great deal happens over this period, most of it primarily focused on identifying players in the forthcoming NFL Draft that a team wants to interview and perhaps pick, but also in making decisions that will affect the future of the franchise.
On top of that, players are making their own decisions too, some requesting trades from their current team, such as Baltimore Ravens much-coveted quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Of course, all this to-ing and fro-ing affects a teams chances of winning the Super Bowl next year, so we will also take a look at that market too to see which teams odds have shortened and whose have lengthened in the last few months since the Super Bowl.
Any odds shown in this post come directly from bet365 Sport and were correct at the time of writing, but of course since being published those odds may well have changed since.
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Let’s now take a look at some of the big pre-draft signings, rumours and more in what is an intriguing period of the NFL off-season.
It seems everyone wants Aaron Rodgers to be traded from Green Bay to the New York Jets.
It’s just that the two teams have not yet managed to agree on a deal for the signal caller to make the switch.
It does appear it is a matter of when and not if Rodgers makes the switch from Wisconsin to the Big Apple, but at the moment the teams can’t agree on suitable compensation with the Packers believed to be holding out for a first-round pick.
The Jets don’t appear willing to offer that for a player that will likely have one, maybe two seasons left to play in the NFL.
Talks are ongoing over a potential deal, but nothing may be sorted until either during or after the NFL Draft next weekend.
Alabama quarterback Bryce Young did have a host of pre-draft visits with teams lined up over the next week or so.
However, after visiting just the Carolina Panthers and Houston Texans, who own the first two picks the draft, the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner promptly cancelled any further team visits planned in the days ahead.
This seems to suggest that Young has been told that he will be selected by either the Panthers or the Texans, or even both, in the draft and the consensus is that Young will likely be the number one pick ahead of Ohio State’s quarterback C.J. Stroud.
ESPN reported that a number of key sources at NFL clubs believe that Young is simply a better player than Stroud, who impressed scouts at the recent NFL combine with his passing range and accuracy.
Regardless of whether he goes 1 or 2, most experts feel Young will not get past the second pick of the draft at the very worst and if he does indeed go to Carolina as many are suggesting then that opens up another intriguing situation for the Texans who pick second.
For a long time, it appeared that it would be Young and Stroud who are the first two players picked in the draft by two teams occupying those positions in dire need of a franchise quarterback of the present and future.
A few weeks back, Stroud was seemingly the flavour of the month after an impressive combine performance.
However, it is now believed by many reporters that the Texans are getting cold feet over drafting Stroud second in the draft, with some experts feeling that if Young goes with the No. 1 pick to Carolina, the Texans may look to trade down from second to slightly lower down the draft.
Teams including the Indianapolis Colts (4th pick), Las Vegas Raiders (6th pick) and even the Tennessee Titans (11th pick) have been linked with a potential deal with the Texans to move up to second to draft either Stroud, or perhaps even the Florida star QB Anthony Richardson who has shot up the draft charts after a superhuman showing at the combine.
If the Texans do trade down then it is figured they will pick one of the best Edge Rushers in the draft, most likely Jalen Carter, to address their defensive line issues, rather than picking a different QB with their opening first round pick.
The Texans could then target the likes of quarterbacks Will Levis (Kentucky) or Hendon Hooker (Tennessee) with their second pick in the first round later in the draft.
A quick look at the latest odds for a team to win the Super Bowl next season reveals that there has been a fair bit of change in the odds available on some teams.
The Kansas City Chiefs remain the 11/2 favourites to repeat their Super Bowl success of this season, but now the San Francisco 49ers are the 7/1 second favourites ahead of the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles, who are both 8/1 chances.
Then comes the Cincinnati Bengals at 17/2 before the odds drift out to 12/1 where you can back both the Dallas Cowboys and the team that have seen their odds slashed since they were linked with signing Aaron Rodgers; the New York Jets.
The Ravens odds have drifted on the back of the Lamar Jackson trade request with Baltimore now out at 25/1 alongside the Los Angeles Chargers and the Detroit Lions.
Just three other teams are rated as better than40/1 chances to win the Super Bowl and they are the Floridian duo of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins at 28/1 and the New Orleans Saints at 35/1.
Rank outsiders for the Super Bowl include the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 100/1, chiefly due to Tom Brady’s retirement, plus the Arizona Cardinals and Houston Texans who are the longest odds bets at 150/1.
I have no doubt that post-draft we will see some significant changes in the odds for each team once we know where the top draft prospects are headed next season.
Check back next week for our pre-draft post where we will give you our final NFL First Round Mock Draft ahead of the start of the official draft on Thursday night UK time.
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