2024 NFC Conference Futures: Odds, Picks, and Predictions

2024 NFC Conference Champion Futures Odds

Top Contenders:

• San Francisco 49ers (+260)
  • Last season’s NFC Champion, the 49ers are built to succeed with both sides of the ball littered with game-changing talent. It’s a recipe for success that won’t be easily disrupted. Of all the teams on this list, they are clearly the most foolproof, as it’s going to take more than a key injury or two or some general malaise to set them off-course. With Brock Purdy working with abundant talent like Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and George Kittle, along with a new toy in first-round receiver Ricky Pearsall, the offense will be a handful. And with several all-pro contributors on defense, they can lean on either side of the ball.
  • Other than first-round pick Pearsall, the Niners didn’t make a ton of moves, though the acquisitions of Leonard Floyd and Logan Thomas won’t hurt. More importantly, despite a long run of success and a roster packed with sought-after players, the Niners are managing to retain a lot of their core, no doubt helped by the financial freedom of having a QB on a rookie deal. In other words, unlike other contenders who start getting their roster picked clean, the Niners remain at full strength.
  • However, any slacking off could result in a regular season that makes it tough to secure a premier playoff seeding. The NFC West isn’t a picnic, the presence of the Cardinals notwithstanding. They have to go through the AFC East, which is a mixed bag and the NFC North, also taking on the Chiefs and Buccaneers along the way. It’s still a team that has built up its resilience to the point where one almost expects them to be there near the end. It’s hard to not picture them in the title game and if you have them in that spot at +260, you’re going to be happy.
• Philadelphia Eagles (+550)
  • You wonder what team you’re going to get this season. Will we see the conference powerhouse that went to the Super Bowl two years ago or the team that sagged at the finish last season, losing badly in the wild-card round and never really ever looking the part of a contender after starting 10-1? Head coach Nick Sirianni had no answers and both coordinators appeared out of their depth when things got serious last year. The manner in which they lost to fellow conference contenders Dallas and San Fran was a reality sandwich from which they couldn’t recover. The pass-rush, which had looked so good for a few years, literally died on a vine. A top-ranked run defense suddenly became readily exploitable on the ground. A revamped secondary faltered badly down the stretch and QB Jalen Hurts saved his worst for last in 2024. And all their top young players, guys like Jordan Davis, regressed over the course of the year instead of getting better.
  • Still, with such graphic results could come massive urgency. It seemed the Eagles operated under the pretense last season that their success was automatic, coming off a Super Bowl and winning 10 of their first 11 games. A certain complacency had settled in that left them easy pickings when the stakes and level of competition ratcheted up a notch or two. Will we see a continuation of how last season left off or will we see a team we know can thrive show up to this season duly chastened and more squared away mentally?
  • It’s not easy to cast a pick on an Eagles’ team that faded in such drastic fashion last season, especially when contrasted against other conference contenders that rose to the occasion and got better over the season. The last impressions are usually the strongest and in that sense, it’s hard to feel good about Philly right now. But if you just take away the last part of the 2023 season, the Eagles have spent a lot of the last two years being the cream of this conference and it doesn’t seem that unlikely that they get back to that at some point this year too. Whether they can stay there is another issue.
• Detroit Lions (+500)
  • When thinking of what the Lions need to do differently this season, it’s unclear what the answer is—of course other than not blowing a nice lead in the NFC title game and managing to miss their first Super Bowl berth in franchise history. It illustrates how close they were to taking down the NFC Title. With an offense that can pound opponents on the ground, along with a vital aerial attack, this is a team built to win. Combine that with a defense packed with young studs who should only be getting better over time, and this season should serve as notice that the Lions weren’t just a weird one-off in 2023.
  • In an effort to tighten up a defense that can sometimes be less-than-robust against the top offenses in the conference, the Lions got CB Terrion Arnold in the first round of the draft, also getting DJ Reader and Marcus Davenport in free agency to toughen up that front. With other studs on that unit due to hit their prime like Aidan Hutchinson, along with other young players like Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta, and others still liable to improve, this is a scary team. In fact, of all the conference contenders, the Lions might have the most reasons to suspect even more this season than what they got in 2023.
  • Still, there is some reason for hesitancy. Some of that might be off-base, with the natural inclination being to not regard the Lions highly. And while they had been showing signs of improvement, one good season is all they have upon which to base their optimism. And despite all the potential and hope on defense and how they finally got some things right in the area of player acquisition, we saw a level of overall stoutness last season that wasn’t altogether high. And it coming back to bite them in the title game at the most inopportune time is something to watch out for in 2024.

Expert Picks and Predictions

Top Pick to Win the NFC Conference

Team: San Francisco 49ers

A quote of +260 to win the entire conference isn’t attractive perhaps, until one reflects on how strong they still are on both sides of the ball. They could even be better this season, though they’re going to need to catch the same breaks they caught last season in terms of avoiding a slew of catastrophic injuries. With their ability to navigate through a season and rise when it counts most, it seems like a pretty safe bet. Even with upstart teams catching the Niners off-guard last postseason, they still showed the heart to ascend to the top of the conference. It’s definitely the pick that makes you feel the most comfortable heading into the season.

Best Value Bet

Team: Detroit Lions

Considering that they’re a team on the rise and how close they came to beating the Niners last season, the fact that they’re getting almost twice as good odds at +500 has to count for something. While they haven’t shown the reliability some other teams on this list may have in terms of being a steady postseason presence, they may have the most upside of the lot. A lot of key guys are still coming into their own. If their arrow continues creeping upward, there could be a point this season when the Lions become the top dogs in the NFC.

Long Shot Bet

Team: Minnesota Vikings

While not the most realistic of selections, a new face under center, powerful weaponry on offense, and a defense that could potentially rise up, the potential at least exists for some good things to take hold under head coach Kevin O’Connell. A lot has to fall into place, but if they can get some results at quarterback, things could happen. And for a +3000 shot, that’s not too shabby.