49ers tied for 6th-best odds to win Super Bowl

The San Francisco 49ers have been the busiest team this NFL offseason. General manager John Lynch negotiated new deals for several of the team’s free agents and made a huge move by trading up to acquire the third overall pick of this year’s draft from the Miami Dolphins.

Lynch and co. were able to get Trent Williams, Kyle Juszczyk, Emmanuel Moseley, Jason Verrett, Jaquiski Tartt and K’Waun Williams to ink new deals to stay with the team. He also signed former All-Pro center Alex Mack and pass-rusher Samson Ebukam in free agency.

After all of these moves, oddsmakers bumped up the Niners’ odds to win next season’s Super Bowl. Before the start of free agency, San Francisco was listed at +1500. Following the first phase of the offseason, DraftKings bumped the 49ers to +1400, tied for the sixth-best in the NFL.

Here are the teams with the 10-best odds to win the title next season:

Kansas City Chiefs +500
Tampa Bay Buccaneers +750
Green Bay Packers +1100
Baltimore Ravens +1300
49ers +1400
Los Angeles Rams +1400
Buffalo Bills +1400
Cleveland Browns +2200
Indianapolis Colts +2500
Dallas Cowboys +2800
Miami Dolphins +2800
New England Patriots +2800
Seattle Seahawks +2800

The defending champion Buccaneers are running it back with virtually the same squad. They re-signed Chris Godwin, Leonard Fournette, Ndamukong Suh and Jason-Pierre Paul. The Bucs’ defense dominated Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl and seem content to try and repeat with their horses.

Green Bay re-signed running back Aaron Jones but haven’t had a lot of wiggle room to sign free agents. With quarterback Aaron Rodgers still in the fold, the Packers are seemingly always near the top of the standings.

The Rams made a huge splash early in the offseason when they sent Jared Goff to the Detroit Lions for veteran QB Matthew Stafford. L.A. lost a ton of talent with Ebukam, John Johnson, Michael Brockers, Troy Hill and Gerald Everett among the player who will be donning a new uniform in 2021. But given their cap situation coming into the offseason, general manager Les Snead did well to re-sign Leonard Floyd and took a flyer on receiver DeSean Jackson. With Aaron Donald anchoring the line, the Rams’ defense should still be a handful next season.

We have to wait-and-see what the Niners do at the draft. We know they will be taking a quarterback, but it remains to be seen which one. The 49ers remain in a good position with Jimmy Garoppolo as the starter, given the fact the team is 24-9 when he is under center. San Francisco will need to add some depth at cornerback and the offensive/defensive lines at the draft.

It looks like the Bucs, Packers, 49ers and Rams are the early favorites in the NFC, but we could see a surprise team make the leap. The Seahawks haven’t had a good offseason, but quarterback Russell Wilson gives them a chance to win any given game. Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals took a step in the right direction in 2020 and added some solid veteran pieces in J.J. Watt and A.J. Green. The return of Chandler Jones will also provide a massive boost to the defense.

The New Orleans Saints should take a step back with the retirement of future Hall of Famer Drew Brees, while the NFC East remains the weakest division in the conference.

Do you think oddsmakers have it right with Tampa Bay, Green Bay, San Francisco and Los Angeles listed as the NFC's favorites? Which team from the AFC and NFC do you think could be a sleeper next season?