NFL Futures: Best Bet for NFC Championship Winner (2021)

Sep 2, 2021 - 10:10 AM

The NFC has a handful of teams that can compete for the NFC Championship this year. The NFC East and NFC South are in full rebuild mode except for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The NFC North has a contender in the Green Bay Packers, and the NFC West is the strongest it has ever been. Every team in the NFC West has a chance to win that division this year. With half the teams rebuilding. There are only a couple of options when betting on the NFC Championship winner. 

The Green Bay Packers got Aaron Rodgers back to lead their team. They also brought back veteran wide receiver Randell Cobb. Their draft was able to cover some of their needs as well. Grabbing CB Eric Stokes, C Josh Myers, WR Amari Rodgers, and DL Tedarrell Slaton will address gaps that need filling. The Vikings filled gaps as well. Expect to see growth out of the young WR Justin Jefferson. Kirk Cousin will need to grow a lot this year for the Vikings to have a chance to win the NFC. The Detroit  Lions will have to figure out if Jared Goff will be the answer. Rookie QB Justin Fields will have to see if he can guide the Chicago Bears to win this season.

The NFC West has made a lot of upgrades this offseason. All the teams are pushing to make a run at winning the division. The Arizona Cardinals added AJ Green and JJ Watt. Matt Stafford is now leading the Los Angeles Rams at quarterback instead of Jared Goff. The San Francisco 49ers used an early draft pick to pick up Trey Lance. Lance has flashed some potential in the preseason. Let us not forget that the Seattle Seahawks still have Russell Wilson. Russell can lead the team to ten wins.

The NFC East is weak this year.  The New York Giants have key players coming off injuries with Daniel Jones and Saquan Barkley. Dak Prescott is glad to be back with the Dallas Cowboys after missing the majority of last year. The Cowboys have been holding Prescott back due to precautionary reasons with his ankle and shoulder. The Philadelphia Eagles have youngsters and Devonta Smith. Washington made some great strides last year. That won’t be enough to win the conference, but they might have a shot at the division.

Tampa Bay looks to be the strongest team in the NFC South. Tom Brady is still leading the team and has what seems like unlimited weapons on offense. The defense has some young rising stars along with great veteran depth. It will be hard for the other teams to contend with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The New Orleans Saints are still trying to figure out their quarterback situation between Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston. Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons are coming off a 4-12 season. They lost Julio Jones but gained Kyle Pitts, who will be a contributor his rookie season. Sam Darnold looks to turn his new team around as the North Carolina Panthers are coming off a 5-11 that they spent the majority of their games without their star Christian McCaffrey. The Panthers will be better this year but not enough to win the NFC.

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The Odds

Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook

THE CONTENDERS

Los Angeles Rams (+700)

The Los Angeles Rams had some losses this offseason. Starters Austin Blythe, John Johnson, and Troy Hill all found themselves on different teams. They did find themselves an upgrade at quarterback. Matthew Stafford will now lead Sean McVey’s offense. Both sides of this team look like they could be great this year.

On offense, Matthew Stafford will get the ball out quicker and make better decisions than Jared Goff. Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, and Tyler Higbee have proven to be weapons on the offensive side of the ball. With Cam Akers tearing his Achilles and Darrell Henderson Jr banged up. The Rams brought in Sony Michel to help run the ball. All the skill position players look to be solid for the Rams. The big question will be if the offensive line can produce without Austin Blythe leading them.

The Rams defense looks to be one of the best in the league this year. Losing Troy Hill and John Johnson III will hurt the secondary a little bit, but 2019 second-round pick Taylor Rapp and CB Darious Williams will look to fill the voids. The rest of the defense will be as dominant as ever. Between Leonard Floyd, Aaron Donald, and Jalen Ramsey, this defense is full of star power. They will get to the quarterback and cause some turnovers. This defense will be tough to score on. The downside of the Rams is they are in the NFC West. All the teams in the NFC West are great and can potentially win the division. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+300)

The current Super Bowl champions can not be left off the shortlist of teams that have a chance to win the NFC Championship. Tampa Bay has only gotten better this off-season. Having more time to build chemistry is scary for any other team in the division. Tom Brady fighting off father time for as long as he can this season will tell us how much longer Tom will be at the top of the league. 

Tom Brady is a winner and has proven it time and time again. He has unlimited weapons with Chris Goodwin, Mike Evans, Leonard Fournette, Antonio Brown, Gronk, Scotty Miller, and OJ Howard. The offensive line is great and will only get better with Tristan Wirfs still learning the league. This offense is going to give defensive coordinators headaches. They have three all-pro wide receivers and an all-pro tight end. This offense will be hard to stop 

This defense is also one of the best in the league. Veterans like Ndamukong Suh, Jason Pierre-Paul, and Lavonte David anchor the defense. Young rising stars like Vita Vea, Devin White, Shaquil Barrett, and Antoine Winfield Jr. are making a splash in the league. The defense is going to balance out this team and make them elite. With a weak NFC South, we will see this team take the division. Pairing this offense and defense together will make this team win 11+ games easily. Will time finally catch up to Tom Brady this year, or will he continue to reign supreme and win another championship?

THE WINNER

Green Bay Packers (+600)

The Green Bay Packers have been the talk of the off-season. Mainly Aaron Rodgers. Coming out and saying he wants to be traded certainly caused issues with the front office and the fan base. Eventually, Rodgers came out and told the media it was an issue with the front office not considering Rodger’s opinion when it came to free agent signs or during the draft. He just wanted to be involved in those conversations. Hopefully, these issues don’t continue to run into the season otherwise the Packers might drop some games that they should win.

Aaron Rodgers is back. For how long? No one knows. With Rodgers back, this offense becomes one of the best in the league. The Packers have a top wide receiver in Devante Adams. Running back Aaron Jones has only gotten better every year and they have plenty of depth at all their skill positions. Matt LaFleur is going to be very happy with this offense this year. They will be a top offense in the league. 

The defense is strong. Bringing in Eric Stokes and T.J. Slaton gives them some depth at some positions they needed help with this off-season. The secondary is going to be solid with Jaire Alexander, Darnell Savage, and Adrian Amos. Outside linebackers will look great as well with Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith/Rashan Gary on the opposite side. Upfront, they have Kenny Clark and Kingsley Keke to anchor the defensive line. With a great pass rush, plus a strong secondary this is going to be a team that is hard to throw against. Teams are going to have to try and run the ball down the middle to try and beat the Packers. In a pass-friendly league that will be hard for a lot of teams to do. 

The Green Bay Packers were one play away from winning the NFC Championship against Tampa Bay last year. Potentially one play away from winning a Super Bowl. With the added depth on defense and offense. They should see the NFC Championship game this year. As long as Aaron Rodgers stays healthy and keeps the drama off the field this team has the best shot at winning the NFC Championship.

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