Don’t look now, but the Chicago Bears may finally have entered the twenty-first century. They drafted a high-octane quarterback with the first overall pick, taking Caleb Williams out of USC. It’s worth noting that the Bears just gave up on Justin Fields, who was also a high-octane quarterback out of Ohio State, trading him to Pittsburgh. However, this time around the team has given their quarterback a solid group of wide receivers, adding D.J. Moore and Keenan Allen and drafting Rome Odunze. The Bears could have the most productive passing game in the history of their storied franchise. On defense, the Bears extended cornerback Jaylon Johnson, who might have been the NFL’s best cornerback last season, all at the age of 25. Now, the Bears are still a long way from contending anywhere beyond their division, but the building blocks are there for long-term success. If you’re wondering which teams have the best NFL Picks and betting odds of ending Super Bowl droughts, check out our thoughts on some other teams who have improved their lot through the draft and free agency and are ready to take the next step toward championship contention.
NFL Picks with a Shot at Glory: Analyzing Odds for Teams Ending their Super Bowl Droughts
Detroit Lions NFL Picks for Super Bowl +1225
The Lions have never made it to a Super Bowl. They did end some lengthy playoff droughts last year, such as not having won a road playoff game since President Kennedy was in office. They have won league titles, but they all pre-date the Super Bowl era, and the most recent championship came back in 1957, when the team still shared Tiger Stadium with Detroit’s MLB team. Last year, the Lions rolled to the NFC Championship, where they lost to the San Francisco 49ers, and they took care of their key flaws in the off-season.
They picked up cornerback Carlton Davis III via trade, adding one of the best lockdown cornerbacks in the NFL to their roster. They also added Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw Jr in the draft. Arnold was one of the top corners on most teams’ boards for the draft, and Rakestraw has a reputation for tough coverage in the slot. When the Lions had problems in 2023, they came from the secondary as teams were able to complete passes in key situations. Solving that problem should push the Lions past the 49ers to a Super Bowl.
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Houston Texans NFL Picks for Super Bowl +1525
The Texans have never been to a Super Bowl. When the Tennessee Titans were the Houston Oilers, they never went to a Super Bowl either. So this is a team with a hungry fan base. In recent years, it was starting to look like the Texans were in a tailspin. They won several division titles with Bill O’Brien as head coach, but a failure to get out of the divisional round led to a coaching change, and his predecessors did poorly. The franchise irritated franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson to the point where he requested a trade, and then the subsequent controversy involving Watson and a series of massage professionals in the Houston area led to his indefinite suspension. Now that the team has a legitimate head coach in terms of culture and defense (DeMeco Ryans) and what looks like another solid franchise quarterback (C.J. Stroud), the team’s front office seems to have figured things out after turning into a bit of a laughingstock.
The team traded for wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who joins Nico Collins and Tank Dell to make what might be the top receiving group in the AFC. With Diggs and Collins, Stroud has two elite playmakers running routes for him, and tight end Dalton Schultz, who came via free agency from Dallas, was a valuable target on third down. On defense, the team added Danielle Hunter to jump-start the pass rush alongside Will Anderson Jr, and in the draft, they added cornerback Kamari Lassiter. Is he ready to start Game 1 across the formation from Derek Stingley Jr? It’s hard to say right away, but by the middle of the season, expect Lassiter to be the starter. With Buffalo on the decline and Kansas City asking questions at wide receiver, it could be time for another team to take the mantle of AFC champion, and the Texans would love to be that team.
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Baltimore Ravens NFL Picks for Super Bowl +910
You might not think that the Ravens are in a Super Bowl drought, but for a team that is listed near the top of AFC contenders each year, a Super Bowl absence entering its 13th season is a long one. They made it to the AFC Championship last season but fell to the Kansas City Chiefs. They had made a habit, in prior seasons, of bowing out in the wild-card or divisional rounds, losing earlier than their talent seemed to indicate they should have. It’s true that Lamar Jackson had not had legitimate wide receivers in terms of speed, playmaking and possession, but the front office finally helped him out going into last season. In the off-season, the team extended Justin Madubuike on their D-line. There aren’t many better interior pass rushers than Madubuike right now, and he solidifies a defense that improved on the first and second level next year and saw the rewards in their AFC North title. In free agency, the team brought tailback Derrick Henry over from the Cowboys.
Henry has been one of the dominant tailbacks in football for almost a decade now. He hasn’t been quite as fearsome since returning from a foot injury, but the Titans also didn’t have the sort of passing game last season to keep opponents from loading the tackle box on defense. Adding Henry to an offense that already includes one dangerous rusher in Lamar Jackson will make the Ravens’ attack very difficult to stop. In the draft, the Ravens added cornerback Nate Wiggins, edge rusher Adisa Isaac, and offensive tackle Roger Rosengarten. All three of those players could crack the starting lineup for Week 1 and make the Ravens even more dangerous.
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Dallas Cowboys NFL Picks for Super Bowl +1625
If you’re wondering about teams that will be hyped to break their Super Bowl drought but almost certainly will not, that list starts with the Cowboys. The list of free agents that have left town is long. It starts with offensive tackle Tyron Smith, a career-long Cowboy who left via free agency. It’s true that he didn’t play all 17 games in 2024 and had missed games due to injury for several years in a row. However, the reality of today’s NFL is that you need depth along the O-line. Players are stronger and faster than they’ve ever been, and no one has figured out how to make knees and elbows strong enough to take the added impact without getting injured. Add to that the league’s refusal to play on natural grass, despite the protests from the NFL Players’ Association, and you see that injuries are a part of life. There aren’t many left tackles better than Smith, and now Dak Prescott will have someone else guarding his blind side. Centet Tyler Biadasz also left town.
Dorance Armstrong was an important pass rusher. Dante Fowler and Noah Igbinoghene also leave gaps on the defensive line. All of this during an off-season when team owner Jerry Jones said the team was going “all in” for 2024? The team has also failed to extend Prescott, star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, and linebacker Micah Parsons. The moves that Jones has made seem like paying a visit to an OEM auto parts shop. At tailback, Tony Pollard is gone after heading to Tennessee via free agency. The front office responded by adding two retreads – Royce Freeman and Ezekiel Elliott, who returns to Dallas after an unimpressive one-season stint in New England. With defensive coordinator Dan Quinn heading to Washington to take the head coaching job, Jones went back to the past and added Mike Zimmer, who was on the Dallas staff the last time they went to a Super Bowl, a drought nearing the end of its third decade. He should bring improvement to the run defense, but it’s not like Zimmer’s defense in Minnesota was making a lot of stops – which is why he was shown the door. It looks like Dallas is much more likely to enter a rebuild phase than contend for a title.
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The official logo for Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans has been revealed ⚜️🎭 pic.twitter.com/0LMWAv2nqU
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