Oddsmakers Also Love Eagles Draft: Super Bowl LVIII Favorites?
The Philadelphia Eagles are being universally praised for their haul in the NFL Draft.
The "rich get richer" is the sentiment of most analysts in the wake of Philly landing Georgia stars Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith and Kelee Ringo. They're getting so many high grades that other general managers are suddenly jealous of Howie Roseman.
The Eagles might even, some predict, be immune to the Super Bowl "jinx" that so often plagues losing teams in the big game the following season.
But while TV talking heads fight to salivate over the Eagles' draft, others are putting their money where their mouth is. As in, because of Philly's impressive class some betting sportsbooks now have the Eagles as the NFC favorite to play in Super Bowl LVIII next February in Las Vegas.
The Eagles have leap-frogged the San Francisco 49ers with the best odds in the conference, and are now behind only the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills.
“To me, they have the most talented roster in football,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “Jalen Carter, prior to his off-field issues, was looked at as the potential No. 1 pick. The guys you had there were already really good, and now you add guys like Rashaad Penny and D’Andre Swift … with Jalen Hurts running ability and A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert.”
In reaction to the draft, the Chiefs remain the favorite with odds of +600 (meaning a $100 bet would win $600). The Eagles moved from +900 to +850. The Niners are +900, followed by the Dallas Cowboys at +950.
The biggest mover was the Houston Texans, who orchestrated a bold move to draft quarterback C.J. Stroud and edge-rusher Will Anderson. Before the draft Houston's odds were +18,000; now +11,000.
The teams taking the biggest plunges were the Washington Commanders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots.
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