Post-Draft SBLV Odds: Patriots' Chances of Super Bowl Appearance Get Slimmer

After a hit to the gut in free agency followed by the 2020 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots' chances of appearing in next season's Super Bowl have gotten slimmer, according to oddsmakers.

Below are the odds, per BetOnline, for the top teams in the league that have the best chance of participating in Super Bowl LV:

Team	Odds as of February 3	Odds as of April 26
Kansas City Chiefs	5/1	13/2
Baltimore Ravens	8/1	7/1
San Francisco 49ers	7/1	10/1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	66/1	12/1
New Orleans Saints	16/1	14/1
Dallas Cowboys	16/1	18/1
New England Patriots	9/1	25/1
Philadelphia Eagles	18/1	25/1
Pittsburgh Steelers	20/1	25/1
Seattle Seahawks	25/1	25/1

After losing players like Tom Brady, Kyle Van Noy and Jamie Collins during free agency, the chances of New England making a Super Bowl appearance next season were already going to severely drop. Anytime a team loses a Hall of Fame quarterback that's going to happen. But the decision they made in terms of adding players during free agency didn't help their case either. After losing Brady, they signed veteran QB Brian Hoyer. After losing Van Noy, Collins, and Elandon Roberts, all they did was sign former Jets LB Brandon Copeland.

New England now holds the same odds (25/1) to appear in Super Bowl LV as the Eagles, Steelers and Seahawks. And there are six teams that have better odds than the Patriots to make the Super Bowl next season (Chiefs, Ravens, 49ers, Buccaneers, Saints, Cowboys). Tampa Bay had the biggest jump in odds over the past two months, and rightfully so, as they were able to add Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski to their roster.

It's difficult for oddsmakers to determine how a team fared in the draft, mainly because the transition from college to the pros can have a drastic effect on players, some for the better, some for the worse. However, one can assume BetOnline didn't support the Patriots spending their first pick of the draft on Div. 2 safety Kyle Dugger because 1) it was viewed as a reach with the 37th overall pick 2) safety wasn't a top priority for New England heading into the draft.

As it stands, the six-time Super Bowl champions have long odds to win a seventh Super Bowl title next season. But that shouldn't surprise anyone.

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