2022 NFL Division Winner Odds and Picks
The 2022 NFL season is finally here. Training camps are over, and teams are heading into the NFL preseason looking to finalize their rosters.
Now that the dust has settled from the NFL Draft and all the free agent’s signings and trades, it is never too early to look at the Divisional odds and predict the Division winners.
NFL Division Odds
Below are the odds for each team to win their division.
Make sure you shop for the best lines or odds. According to Safest Betting Sites, online sportsbooks like Bovada, BetUs, and My Bookie offer some of the best odds.
AFC North Pick: Baltimore Ravens (+155)
I like this spot for the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens are set to have a bounce-back year after an injury-plagued 2021 season. According to FootballOutsiders, the Ravens recorded the highest adjusted games lost due to injuries.
Baltimore lost their top 2 running backs in JK Dobbins and Gus Edwards, they lost their #1 defensive back in Marcus Peters, and they lost Lamar Jackson for a period of time. Despite all those Injuries, they still had a shot at the playoffs.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are going through a slight rebuild. The Browns are dealing with the Deshaun Watson mess and could be playing a backup QB for most of the season. That leaves their only competition, the Cincinnati Bengals. I believe the Bengals may be taking a step back this year as they had the advantage of playing the 6th easiest schedule last year, but that will change as they draw the 3rd hardest schedule in 2022.
AFC East Pick: Buffalo Bills (-225)
The Buffalo Bills will be on a mission this year. It’s Super Bowl or Bust for them in 2022. After losing heartbreakingly last year in the playoffs, they are looking for revenge in a major way.
Buffalo has the best team on paper in this division despite other teams adding a few key pieces.
The Miami Dolphins are looking to get back into the playoffs by trading for Tyreek Hill and signing Chase Edmonds. The New York Jets had an impressive draft but still may be a few years away from competing.
The 2022 New England Patriots is a team that is extremely hard to predict, and it all depends on how well 2nd year QB Mac Jones plays. Jones could make an impressive 2nd-year leap and lead the Patriots to a deep playoff run, or this team could flirt with a .500 finish.
AFC South Pick: Indianapolis Colts (-135)
The Colts are the best team in the AFC South and look to put the 2021 season behind them. Indianapolis suffered some of the worst luck in 2021. They had the 7th best point differential (+86) in the NFL yet failed to make the playoffs.
They were 2-5 in one-score games, including 0-4 in games decided by a field goal or less and 0-2 in overtime. Much of that had to do with horrible QB play by Carson Wentz; adding Matt Ryan should help fix that and improve their chances in close games.
The Colts have the advantage of playing the 3rd easiest schedule based on forecasted win totals, including games against the Jaguars, Texans, and Giants.
AFC West Pick: Los Angeles Chargers (+225)
The AFC West could be the NFL’s best and most competitive division this season. Like the NFC West last season, we have three playoff teams from the AFC West.
The question is, who will win the AFC West? I think that will be the Los Angeles Chargers.
The LA Chargers checked off all their needs this offseason. Offensively, they brought back Mike Williams and upgraded their offensive line drafting Zion Johnson out of Boston College.
Defensively, their biggest weakness was stopping the run. They traded for Kahlil Mack and signed Sebastian Joseph-Day and Austin Johnson. And on top of the already athletic secondary, they signed one of the best DBs in the game J.C. Jackson.
Having Justin Herbert, Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, and Derek Carr all in the same division will be fascinating in 2022.
NFC North Pick: Minnesota Vikings (+265)
The Minnesota Vikings may be a sneaky Super Bowl Contender in 2022. Now that Kirk Cousins has a Head Coach that believes in him, I think the offense takes it up another notch.
The Vikings Hired former Rams Offensive Coordinator Kevin O’Connell after firing longtime coach Mike Zimmer. Cousin and O’Connell already have a previous relationship, and O’Connell was Cousins’s QB coach in 2017 with Washington.
The Lions and Bears are still a few years away from competing and do not look to be any threat in the division. Honestly, the Bears may end up with the #1 pick in next year’s draft. Talent-wise, the Vikings match up with the Green Bay Packers, mainly since they traded away Davante Adams. Rodgers may be without his number one target now, but you can never count him out, and I think the division race between these two teams may come down to the final week.
NFC East Pick: Philadelphia Eagles (+160)
The NFC East hasn’t had a repeating champion in almost 20 years. The last time an NFC East team won the Division back-to-back was the Eagles in 2003 and 2004.
The Cowboys went 12-5 on their way to winning this division in 2021. They forced a league-high 34 turnovers on defense and had the 2nd highest point differential at +172. Some would expect some regression in both categories in 2022.
There is a lot of hype on the Eagles In 2022. Jalen Hurts should continue to grow as a dual-threat QB, and the addition of his pal AJ Brown makes this offense very exciting.
The biggest weakness of this Eagles team was the defense. In the offseason, the front office tried to fix it by signing DE Hassan Reddick and CB James Bradberry and then drafting two Georgia Bulldogs in DT Jordan Davis and LB Nkobe Dean.
NFC South Pick: New Orleans Saints (+310)
Father time has to catch up to Tom Brady, right?
Barring a series of unfortunate events, I think Tampa Bay still makes a playoff run, but it won’t be because of a division title.
This Saints team is another sleeper Super Bowl contender. Despite losing Sean Payton, this team is bringing back almost everyone from the 2021 season. They will rely on a top 5 defense again and hope Jameis Winston duplicates the season he was having before his injury.
The Saints had one of the worst WR rooms in the leagues last season. Their top 3 receivers were Marquez Callaway, Deonte Harty, and Alvin Kamara, a running back. In 2022 they get Michael Thomas back, draft Chris Olave, and sign Jarvis Landry.
The cause of concern for losing Sean Payton is fair, but Payton’s right-hand man Pete Carmichael is still with the team and will be calling the plays. So the offense shouldn’t be much different than when Payton was with the team.
NFC West Pick: Los Angeles Rams (+125)
I think the division is a toss-up between the Rams and the 49ers. You can make cases for either team, but ultimately I think the Rams have a more talented roster and a slight edge in the QB position and coaching.
The offensive combination of Sean McVay, Matthew Stafford, and Cooper Kupp is nearly unstoppable. Adding Allen Robinson to replace Robert Woods and getting a healthy Cam Akers will be beneficial.
On the other hand, San Francisco handed the offense to Trey Lance, whose dual-threat will give Kyle Shanahan endless possibilities offensively. Resigning Deebo Samuel was the main priority this offseason, and they were able to get that resolved.
The main strength of this team will be the defense, especially the front 7. Guys like Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead, and Fred Warner always impact the game. Then drafting Drake Jackson and getting Javon Kinlaw back healthy adds even more depth to this group. This group is so dominant that the 49ers blitzed at the fourth lowest rate yet finished with the fifth most sacks in 2021; that is scary.
