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NFL Week 18 Odds, Picks & Predictions: Best Futures Bets

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This has been a really fun topic to cover of the course of the year, trying my best to provide value in the futures market on everything from win totals to season-long specials and awards markets. As we enter the final week of the regular season, most awards and division races have been settled, but I still managed to find a couple of angles that I like that I think would be best to play prior to the playoff matchups and brackets being finalized. One last note is that if you like a certain outcome to happen this week (the Falcons to make the playoffs for instance), make sure you line shop to see if you would get a better price by playing that outright market or by parlaying the necessary stipulations for that to happen (Falcons ML X Panthers ML). Books do not necessarily have them priced similarly, so you can give yourself some added value if you take the time to parlay pieces together rather than just take the quick route and play the prop.

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NFL Week 18: Best Futures Bets

(All bets are one unit.)

Will Anderson Jr. to win Defensive Rookie of the Year (+240 at DraftKings)

Full disclosure, I made this play before the start of the season and essentially chalked it up as a loss as Jalen Carter became the heavy favorite and seemingly pulled away from the rest of the field by the middle of the season. A lot has changed in recent weeks though, as the Eagles have cratered in large part due to their much-maligned defense and the Texans have themselves on the doorstep of making the playoffs and potentially winning the AFC South. Anderson has really turned it on down the stretch, tallying six combined sacks in Houston’s last seven games, including two sacks this past Sunday in a must-win game against the Titans. Anderson has a huge leg up on Carter this week in the fact that he and the Texans will be playing in a win & in a standalone game televised by ABC & ESPN on Saturday Night, while the Eagles play the Giants in an almost meaningless game buried in the 2nd time slot on Sunday. If the Texans win that game to advance to the playoffs and Will Anderson makes an impact on the defensive side of the ball, I could easily see him leapfrogging Carter as the favorite for this award at the end of the week.

Buffalo Bills (+950 at FanDuel) OR Miami Dolphins (+1400 at FanDuel) to win the Super Bowl

This is a choose-your-own-adventure bet, based on whoever you think will win the Bills/Dolphins matchup in the final regular season game of the year on Sunday night. The key, and why I see this prop as applicable to both teams, is that the winner will walk away with the #2 seed in the AFC. The #2 seed is so important because not only does it guarantee that team has at least 2 home games, but it ensures that they cannot meet up with the Ravens until the AFC Championship game inviting the possibility the Ravens will get knocked off by another team before that point. I prefer the Bills in this matchup and Bills futures overall, as I broke down in my futures article a few weeks back. Additionally, the Bills are favored in this game with some key injuries to the Dolphins on both sides of the ball, so I would bet the Bills for this prop if you made me pick one of the two. If you disagree and would rather take the Dolphins, or maybe even split your bet and take some of each to ensure you have a bet on the #2 seed in the AFC, I have no problem with that. One thing is for sure, whoever wins that game will see their Super Bowl odds significantly shorten afterward, which is why I want to take advantage of these odds while it’s still up in the air.

Make sure to check out our other best bets for Thursday:

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