49ers and Chiefs remain favourites following NFL Draft

The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs (6/1) and the NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers (5/1) remain the bookies' favourites to win Super Bowl LIX following the NFL's annual Draft.

Patrick Mahomes, quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs. Picture: AAP Image

The 32 franchises selected the best talents from College Football at the weekend, with several stars of the future now certain of their next career move.

The first round saw six teams, the Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders, New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos select first round quarterbacks, changing the landscape of almost a quarter of the teams in the league.

Two-time defending champions Kansas City added wide receiver Xavier Worthy in the first round who will join Marquis 'Hollywood' Brown and veteran tight end Travis Kelce in what could be a much-improved receiving corp.

San Francisco also added first round receiver help in the form of Ricky Pearsall – he adds to a stacked offense that includes Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk – although the latter has been the subject of trade rumours.

Outside of the top two, the Philadelphia Eagles (16/1), who dropped from 10-1 to 11-6 and a first-round exit after a disastrous end to last season, have certainly addressed key issues.

The putrid defense has a new co-ordinator in Vic Fangio, with first-round calibre cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean selected with picks #22 and #40 and Safety CJ Gardner Johnson acquired in free agency. The Eagles have added a lot of talent on defense, their weakness last term.

In the AFC, it will be interesting to see what the Pittsburgh Steelers (40/1) can do in an ultra-competitive North division.

They have new quarterbacks in Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, added a trio of offensive lineman in the Draft, and have had a winning record in 14 of 16 seasons under head coach Mike Tomlin – with two 8-8 seasons.

The Buffalo Bills, meanwhile, a perennial contender in the AFC East, seem to be underpriced by the bookies given they have lost their top two wide receivers and traded out of the first round.

Wideout Keon Coleman, the eighth player in the 2024 NFL Draft, must step into the shoes of All–Pro Stefon Diggs – a tall ask for a rookie who caught just 115 balls in his three–year college career.

Buffalo has also lost safety Jordan Poyer, defensive lineman Leonard Floyd, cornerback Tre'Davious White, safety Micah Hyde and plenty of other depth on the defensive side of the ball – a rebuild appears to be happening, with a 14/1 price best avoided.

 

 

 


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