BetMGM's NFL Season Predictions 2026/27
A blockbuster trade, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year coming out of retirement and a Super Bowl rematch to kick it all off – there's no shortage of storylines heading into the 2026/27 season as seen across our NFL season predictions.
Odds correct at time of publication but subject to change.
Super Bowl LXI Winner
Just when you thought the Los Angeles Rams couldn't load the deck any further, they went and did it anyway.
Fresh off a heartbreaking NFC Championship exit to the Seahawks, Sean McVay's side traded for reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett in the summer, then somehow topped it by convincing Aaron Donald out of retirement to line up alongside him.
The result: Los Angeles head into the new season as 5/1 favourites to lift the Lombardi Trophy on their own patch at SoFi Stadium in February.
That's about as short as the market gets this early, and it tells you everything about how the league views this roster, but also, how we do too going into this new American football season.
BetMGM’s Super Bowl LXI Winner: Los Angeles Rams
Conference Winner Predictions
Before either team gets anywhere near SoFi Stadium, they've got a conference to win first – and both pictures look markedly different from twelve months ago which has massively played into our NFL season predictions.
AFC Conference Winner
Buffalo Bills lead the way here at 9/2, with the Baltimore Ravens breathing down their neck at a near-identical price. It's the tightest conference market in the league, and for good reason – Buffalo, Baltimore, Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Chargers are separated by very little on paper.
How the five at the top of our AFC Conference winner market fare odds-wise:
- Buffalo Bills @ 9/2
- Baltimore Ravens @ 11/2
- Kansas City Chiefs @ 15/2
- Cincinnati Bengals @ 17/2
- Los Angeles Chargers @ 17/2
The Denver Broncos' absence from the top of this list is notable given they were the conference's form team going into the postseason last year, only for quarterback Bo Nix to break his ankle in the divisional round.
That injury still lingers over how the market views the Broncos, and it's part of why we're steering clear of them here.
Instead, we're backing the Bills.
Quarterback Josh Allen has never had a genuine number one target to throw to in this offence before, and pairing that with a pass rush that finally looks capable of generating pressure without needing a blitz gives the Bills the rounded profile that's been missing in previous near-misses.
BetMGM's AFC Winner: Buffalo Bills
NFC Conference Winner
Here, the picture is far less muddled.
The Rams sit clear at the top at 11/4, with the reigning conference champion, the Seattle Seahawks, the closest thing to a challenger at 6/1.
A snapshot of the top five teams this side of the game and our current prices:
- Los Angeles Rams @ 11/4
- Seattle Seahawks @ 6/1
- Philadelphia Eagles @ 17/2
- Detroit Lions @ 9/1
- San Francisco 49ers @ 9/1
Philadelphia are only two years removed from a championship and still have Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith to call upon, but a Rams roster that's added two elite defensive difference-makers this offseason feels a level above everyone else in the conference right now.
Seattle proved last February they don't need to be favourites to get the job done, and revenge is a powerful motivator against the very side that beat them in that NFC title game.
Even so, we're not turning against the form horse here.
BetMGM's NFC Winner: Los Angeles Rams
MVP Winner
Matthew Stafford's MVP triumph last season was about as tight as they come – he edged out Drake Maye by a single first-place vote – and that razor-thin margin has left the door wide open heading into 2026/27.
Josh Allen leads the way in our odds at 11/2, chasing a second MVP after losing out last time round. But this is far from a one-horse race:
- Josh Allen (Bills) @ 11/2
- Lamar Jackson (Ravens) @ 8/1
- Joe Burrow (Bengals) @ 17/2
- Drake Maye (Patriots) @ 10/1
- Justin Herbert (Chargers) @ 10/1
- Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs) @ 10/1
- Dak Prescott (Cowboys) @ 13/1
- Caleb Williams (Bears) @ 14/1
- Matthew Stafford (Rams) @ 14/1
- Brock Purdy (49ers) @ 18/1
Burrow's inclusion at 17/2 is one of the more intriguing angles in this market.
Remarkably, he's never received a single first-place MVP vote in his career, despite finishing fourth in voting on two separate occasions – injuries have repeatedly got in the way at the wrong moment.
With one of the league's easier schedules in front of him and a fully healthy Bengals offence, this could finally be the year the ledger balances.
Maye, meanwhile, needs no introduction after dragging a 4-13 Patriots side to 14 wins and the AFC's number two seed in just his second season. A third-year leap is one of the more reliable patterns in quarterback development, and he's got better weapons around him to make it happen.
We're sticking with the form horse, though.
Allen's 2025 campaign – 4,247 total yards, 39 total touchdowns, and the only player in the league with 3,000+ passing and 500+ rushing yards – arguably deserved the trophy last time out.
Add a genuine number one receiver into that mix and it's hard to find a stronger case anywhere in the league, and it's why he tops our NFL season predictions for MVP.
BetMGM's MVP Winner: Josh Allen
Defensive Player of the Year
There's a certain symmetry to Myles Garrett heading our Defensive Player of the Year odds at 4/1 just months after being traded to the very team many now consider Super Bowl favourites.
The reigning winner arrives in Los Angeles with something to prove and a supporting cast that should only make life easier for him.
- Myles Garrett (Rams) @ 4/1
- Will Anderson Jr. (Texans) @ 13/2
- Aidan Hutchinson (Lions) @ 17/2
- Nik Bonitto (Broncos) @ 14/1
- Maxx Crosby (Raiders) @ 15/1
- T.J. Watt (Steelers) @ 20/1
- Nick Bosa (49ers) @ 20/1
- Brian Burns (Giants) @ 20/1
- Jared Verse (Browns) @ 22/1
- Danielle Hunter (Texans) @ 25/1
Anderson Jr. has been the biggest mover in this market over recent weeks, shortening considerably as voters and bookmakers alike take notice of a Texans defence that's quietly become one of the most disruptive units in the league.
He's the clearest challenger to Garrett here, and at 13/2 there's a case for finding value before the season gets going.
Even so, pairing Garrett with the aforementioned Donald in the same defensive front line is the kind of luxury that tends to inflate individual numbers rather than dilute them – expect the sacks, and the votes, to follow.
BetMGM's Defensive Player of the Year: Myles Garrett
Offensive Player of the Year
Jahmyr Gibbs heads our Offensive Player of the Year market at 6/1, with the Lions running back looking to build on a career-best campaign in a Detroit offence that remains one of the league's most explosive.
- Jahmyr Gibbs (Lions) @ 6/1
- Bijan Robinson (Falcons) @ 9/1
- Ja'Marr Chase (Bengals) @ 10/1
- Puka Nacua (Rams) @ 13/1
- Justin Jefferson (Vikings) @ 16/1
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Seahawks) @ 17/1
- Christian McCaffrey (49ers) @ 18/1
- Derrick Henry (Ravens) @ 20/1
- Jonathan Taylor (Colts) @ 20/1
- Amon-Ra St. Brown (Lions) @ 22/1
Chase's inclusion here is one to watch closely if Burrow's MVP case gathers momentum – the two are so often linked in the box score that a big season for one tends to mean a big season for the other.
He's also shortened noticeably since the market opened, a sign that sharper money is starting to back the Bengals' offence to fire on all cylinders.
Robinson, at 9/1, offers a genuine alternative to the ball-carrying pace Gibbs sets, with Atlanta increasingly built around getting him the ball in space.
But in our NFL season predictions, Gibbs remains the standard-bearer among running backs in this league right now, and until someone knocks him off that perch, he's the pick.
BetMGM's Offensive Player of the Year: Jahmyr Gibbs
Defensive Rookie of the Year
Every year, one name from the incoming class announces itself far quicker than expected, and this season that looks like Rueben Bain Jr., our 9/2 favourite for Defensive Rookie of the Year.
- Rueben Bain Jr. (Buccaneers) @ 9/2
- David Bailey (Jets) @ 5/1
- Caleb Downs (Cowboys) @ 7/1
- Sonny Styles (Commanders) @ 15/2
- Arvell Reese (Giants) @ 17/2
- Mansoor Delane (Chiefs) @ 10/1
- Jacob Rodriguez (Dolphins) @ 12/1
- Akheem Mesidor (Chargers) @ 14/1
- Malachi Lawrence (Cowboys) @ 22/1
- Dillon Thieneman (Bears) @ 28/1
Downs has been one of the market's quieter movers, shortening as preseason reps confirmed what many suspected – a safety this instinctive rarely takes long to make an impact at the next level, and a Cowboys defence rebuilding from the back end gives him every opportunity to do so early.
Bailey, meanwhile, slots into a Jets front seven that's already shown flashes of real quality, and rookie pass-rushers who land in a scheme built to get them one-on-one opportunities tend to outperform their draft slot.
Bain's combination of size and first-step quickness, though, is the sort of profile that translates immediately at this level, and we're backing him to lead this class.
BetMGM's Defensive Rookie of the Year: Rueben Bain Jr.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
Arizona's Jeremiyah Love heads our Offensive Rookie of the Year market at 5/1, and given the touches he's set to receive from day one, it's easy to see why.
- Jeremiyah Love (Cardinals) @ 5/1
- Carnell Tate (Titans) @ 6/1
- Jadarian Price (Seahawks) @ 6/1
- Fernando Mendoza (Raiders) @ 13/2
- De'Zhaun Stribling (49ers) @ 8/1
- Makai Lemon (Eagles) @ 15/1
- KC Concepcion (Browns) @ 18/1
- Ja’Kobi Lane (Ravens) @ 18/1
- Denzel Boston (Browns) @ 22/1
- Carson Beck (Cardinals) @ 25/1
This is as tightly bunched a market as you'll find anywhere on the board, with barely a point separating the top four candidates.
Mendoza, the number one overall pick, is a name to watch closely if he wins the Raiders' starting job away from Kirk Cousins during the season – rookie quarterbacks who get on the field tend to dominate this conversation regardless of record.
Tate offers a different kind of case entirely – a receiver dropping into a Titans offence built around a young quarterback in Cam Ward who'll need someone to grow with, which tends to mean targets, and targets tend to mean votes.
Love's workload projects as heavy as any rookie in the league, though, and in an award that so often rewards raw production, that's usually the difference-maker.
BetMGM's Offensive Rookie of the Year: Jeremiyah Love
Odds correct at time of publication but subject to change.
