Don’t mistake activity for achievement.
Yes, it’s been a lot of fun analyzing FanDuel’s NFL futures, getting our Survivor Pool entries in, and running through our fantasy football league drafts in recent weeks.
We’re now just over 24 hours away from the start of the 2026 NFL season, and FanDuel’s NFL Futures Day is last call for anybody who wants to put all those preparations to good use by locking in some plays before kick-off.
For those of you who haven’t done your homework, the good news is that you don’t need a 99-tab spreadsheet to enjoy FanDuel’s NFL Futures Day with the rest of us.
We’ve got you covered with a full day of NFL coverage across the TSN network, highlighted by our one-hour NFL Season Preview Show powered by FanDuel at 7 PM ET.
As always, we’ll begin our day with Morning Coffee.
I spent the morning circling the players and teams that I’m higher on and lower on than the market, reviewing the FanDuel splits, and putting together a brief guide to everything that you need to know for NFL Futures Day.
Let’s dive right into the data in this Morning Coffee column for Tuesday September 8th, 2026.
A Brief Guide To FanDuel NFL Futures Day
You do not need a subscription or a film room to figure out that the Los Angeles Rams are in a class of their own.
The Rams are +550 to win the Super Bowl.
No other team is shorter than +1000 to win it at FanDuel.
LA is the NFL’s best team on paper, and the betting public has reacted by making the Rams the most popular bet to win the Super Bowl at FanDuel.
Think about it for a minute.
The same team that fell five points shy of a Super Bowl appearance added the reigning AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year, a former All-Pro cornerback, overhauled a special teams unit that was its biggest weakness, and is running it back with essentially every key contributor.
The NFL gifted LA one of the league’s most difficult schedules, which kicks off with a trip to Australia to face the rival San Francisco 49ers in Week 1.
If the Rams can navigate the first seven weeks before their bye without any serious injuries, they could have an even shorter number by the time they play the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks in Week 11.
As for the reigning champs, you can circle Seattle at +1100 as one of a handful of legitimate title contenders.
Three NFC teams are featured among the top 10 choices to win the Super Bowl and they all play in the NFC West.
While I’m not as high on the 49ers as the Rams and Seahawks, I’m not rushing to fade San Francisco.
Meanwhile in the AFC, the Buffalo Bills are the clear favourite to reach the Super Bowl at +500.
Buffalo is also +1000 to win the Super Bowl as the second choice in that market and the second-most popular bet.
The Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers round out the top five choices to win the AFC title at FanDuel.
You probably noticed the Patriots didn’t make that list.
New England went from a four-win team in 2024 to a Super Bowl appearance in their first year under head coach Mike Vrabel, becoming the first team in NFL history to accomplish that unprecedented turnaround.
An AFC East title means a much tougher schedule, but the Patriots added A.J. Brown, Romeo Doubs, Dre’Mont Jones, Kevin Byard, and fullback Reggie Gilliam, so I’m not willing to completely write them off this season.
New England’s roster is clearly better than it was at this time a year ago, even if Drake Maye and company don’t go 14-3 and make it all the way back to the Super Bowl.
There are several teams that I believe can exceed their regular season win total and contend for a division title, but the margin for error is slim and injuries could have a major impact on where these teams ultimately finish.
The NFL teams I’m higher on than the market are the Texans, Patriots, Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings.
The NFL teams I’m lower on than the market are the Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders, and the Cleveland Browns.
In case you missed it, I faded the Falcons in August with recommended plays on Atlanta under 7.5 regular season wins, under 6.5 regular season wins, and under 5.5 regular season wins at +220.
The fact that we can parlay win totals makes fading teams that much more enticing.
For example, a four-leg futures parlay with Falcons under 7.5 wins, Browns under 7.5 wins, Commanders under 9.5 wins, and Bears under 11.5 wins pays +281 at FanDuel.
If I keep Atlanta and Cleveland to finish under 7.5 wins and parlay them with Chicago under 10.5 and Washington under 8.5, that number moves to +413.
Then there’s FanDuel’s markets for all 32 NFL teams to have more wins than their competition.
For example, I’m higher on Houston than the market.
I could parlay the Texans to finish with more regular season wins than the Commanders, Falcons, Browns and the Tennessee Titans at better than even money if I want.
I could also combine that parlay with the Patriots to finish with more regular season wins than those same four teams at +250.
Which NFL teams are you higher on than the market?
Hit me up @Domenic_Padula and let me know.
In the meantime, I’ll lock in Houston to finish with more regular season wins than Indianapolis and Tennessee right now at -122 as a Futures Day Best Bet.
I’m also on the Falcons bets I’ve already highlighted, as well as Cleveland under 7.5 regular season wins.
I gave out the Rams to win the Super Bowl at +700.
Houston to win the AFC title is also interesting at +750.
As for the individual NFL awards, Myles Garrett to repeat as AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year is +420.
The fact that Garrett dominated at the level he did in Cleveland despite the Browns playing from behind in so many games is phenomenal.
Now he moves to LA with a chance to dominate on a defence that features Aaron Donald and Trent McDuffie.
As for NFL regular season MVP, Josh Allen is the obvious favourite at +500, while Joe Burrow has emerged as the most popular bet to win the award at +1000 at FanDuel.
Burrow and Lamar Jackson (+1200) have manageable schedules in the AFC North, and the QB that leads their team to a division title could end up winning MVP.
Meanwhile, a case could be made that Maye should have won MVP last year, as he finished second to Stafford.
The Patriots upgraded at wide receiver with Brown and Doubs, plus they face a more difficult schedule.
If he puts up similar numbers to a year ago, and New England surprises in the AFC East, then Maye could be in the mix for MVP again as the fifth choice at +1200.
First up, he needs to figure out how to solve a Seattle defence that dominated the Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Which QB have you circled as your best bet to win MVP?
Which teams are you higher and lower on than the market?
Make sure you hit me up @Domenic_Padula and let me know what your favourite futures combination looks like.
FanDuel NFL Futures Day is our final stop before the 2026 regular season kicks off on Wednesday night.
Hopefully, we can lock in a handful of best bet winners before the real grind begins.
Have a great day, everyone!
