Two “Sleeper” Teams Who Could Win Super Bowl LIII

With NFL training camps set to get underway in less than two months, we wanted to identify two sleeper teams who could very well be “this year’s Philadelphia Eagles” – the surprise team to hoist the Lombardi Trophy next February.   Betting odds can be found at MyBookie .

Here are two teams that the sportsbooks and betting public are overlooking, and whom you may want to consider laying a few bucks down upon:

New Orleans Saints (18-to-1) — Despite the fact that they had a Pro Bowl quarterback, the reigning co-rookie of the year on offense, and the reigning rookie of the year on defense, the New Orleans Saints were given 18:1 odds to win Super Bowl LIII.

You can very easily make the argument that this is Sean Payton’s most talented team since he took over the Saints in 2006. Brees was reunited with tight end Jimmy Graham this offseason, and still has wide receiver Michael Thomas, who’s easily the best receiver he’s every played with in New Orleans. That’s not even mentioning Alvin Kamara, the aforementioned co-offensive rookie of the year, who turned into one of the most dangerous dual-threat running backs in the NFL last year. The Saints’ offensive line is among the best in the NFL at pass blocking, and also paved the way for the 5th-ranked rushing offense last year.

The questions in New Orleans have always been centered on the defense, but the Saints’ young defensive core at least got them to a middle-of-the-pack ranking last year (15th against the pass and 16th against the run). They have a pair of really good defensive linemen in Pro Bowler Cameron Jordan and Sheldon Rankins. Cornerback Marshon Lattimore, last year’s defensive rookie of the year, might already be one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. While the linebacker position might leave something to be desired, there’s more than enough talent here to help New Orleans make a deep postseason run.

We’re not exactly why sportsbooks are so down on a team that was one play away from making it to the NFC Championship game last season, but if they’re looking to give away money to savvy bettors, who are we to discourage them from doing so?

Los Angeles Chargers (28-to-1) — Even after suffering a devastating injury during offseason OTA’s, there’s still plenty of reason to believe the Los Angeles Chargers could become one of the top contenders to dethrone the New England Patriots in the AFC.

Afer a miserable 0-4 start to the season last year, the Chargers went 9-3 over their last 12 games — losing only one game between mid-November through the rest of the season — and just barely missed out on making the playoffs last year. Under new head coach Anthony Lynn, the team broke its three-year streak of losing records.

But more importantly, this team has the centerpieces that you’d want to see from a team with legitimate championship aspirations. Quarterback Philip Rivers tends to get overlooked, but he’s still among the best in the game. He can hand the ball to running back Melvin Gordon, and throw the ball to a deep group of receivers headlined by Pro Bowler Keenan Allen and second-year talent Mike Williams (if he can finally get on the field). Even the offensive line, which was a mess last year, got upgrades in the offseason, in the form of left tackle Russell Okung and center Mike Pouncey.

On defense, Pro Bowl defensive end Joey Bosa and his tag-team partner Melvin Ingram became the first duo to record double-digit sacks for the Chargers in over a decade. Adding to a defense that already featured Pro Bowl cornerback Casey Hayward and the return of Jason Verrett, the Chargers added safety Derwin James in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft; James was a guy whom many believed was a top-five talent (if not higher) among this year’s selections.

At 28:1 odds at the moment, this would be the right time for smart bettors to lay down a wager, before other bettors – and sportsbooks – realize that the odds are way too bearish for this team at the moment.