Five interesting bets for the 2024 Chicago Bears season

Can the Bears make a leap in Year One with Caleb Williams? Here are some bets that intrigue us for Chicago’s 2024 season.

It’s safe to say that there has rarely been more excitement around the beginning of a new Chicago Bears season than there is right now. First overall draft pick Caleb Williams is getting ready to start his NFL career, and the team around him looks more loaded than anyone could have imagined the Bears could be just a few years ago. Chicago hasn’t made it to the postseason since the 2020 season, and it’s hard to take a big leap in just one season, but the roster looks like that of a true contender. 

Can the Bears make it to the playoffs, or even get to the top of a brutal NFC North? With +3500 Super Bowl odds and a projected win total of 9.5 per DraftKings, both propositions may seem like a long shot, but the NFL is hardly predictable. Let’s take a look at some bets you can place on these Bears.

All odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Over 8.5 wins (-160)

It should be noted that while we’re taking an alternate line here for increased confidence, the standard line of Over 9.5 wins also provides some value with odds of +120. 

Last season, the Bears were 7-10, losing three games in which they had an in-game win probability of 90% or greater in the fourth quarter. This implies that they played to the approximate level of a 10-win team, despite Tyson Bagent starting four games and an almost impossibly bad start to the season before that.

Suffice it to say that the offseason improvements made to the roster, such as bolstering the receiving room with Keenan Allen and first-round pick Rome Odunze, combined with any measure of positive regression in terms of closing games, should allow the Bears to improve by at least a pair of wins, if not more. They showed tremendous improvement down the stretch last year, and that should continue this season.

To Win NFC North (+275)

In 19 of the past 21 NFL seasons, there has been a “worst-to-first” team, meaning a division winner who came dead last in that same division a season earlier. This year, it just might be the Bears. Of course, as is the case with every such team, they have the benefit of playing a last-place schedule, meaning they’ll play teams like the Patriots and Commanders while the rival Lions and Packers are playing the Dolphins, Bills, Eagles and Cowboys.

In a division characterized by elite receiving groups, Chicago’s is likely the very best, and after locking up star cornerback Jaylon Johnson, their secondary is the best equipped to deal with star wideouts. With a budding star quarterback set to learn under new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and a defense that played like one of the NFL’s best in the second half of 2023, the sky is the limit for this group.

Caleb Williams to win Offensive ROY (+135)

This bet may appear to be slightly chalky, but it’s remarkable that it’s even still available in plus-odds. Williams has looked phenomenal in preseason play, as he’s already developing a great rapport with fellow first-round rookie Rome Odunze. He should be productive almost immediately, having been given all of the possible tools to help a young passer succeed.

There are plenty of great ways to grab value on Williams this offseason. At just -125 odds, you can bet on Williams to throw for over 3,500.5 yards and make a push for the Bears modest franchise record (3,838), and at an enticing line of +5000, you can bet on him to make history as the league’s first rookie MVP. 

However, if you believe that either one of those bets- as well as the ones we’ve already discussed- is remotely plausible, take the odds on him to win Rookie of the Year. Many of the potential top offensive rookies are in dire situations- J.J. McCarthy is out for the year, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix are in tough divisions on rebuilding teams, Michael Penix Jr. might not play anytime soon, and Malik Nabers is tied to a Daniel Jones-led offense. If Williams puts up solid numbers on a team that pushes for contention in a brutal division, he’ll have built an extremely strong Rookie of the Year case. 

Rome Odunze Over 675.5 Receiving Yards (-110)

With crisp route running and eye-catching on-ball skills, Odunze is one of the most pro-ready receivers in recent draft history. He and Williams have already forged a clear connection, and as the presumptive third or even fourth-biggest threat in the Chicago air game to start the season, he’ll often be matched up with cornerbacks who are not equipped to hang with his 6’3” 215-pound frame. 

Another interesting bet in the Chicago receiving room is on Keenan Allen to finish with under 825.5 yards. With Odunze entering the fold, a veritable #1 option in D.J. Moore, and solid receiving duos at tight end and running back, there just might be too many mouths to feed for the aging star to get significant volume all season.

Montez Sweat Over 8.75 Sacks (-115)

One of the things Chicago failed to sufficiently accomplish throughout its impressive offseason was building the team’s defensive front. Sweat is largely alone in the pass rush, which could be an issue for the team in the long run, but shouldn’t stop him from producing. In just nine games as a Bear last season, he racked up a team-high six sacks, giving him a career-high total of 12.5 when accounting for his early-season production in Washington.

With nobody to compete with in a race to the quarterback, and opposing teams set to pass the ball plenty in order to keep up with the Bears’ own offensive attack, expect Sweat to have plenty of chances to get home and take down opposing passers.