For the first time in about 13 years, oddsmakers seem to actually be impressed with what the Raiders are doing during the offseason. In the latest Super Bowl odds released by Bovada on Wednesday, the Raiders made the biggest post-free agency jump.
Thanks to the addition of lineman Kelechi Osemele, cornerback Sean Smith and linebacker Bruce Irvin, the Raiders have now been given 33-to-1 odds to win Super Bowl LI. Sure, that's only the 14th-best odds in the NFL right now, but it's a huge jump for the Raiders, who were listed at 66-1 odds on Feb. 8. Back then, the Raiders had the third-worst odds of any team in the NFL.
Houston was the only other team to make a huge jump in odds since the start of free agency. The Texans' decision to add Brock Osweiler and Lamar Miller improved the team's Super Bowl odds from 40-1 to 20-1. Only seven teams currently have better Super Bowl odds than the Texans.
Of course, if you were to bet on the Texans, that would mean betting on Brock Osweiler, which means betting on the guy who's arguably the fourth-best quarterback in the AFC South.
AFC South QB Ranking: 1. Luck. 2. Mariota. 3. Bortles. 4. Osweiler.
— John Breech (@johnbreech) March 9, 2016
Oddsmakers aren't the only ones who are impressed with what the Raiders and Texans have done this offseason. In his free-agency grades, CBSSports.com's Pete Prisco gave both teams an 'A.'
Thanks to free agency, there's now a clear-cut favorite for the 2016 NFL season: the New England Patriots.
The Patriots are listed as 15-2 favorites, which puts them slightly ahead of five teams that are logjammed at 10-1 odds. Six weeks ago, the Patriots were tied with the Panthers and the Seahawks as the overall favorite.
The team with the worst odds to win it all next season is -- yup, you guessed it -- the Browns.
By the way, if you see any Raiders fans in Las Vegas over the summer, they're probably betting on their team to win it all, because Raiders fans love betting on their team to win it all.
Raiders fans are betting major money on their team to win Super Bowl 50 http://t.co/m2vU6nSYH0
— The_V_ Brand (@The_V_Brand) June 3, 2015
"Always bet on black" is probably going to become the official motto of Raiders Nation for the 2016 season.
Although free agency isn't technically over, the pickings are pretty slim right now so there's a good chance that these odds won't change much until after the NFL Draft.
You can see the current odds for each team below
Super Bowl 51 odds as of March 16 (via Bovada)
1. Patriots: 15-to-2
T-2. Panthers: 10-to-1
T-2. Broncos: 10-to-1
T-2. Packers: 10-to-1
T-2. Steelers: 10-to-1
T-2. Seahawks: 10-to-1
7. Cardinals: 16-to-1
T-8. Cowboys: 20-to-1
T-8. Texans: 20-to-1
T-10. Bengals: 22-to-1
T-10. Vikings: 22-to-1
T-12. Colts: 25-to-1
T-12. Chiefs: 25-to-1
T-14. Giants: 33-to-1
T-14. Raiders: 33-to-1
16. Ravens: 40-to-1
T-17. Falcons: 50-to-1
T-17. Bills: 50-to-1
T-17. Bears: 50-to-1
T-17. Lions: 50-to-1
T-17. Rams: 50-to-1
T-17. Saints: 50-to-1
T-17. Jets: 50-to-1
T-17. Eagles: 50-to-1
T-17. Chargers: 50-to-1
T-17. Buccaneers: 50-to-1
T-17. Redskins: 50-to-1
T-28. Jaguars: 66-to-1
T-28. Dolphins: 66-to-1
T-28. 49ers: 66-to-1
31. Titans: 100-to-1
32. Browns: 150-to-1
