NFL Super Bowl and Conference Futures Picks for 2024 Season

July may seem a bit early to be giving out Super Bowl and Conference winner picks but when you think about it, why not? The teams have drafted their players and signed free agents. The rosters are pretty much set. In fact, Hard Knocks has already begun showing new episodes on HBO. This year the show features the New York Giants. But I digress.

The best teams in the AFC are the usual suspects: Baltimore, KC, Cincinnati and Buffalo. But only one of these teams has proven they can beat the best team in the AFC (KC) on the big stage. That team is Cincinnati. When they defeated the Chiefs three years ago to go to the Super Bowl, they did what other teams have not been able to. They went to KC and beat the Chiefs at home.

Since that season the Bengals have dealt with major injuries. Their key piece, QB Joe Burrow has been injured off and on ever since. They have the talent but simply cannot get their feet under them long enough to do the same amount of damage they did back then.

Burrow recently gave an interview about his health. “Well, number one, I want to be on the field for all the games,” he recently told Complex Sports. “I know I’m going to play well when I’m out there. I’m at that point in my career where I’ve seen enough to know myself that I can go out there and play as well as anybody in the game. The biggest strides this year are going to be my body and learning how to get through the season, get through practices with my body, and feeling in tip-top shape. And so that’s the main focus for the offseason.”

The Bengals are our pick to win the AFC and represent that conference in Super Bowl 59. There is good value in this pick as they are currently paying +700 at BetUS.com

NFC Conference Champion Pick

The 49ers are the best team in the NFC. Their team is loaded with talent at every position. And their weakest spot is the QB position, which ain’t so bad either. QB Brock Purdy is 17-4 as a starter in the regular season and 4-2 in the post season. He has thrown for a combined 50 TD’s and only 16 interceptions. The reason we say he is the weak spot is because he will make a bonehead throw when it matters most sometimes. Still, we can see that this is the year where he takes his game to the next level.

Star WR Brandon Aiyuk most likely is departing the team here soon. But most of the rest of the team is staying put. Look for rookie WR Ricky Pearsall to pick up the slack left behind by Aiyuk’s departure.

The 49er front office is as determined as ever to win it all this year and the pieces are there. They lost the Super Bowl this last season in OT. To us, the 49ers seem like the obvious choice to win the NFC in 2025 at +250 and I like them to defeat the AFC champion as well and win Super Bowl 59. The futures odds for this are +650 at BetUS.com

• James Willis