Washington Football Team: Ranking the 4 best bets for Washington in 2021

The Washington Football Team is coming off of a 2020-2021 campaign in which they exceeded expectations. Washington was able to win the unpredictable NFC East, make the playoffs and give the eventual Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers a run for their money in their Wild Card matchup.

With these exceeded expectations came an offseason in which Washington’s leadership and front office invested in surrounding its young talent with veteran presence and depth.

Ron Rivera and Co. were able to add valuable pieces such as Ryan Fitzpatrick, Curtis Samuel, William Jackson III, Bobby McCain and more.

With Washington shoring up its offense, as well as adding to what already was one of the top defenses in the NFL, the expectations are high in Ashburn for the 2021-2022 campaign.

These expectations have been overlooked and overrated by some pundits, and those sentiments have been reflected by sportsbooks across America. As sports betting continues to become ingrained and intertwined with leagues as the NFL, fans should acknowledge the betting lines and Vegas’ expectations for each team.

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The Washington Football Team has various future bets that hold incredible value for this season. These future bets, or “futures”, vary from award predictions, win totals and more. Out of all of the potential futures for Washington, there are four best bets that stick out above the rest.

Football Team: 4 best bets for Washington this season

4. Jamin Davis to win NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year (+900)

Prior to the 2021 NFL Draft, defensive prospects Micah Parsons, Jaycee Horn and Patrick Surtain II were widely touted as the best defensive prospects in their draft class.

There is no doubt that these players could end up being productive in the NFL, but given their respective situations, none have the supporting cast to maximize their potential quite like Washington’s first round pick, Jamin Davis.

Davis, a redshirt junior linebacker from the University of Kentucky, enters the league as a versatile defender that can help out the stout Washington defense from day one.

The Washington defensive line is widely acknowledged as one of, if not the, very best in the NFL, so plugging in a multi-talented linebacker like Davis behind the Washington front is only going to benefit this unit.

According to our friends at WynnBet, Parsons is the betting favorite at +500 and Dolphins defensive end Jaelen Phillips is second at +650. Davis comes in third with respectable +900 odds (bet $100 to win $900).

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In the last 10 years, the winners of the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award have varied by position. In those 10 seasons, four winners were defensive ends, three were linebackers, two were cornerbacks and one was a defensive tackle.

The last time a linebacker won the award was in 2018, when Darius Leonard of the Indianapolis Colts won the award as a +2800 underdog, and between Parsons, Davis, Horn, Surtain II, Phillips and Paye, the field is stacked.

Though there is a deep field of potential winners for this award, Davis sticks out due to his versatility and the surrounding talent.

If the Football Team continues to be one of the NFL’s top defenses in 2021, Davis will be a large part of that, and at +900, Davis owns some of the best value to win the Defensive Rookie of the Year award.

3. Terry McLaurin to lead the NFL in receiving yards (+3000)

When Terry McLaurin was drafted by the Washington Football Team in 2019, the team was coming off a recent stretch that saw little to no depth in their receiving core.

Washington was past the days of Desean Jackson and Pierre Garcon, and they had just whiffed on Josh Doctson a few years prior. The only formidable threat for Washington at wide receiver was Jamison Crowder, but a month prior to the 2019 NFL Draft, Crowder signed with the New York Jets.

The wide receiver room was thin heading into the 2019-2020 season, but the biggest surprise was the phenomenal rookie season that McLaurin had. McLaurin racked in 919 receiving yards and seven touchdown receptions in just 14 games for Washington. In a season where Washington finished with a 3-13 record, McLaurin was perhaps the biggest bright spot for the future.

McLaurin is coming off of another impressive year in which he improved greatly. Though his touchdown numbers went down, he tallied 87 receptions for 1,118 receiving yards. In 2020, McLaurin played 15 games, one more than his total in 2019, but was targeted 41 more times in 2020 than in 2019.

Fast forward to this season, the Football Team is prepared to be a much more serious contender than they were last season. This is due in fact to the acquisitions of Ryan Fitzpatrick and Curtis Samuel on the offensive side of the ball.

Fitzpatrick is known as a gunslinger who is not afraid to take chances in the pocket, so with playmakers like Antonio Gibson, Samuel and McLaurin, the offense will be much better in 2021.

In McLaurin’s first two seasons, he was catching passes from Case Keenum, Dwayne Haskins and Alex Smith. Keenum regressed mightily after arriving in Washington, Haskins was inconsistent and never tapped into his potential and Smith was coming off of a nearly career-ending leg injury that kept him out for almost two years.

With a much better quarterback situation this season, McLaurin is in prime position to take another step in year three, and it’s entirely possible that with a career year in 2021, McLaurin can solidify his spot as a top receiver in the NFL.

The acquisition of Samuel will certainly open things up in the passing game, and with high hopes for Gibson in his second season, Washington’s offense could be one of the more explosive groups in the NFL.

With all of the improvements on offense, and the likelihood that McLaurin takes yet another leap in his third season, this could be a breakout, career year for No. 17.

Our friends at WynnBet have the odds set at +3000 (bet $100 to win $3,000) for McLaurin to lead the league in receiving yards, and with more firepower and consistency on offense for Washington, the value is simply too good to pass up.

2. Washington to win the NFC East (+200)

When the Washington Football Team won the NFC East in 2020, it was clear that the season was a whirlwind for every team in the division.

The Cowboys struggled throughout the year, and the season felt lost for Dallas when quarterback Dak Prescott went down in Week 5.

The Eagles had an extremely underwhelming season, as Carson Wentz was benched in favor of Jalen Hurts, but some of the biggest problems for Philadelphia came from a severely inconsistent defense.

The Giants continued their own inconsistency in the pursuit of finding out if Daniel Jones is the quarterback of their future, and New York also lost their star running back Saquon Barkley in Week 2.

Things have changed drastically in 2021, and as Washington’s defense is anticipated to take a step forward as a unit, they made vast improvements on offense, upgrading at quarterback and receiver.

In Dallas, the Cowboys are returning much of the same team from 2020, but their biggest obstacle in 2021 is the health and availability of their playmakers. Dallas cannot afford to lose key members of its defense, and they especially cannot lose Prescott again.

After bringing in a new coaching regime, the Eagles are going through a rebuilding period. With Nick Sirianni at the helm and Hurts at quarterback, growing pains will be expected in Philly. Despite some young players showing signs of promising potential, it isn’t expected that the Eagles will make a competitive run at the division in 2021.

For New York, the Giants will have to rely on Daniel Jones taking the next step at quarterback, as well as relying on Saquon Barkley to return back to his normal self. There are a lot of question marks and uncertainty in New York, but until those questions are answered, it feels like a two team race in the NFC East.

Washington will hope to finish strong in 2021 just like they did in 2020, as the last five games of the regular season are against NFC East opponents. If Washington can start out hot or go on a winning streak in October or November, they could have the opportunity to put this division away early.

Per WynnBet, the Cowboys are currently the favorites to win the division at +165 odds. However, Dallas has far too many question marks to be a sure thing to win the NFC East. With Washington’s defense and new playmakers on offense, +200 odds to win the division is too good to pass up.

1. Washington Football Team over 8.5 wins (-115)

When the NFL released the schedules for the 2021 season, many fans of the Washington Football Team recognized the difficult schedule that the team would have to face.

On Washington’s schedule, there are pockets of the season that are presumably more difficult than others, such as the stretch in October and November.

It’s hard to count games as an “automatic win” by looking at the schedule, but in this case, sorting out the schedule this way will help fans and analysts make an accurate prediction on what the season could be like for Washington.

The expectations are high for Washington this year, so it’s not far-fetched to assume that they can sweep the Eagles and Giants, and defeat teams such as the Falcons and Panthers. If Washington can at least split with Dallas, then that is seven wins right there.

Washington has difficult matchups on their schedule this year, but they are not automatic losses. Those difficult matchups are what make good teams eventually great.

Based upon the assumed victories above, Washington would have to win two more games to hit the over on WynnBet’s win total (8.5 wins). The Football Team has matchups with the Broncos, Chargers, Raiders, Saints and Seahawks that could even lean in their favor.

For Washington, there are various paths to hitting the over on their win total, and with expectations running high, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Washington could win anywhere from 10-14 games.

Washington Football Team: Predicting every game on the 2021 schedule

The Washington Football Team enters the 2021 season with high expectations and the hope of capturing a second straight division title.