Covers NFL Staff Picks, Best Bets, and Bold Predictions for 2025

The NFL season kicks off tomorrow, with no shortage of storylines, intrigue, and drama set to unfold.

To get you primed for the upcoming year of pigskin, we've polled Covers' NFL experts for their favorite Super Bowl pick, MVP winner, best bet, and bold prediction this year.

Everyone seems to love Joe Burrow, plus it might not actually be another nightmare season for the state of New York...

Super Bowl champion

Expert	Winner
Jason      Logan	Ravens +700
Joe      Osborne	Bills +750
Josh      Inglis	Lions +1200
Rohit      Ponnaiya	Ravens +700
Neil      Parker	Eagles +700
Jared      Hochman	Chiefs +850

Jason Logan, Senior Analyst: There are few soft spots when it comes to the Baltimore Ravens; at least fewer than when stacked up against the other Super Bowl contenders. Lamar Jackson gives Baltimore the best player on the field and this defense is a championship stop unit.

Joe Osborne, Senior Analyst: It’s time. The Buffalo Bills have gotten close to the finish line multiple times, but this is the year they cross it.

Josh Inglis, Analyst: I want the Bills to win, but the Detroit Lions at +1200 are tough to pass up. Let’s not throw a 15-2 SU team down the line because of some coordinator departures and a bad playoff game vs. Washington. This team had a ton of bad injury luck in 2024, too.

Rohit Ponnaiya, Analyst: The Ravens had arguably the best defense in the league during the second half of last year and the offense will steamroll opponents as long as Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry are healthy. Is this the year Jackson finally overcomes his playoff demons? I think so.

Neil Parker, Analyst: Sure, it’s boring, but the Philadelphia Eagles have oodles of world-beaters on both sides of the ball. Plus, the postseason path through the AFC is still much tougher than the NFC, and the Eagles can win both ugly, low-scoring games and shootouts.

Jared Hochman, Content Manager: The Kansas City Chiefs got downright disrespected in the Super Bowl last year, but they still have a good defense, Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy as receivers, Isaiah Pacheco in the backfield — and maybe a motivated Patrick Mahomes ready to remind everybody that he is, in fact, still him. Add in the season-long good vibes from Travis Kelce's engagement to T-Swift... and Chiefs Kingdom is back up.

NFL MVP

Expert	Winner
Jason      Logan	Kyler Murray +5000
Joe      Osborne	Jalen Hurts +2000
Josh      Inglis	Joe Burrow +600
Rohit      Ponnaiya	Joe Burrow +600
Neil      Parker	Justin Herbert +2000
Jared      Hochman	Joe Burrow +600

Logan: Kyler Murray is set up to succeed in 2025 with plenty of weapons and a solid offensive line, as well as an improved defense backing him up. The NFC West is very fragile, and Arizona has a soft schedule to start, boosting Murray’s MVP potential. I could see him being among the front-runners by October — that could at least offer a solid return on an early cash out before he hits his usual second-half swoon.

Osborne: Jalen Hurts often gets discredited due to all the talent around him, but this is the year where he’ll get the respect he deserves.

Inglis: If Joe Burrow can drag this Bengals team to a playoff game, he has to be in the running. His advantage is playing with an awful defense that lets him stack numbers more than Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. He is the betting favorite to lead the league in passing yards and TDs for a reason.

Ponnaiya: Jackson will be ecstatic with a Super Bowl MVP but Burrow will take home the regular-season honors. Joey Brrr might have won MVP last season if the Bengals had made the playoffs, and this year I expect them to get into the postseason. Burrow will put up big numbers airing it out to Chase and Higgins, while a leaky defense should ensure that he's often in neutral or negative game scripts.

Parker: Year 1 with head coach Jim Harbaugh was great for Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert, and I’m anticipating the second go-around to be even more fun. Herbert threw for a career-high 7.7 yards per attempt in 2024, and the Chargers brass beefed up the skill-position players around him during the offseason.

Hochman: Joe Shiesty can slang it as well as anyone. He's got elite weapons in Chase, Higgins, and RB Chase Brown. And, most importantly, the Bengals have a god-awful defense, which means Burrow & Co. will have to score to win. As long as he wins enough, those gaudy numbers will have MVP winner written all over them.

NFL best bets

Expert	Winner
Jason      Logan	Jaguars 2nd in AFC South +230
Joe      Osborne	49ers u10.5 wins +100
Josh      Inglis	Golden o720.5 rec yards -114
Rohit      Ponnaiya	Lions o9.5 wins -140
Neil      Parker	Lamb 8+ TDs -115
Jared      Hochman	Steelers/ Vikings to miss playoffs +193

Logan: The Texans are tops in the South. The Titans are not. I'm only asking the Jacksonville Jaguars to edge out a team led by Daniel Jones at QB. Jacksonville has a tough start to 2025, but the home stretch of the sked offers opportunity for a late-season surge into second and possibly flirt with the postseason.

Osborne: The San Francisco 49ers are getting by on reputation and are depending on too many injury-prone (and past-their-prime) players to have a bounce-back season after going 6-11 last year.

Inglis: Matthew Golden has already cemented himself into the Packers' starting depth chart, and his speed and lack of competition could turn him into a weapon this year. Jayden Reed is going to be hurt all year with his Jones fracture, Christian Watson is on the PUP, and Romeo Doubs is a fourth-rounder with 1,700 receiving yards through three injury-plagued seasons. Be healthier than the rest of the GB receivers please, Matthew.

Ponnaiya: Yes, the Lions have one of the toughest schedules in football. And yes, they lost both their offensive and defensive coordinators to head-coaching jobs in the offseason. Still, I can't see this squad being six wins worse than last season when they return most of their personnel. Especially with defensive anchor Aidan Hutchinson healthy and ready to smash opposing QBs after suffering a season-ending injury after just five games last year.

Parker: The Dallas Cowboys are going to need to air it out early and often in high-scoring games, and uber-talented wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is just a year removed from a 12-touchdown season. He also scored six times in 2024 while playing just 15 games, including only eight with No. 1 quarterback Dak Prescott.

Hochman: A little parlay fading two QBs at opposite ends of the spectrum. Aaron Rodgers is cooked, and a downgrade at QB for a team that barely made the playoffs doesn't help the Pittsburgh Steelers' chances. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Vikings are a solid team... but what if J.J. McCarthy sucks it up in what is essentially his rookie season? With Jefferson banged up, Addison suspended four games, and an unproven QB in a hellish NFC North, it could be a disappointing year. 

NFL bold predictions for 2025

Expert	Winner
Jason      Logan	Eagles underwhelm
Joe      Osborne	Jaguars least wins in NFL
Josh      Inglis	Giants flirt with 8+ wins
Rohit      Ponnaiya	Jets to make the playoffs
Neil      Parker	Golden gets 1,000 yards
Jared      Hochman	Giants make the playoffs

Logan: This is still one of the best two-way teams in the NFL, but after a long haul in the postseason and a possible Super Bowl hangover, the Eagles have an uphill climb. Philadelphia faces one hell of a schedule — not just in opponents but also situational squeezes — including playing eight games in a 38-day window. It wouldn’t shock me to see it finish second in the NFC East, as it just tries to survive to see the tournament.

Osborne: New head coach Liam Coen could be in over his head, and Trevor Lawrence will finally officially be exposed as a bust.

Inglis: The playoffs might be a stretch, but 8+ wins at +250 is worth a sprinkle as this team is loaded on the D-line now with Abdul Carter, is deep at the QB position for once, and has playmakers. I know the strength of schedule looks daunting, but things can change year-to-year and the New York Giants might turn some heads. Great team to back as a dog weekly.

Ponnaiya: The New York Jets enter the season with a win total of just 5.5, but end up making the playoffs while Justin Fields earns the starting job for another year. New OC Tanner Engstrand actually implements a system that fits Fields' strengths, while Aaron Glenn gets the talented defense playing at a high level after an injury-plagued and disappointing 2024. Not bad for a bet that's better than 5/1 right now.

Parker: The Packers have been trying to pin down a No. 1 wide receiver since Davante Adams was traded, so selecting Golden with the 23rd-overall pick in draft tips their hand. I’m expecting Golden to quickly become a go-to target and show off big-time playmaking ability — with hitting the thousand-yard mark available at +350.

Hochman: You done laughing yet? Russell Wilson isn't great, but he's still competent enough and led the Steelers to the playoffs last season. The Giants have better passing weapons than Pittsburgh did, and New York's front seven may be the best in the league. It's still a tough schedule, but with a little luck and some falloff from previously good teams... this is worth a flyer at +570.

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