🏈 Mahomes SB MVP, Again!
In today's Betting Life Newsletter, we recap a wild Super Bowl 58, preview a 2024 NFL mock draft, and the best NBA bets for Monday's slate.
With three Super Bowl victories in five years, the Chiefs are officially a dynasty …
In today’s Betting Life newsletter presented by Underdog Fantasy:
- Super Bowl 58 Recap: Butker MVP, RIP.
- 2024 NFL Mock Draft: Who goes No. 2?
- Mahomes: Often down, never dead.
- NBA Best Bet: Targeting a tight game.
- It’s 2/12: Take it away, Matthew Freedman …
In case you went to bed yesterday at 6:30 pm ET, the Chiefs secured an epic 25-22 overtime victory over the 49ers in Super Bowl 58.
Points were hard to come by in regulation — and K Harrison Butker was live at 490-1 to win MVP for the Chiefs after he sent the game to OT with his fourth FG — but, alas, QB Patrick Mahomes won the award after marching the Chiefs down the field in OT and throwing the game-winning TD.
Anyway, that was yesterday.
Today, we look to the future — and the 2024 NFL draft.
2024 NFL Mock Draft
With the 2023 season officially over and the 2024 NFL combine rapidly approaching, I just published my first official mock draft.
Here are my top five picks, with notes.
- 1.01 (Bears): QB Caleb Williams (USC)
- 1.02 (Commanders): QB Drake Maye (North Carolina)
- 1.03 (Patriots): QB Jayden Daniels (LSU)
- 1.04 (Cardinals): WR Marvin Harrison (Ohio State)
- 1.05 (Chargers): TE Brock Bowers (Georgia)
👑 QB Caleb Williams
Any mock that doesn’t have Williams No. 1 overall is trying too hard. He could fall down the board — anything can happen in the NFL draft — but I haven’t seen any analysis indicating that Maye and Daniels are preferable prospects.
I didn’t start my 2024 draft analysis until just recently, but I wish I’d bet on Williams No. 1 months ago when his odds were much more attractive.
Even so, I think he’s still bettable to be the first selection at -950 (DraftKings).
Check out our 100% FREE Fantasy Life Bet Tracker for all my bets.
🤷♂️ QBs Drake Maye vs. Jayden Daniels
It’s not a slam dunk that Maye goes ahead of Daniels. At this early point, I prefer Daniels and have him ranked higher in my way-too-early 2024 fantasy top 150 rankings.
But I think Maye currently has the higher draft stock.
🙌 WR Marvin Harrison
A few notes.
First, I’m not going to refer to him in writing as “Marvin Harrison Jr.” unless I also mention his father. From now on, whenever I mention a guy named “Marvin Harrison” in a piece involving football players, please assume I’m talking about the guy who currently plays football.
Second, it’s not uncommon to see him mocked as high as No. 3 to the Patriots. In my opinion, he’s closer to Maye and Daniels in draft hype than they are to Williams. It’s almost unthinkable for him to fall out of the top five.
Third, I’m yet to see any non-QB selected higher than Harrison in any mock. I like him to be the top non-QB selected (-475, DraftKings).
💪 TE Brock Bowers
I’d be minorly surprised to see him fall out of the top 10, and he could go as early as No. 5 to the Chargers, who could certainly use a TE upgrade.
See the Rest of Freedman’s Mock Draft!
🏈 The Big Game Was So Last Year!
Time to start drafting for 2024!
Underdog Fantasy already has contests for the next football season! The Big Board and Little Board are live with more contests on the way.
Not enough for you? Well they have Best Ball contests for basketball, hockey, golf and the upcoming baseball season! In addition to that, you can try any of the Pick 'Em contests on Underdog Fantasy!
Underdog is going to make this even more fun with a $100 FIRST DEPOSIT MATCH. Seriously, sign up TODAY to get a 100% deposit match of up to $100.
Good luck, and start drafting on Underdog Fantasy!
🤔 Super Bowl 2024/25 odds are out! Can anyone dethrone the Chiefs?
😢 Moral victory: Sure, I lost, but at least I wasn’t as wrong as someone else.
🧃 Drink the juice? How to use the vig to your advantage.
😕 Brave, Braver, and Braviest? An anthem controversy started the night.
🎽 Degenerate alert. This bettor was all-in on (checks notes)… a shirtless Usher?
🟣 A massive sweat. The Gatorade got there but took its sweet time.
💨 Dust in the wind. Another blown lead for Shanny.
🤷♂️ But Shanny wasn’t wrong to receive in OT: It was a 50/50-ish decision.
📜 Super Bowl history. This 49ers receiver had an epic game.
💰 Mahomes and chill. The GOAT continues to pay.
With the Super Bowl officially in the rearview mirror, it’s time to shift gears. The betting action doesn’t stop at Betting Life, and Matt LaMarca is here to break down some of his favorite bets for Monday’s 10-game NBA slate…
🐂 Bulls (+4.0) at Hawks (-108, FanDuel)
The Hawks were one of the biggest disappointments last year, and they’ve been even more disappointing in 2023-24. They’re just 17-36 against the spread, which is the worst mark in the league. There are some really bad teams in the league this season — the Pistons, Wizards, and Spurs all have 10 wins or fewer — but they’ve all been better than the Hawks at covering the spread.
Atlanta has recently turned things around, winning six of their past eight games. Their two losses were against the Celtics and Clippers, who might be the two best teams in the league. This has easily been their best stretch of the entire season.
Still, it’s hard to believe in Atlanta, and their recent wins aren’t all that impressive. Only the Suns stand out as a marquee victory, with the others coming against the Lakers, Warriors, Rockets, Raptors, and Joel Embiid-less 76ers.
Now, they’ll have to take the floor as favorites against the Bulls, and Atlanta has unsurprisingly struggled in that role this season. They’re just 9-19 ATS when laying points, including 6-13 ATS as a home favorite. The Bulls are 14-14-1 as underdogs, so they’ve been significantly better at covering in these types of spots.
Like the Hawks, the Bulls have also been playing some of their best basketball of late. They’re 11th in Net Rating over their past 10 games (+2.2), giving them a slight edge over Atlanta over the same time frame (+0.9).
Ultimately, I’m happy to grab the value with the underdog.
MORE BETS for Monday’s NBA slate!
