NFL futures, odds: Baltimore Ravens look to rebound from frustrating 2021 season

Every NFL season, there's one team that has their season absolutely destroyed by injuries. Last season, that team was the Baltimore Ravens. They lost J.K. Dobbins, Marcus Peters and Gus Edwards for the year before the season even started. Despite that, they began the season with an 8-3 record. However, injuries continued to mount with the team often having near 15 players on the injury report any given week. They lost Marlon Humphrey and most importantly Lamar Jackson to major injuries down the stretch. It became too much for the Ravens to overcome, and they finished the season on a six game losing streak and missed the playoffs.

On the bright side for the Ravens, those teams that are decimated by injuries are usually good bets to bounce back the next season. In 2020, the San Francisco 49ers season was ruined by injuries. Healthier in 2021, the 49ers bounced back. They won 10 games, made the playoffs and made a run to the NFC championship game. The Ravens hope a similar bounce-back is in store for them.

The expectations are there for the Ravens. They've been consistently competitive under John Harbaugh. Since Lamar Jackson took over the starting job in 2018, they've been consistently excellent for the most part. That's one of the main reasons why Yahoo's Frank Schwab ranked the Ravens seventh in his preseason power rankings. The betting market seems to agree that the Ravens will be vastly improved from last season.

Baltimore favored to win AFC North

Don't be fooled by the Baltimore Ravens' record to finish last season. Sure, 8-9 is not a great record, but serious context is needed. The Ravens were 8-3 through Week 12. They were a serious contender for the No. 1 seed in the AFC and looked like they were going to win the AFC North. Baltimore then lost quarterback Lamar Jackson to injury in Week 14 and proceeded to end the season on a 6-game losing streak.

This upcoming season, the Ravens' preseason win total is set at 9.5 wins. This is a team that won 14 games in 2019 and 11 games in 2020. Remember, those seasons only had 16 games. They were on pace for 12-13 wins last season before the late season implosion. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that 90% of bets and 95% of the money is backing Baltimore to go over 9.5 wins.

The Ravens are -165 favorites to make the playoffs. At those odds, it's suggested they make the playoffs over 62% of the time. Last season was the first time in Lamar Jackson's career that the Ravens did not make the playoffs. Overall, in 14 seasons under John Harbaugh, the Ravens have made the playoffs nine times.

The simplest path to making the playoffs for the Ravens would be to win the AFC North. The Ravens are the current betting favorites to win the division at +160. Almost 52% of the betting handle so far has backed Baltimore to win the division. The next closest team in betting handle is the Bengals, who are receiving just 30% of the money.

Baltimore is a -275 favorite to finish top-2 in the division. According to the betting odds, the most likely teams to finish in the top two are the Ravens and the Bengals. Those teams occupying the top two spots pays out at +145. The Ravens finished last season in last place in the division. If for some reason, you expect that to happen again, the Ravens are +800 to finish in the basement of the AFC North.

The Ravens are 16-to-1 to finish the regular season with the most wins in the league. Those are tied for the seventh best odds with the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos. Baltimore had the best record in the league in 2019.

Baltimore is +750 to finish the regular season as the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Those odds are tied for third best with the Broncos. Only the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs have better odds.

Are the Ravens a good value Super Bowl bet?

The Baltimore Ravens enter the 2022 season with 20-to-1 odds to win the Super Bowl. Those odds are tied for the 10th best with the Cincinnati Bengals. Those odds are just behind the Dallas Cowboys and slightly ahead of the Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts.

At this price, Baltimore is certainly an appealing value bet to win the Super Bowl. Baltimore has shown their ability to be one of the league's best teams during the regular season. Of course, the question with Baltimore will remain their ability to win in the playoffs with Lamar Jackson under center. He's just 1-3 as a starter in the playoffs and until he can string together a deep playoff run, the questions will remain, no matter how unfair they might be.

Baltimore is 11-to-1 to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. Those odds are tied for fifth best with the Bengals. Buffalo, Kansas City, Los Angeles and Denver are the four teams in the AFC with better odds than the Ravens.

Ravens player props and awards

In 2019, Lamar Jackson won NFL MVP and John Harbaugh won coach of the year. Can history repeat itself in 2022?

Lamar Jackson

Lamar Jackson enters the 2022 NFL season with 20-to-1 odds to win MVP. Those are the 10th best odds in the NFL, right behind Matthew Stafford and Russell Wilson. Jackson is just ahead of Kyler Murray in the betting odds. Jackson won NFL MVP unanimously in 2019 and has the type of flashy game-breaking talent to always make him an appealing bet. A Jackson MVP and Ravens to win the AFC North parlay pays 35-to-1. Those are obviously correlated and could be a fun way to increase the payout.

However, the betting market isn't huge on Jackson's arm. He's 50-to-1 to lead the league in passing yards this upcoming season. Those odds are tied for 20th best with Jalen Hurts, Baker Mayfield and Carson Wentz. Jackson is 40-to-1 to lead the NFL in passing touchdowns. Those odds are tied for 13th best with Tua Tagovailoa and Kyler Murray. A lot of Jackson's value comes from his legs. He's 40-to-1 to lead the NFL in rushing yards. Those odds are 19th best and tied with running backs like Miles Sanders, Josh Jacobs and Aaron Jones.

Jackson's passing yards prop for this upcoming season is set at 3549.5 passing yards. He has never gone over this number in his career, though he was on pace for over 4000 passing yards last season before his injury. His over/under for passing touchdowns is set at 24.5 touchdowns. He went over this number in his first two full seasons, but was on pace for just 23 last year. Jackson's over/under for interceptions is set at 12.5 picks. He had 13 in just 12 games last season, but threw single digit interceptions in his first three seasons.

On the ground, Jackson's rushing prop is set at 849.5 rushing yards. He went over 1000 yards on the ground in his first two seasons and was on pace for nearly 1100 last season but had just 767 due to injury. His rushing touchdowns number is set at 6.5 scores. He had just two last season, but had seven in 2019 and 2020.

Mark Andrews

Mark Andrews is 25-to-1 to lead the NFL in receiving this upcoming season. Those odds are tied for 10th best with D.J. Moore and Deebo Samuel. Andrews finished 6th in receiving yards last season. He's also 25-to-1 to lead the NFL in receptions. Again, those odds are tied for 10th best with the likes of Jaylen Waddle and Diontae Johnson. Andrews finished 5th in receptions last season.

Andrews' props for the upcoming season are set at 83.5 receptions, 1049.5 receiving yards and 8.5 receiving touchdowns. Last season, he went over all of these numbers with 107 receptions, 1361 receiving yards and 9 scores.

J.K. Dobbins

J.K. Dobbins missed his entire sophomore season due to injury, but he was considered one of the top young running backs in the league before his injury. Dobbins' availability for the season opener isn't certain, but he's making good progress in his return from injury. He's 30-to-1 to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Those odds are tied for 13th best with Chris Godwin.

Dobbins is 30-to-1 to lead the NFL in rushing yards. Those odds are tied for 13th best with Austin Ekeler, Devin Singletary and Leonard Fournette. He's 25-to-1 to lead the league in rushing touchdowns. Those odds are tied for 10th best with five other running backs including Ezekiel Elliott and Javonte Williams.

Other Ravens players

• Kyle Hamilton is 10-to-1 to win Defensive Rookie of the Year. The safety out of Notre Dame has the fourth best odds to win the award behind Aidan Hutchinson, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Travon Walker.

• It was a less than ideal rookie season for wide receiver Rashod Bateman. He posted 46 receptions, 515 receiving yards and and one touchdown. However, with a healthier season for Bateman, a healthier season for his quarterback and the departure of Marquise Brown, big things are expected for Bateman in his sophomore season. His props for the upcoming season are set at 71.5 receptions, 849.5 receiving yards and 5.5 receiving touchdowns.

• Marcus Peters is 50-to-1 to win Comeback Player of the Year after missing all of last season with an injury.

• Matthew Judon is 66-to-1 to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Judon is 25-to-1 to lead the NFL in sacks. Those are the 14th best odds, tied with four others including Von Miller. Judon finished seventh in sacks last season with 12.5.

• John Harbaugh is 25-to-1 to win NFL Coach of the Year. Those odds are 14th best, tied with five others including Robert Saleh and Dennis Allen. Harbaugh won the award in 2019.

Ravens favored in Week 1

The Baltimore Ravens open their 2022 season with a trip to northern New Jersey to visit the New York Jets. The Ravens are currently 5.5-point road favorites as oddsmakers expect them to open the season with a win. Baltimore is a -250 favorite on the moneyline, odds that imply they win the game nearly 72% of the time.

The Jets have received some hype this offseason after adding four marquee names in the first two rounds of the draft. It's certainly a young team with potential, but if things go according to plan, these teams aren't in the same vicinity when it comes to expected results.

A bunch of important Ravens are still on the PUP list, so I'd wait until closer to game time to place a bet to make sure they're not missing too many key players. With that being said, if Baltimore is healthy they should take care of business against a team that oddsmakers project as one of the worst teams in the league.