Patriots, Eagles Top Betting Favorites to Lead NFL in Wins After 2018 NFL Draft

The New England Patriots are projected by Las Vegas oddsmakers to win more games in 2018 (11) than any other NFL team, according to ESPN.com's David Purdum.

Both the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers were second in projected wins (10.5), with the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings following closely behind with 10.

Ed Salmons, the head football oddsmaker for the Westgate SuperBook, told Purdum that "more bets have been placed and more money has been placed and more moneyh as been wagered on the [Los Angeles] Rams to win the Super Bowl than any other team."

Based on recent history, Vegas might be underselling New England. The Patriots had 13 wins in 2017 and 14 in 2016, and they haven't registered fewer than 12 victories since 2009.

Tom Brady is coming off a season in which he threw for a league-high 4,577 yards, and New England returns almost all of its key players from last year. The Patriots should once again be in contention for the NFL's best record.

But they'll have plenty of competition from the reigning Super Bowl champions. The Eagles will have Carson Wentz back from injury and acquired Haloti Ngata, Mike Wallace and Michael Bennett. Matching last year's 13 wins may not be out of the question for Philadelphia.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the winless Cleveland Browns are in line for a big improvement. Purdum noted the Browns were listed at 5.5 wins following a busy offseason.

Even before selecting Baker Mayfield and Denzel Ward in the first round of the 2018 draft, Cleveland added Tyrod Taylor, Jarvis Landry, Carlos Hyde, Damarious Randall and E.J. Gaines.

The Browns may be able to flirt with a .500 record, so going with the over could be a good value play if their projected wins don't climb any higher.