2025 NFL Futures: Make/Miss Playoffs Picks and Best Bets To Back

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) takes part in drills during an NFL football practice Thursday, July 24, 2025, at the team's headquarters in Centennial, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

With rosters essentially finalized and preseason just getting started, now is the time to lock in some of the favorite NFL futures available at the best betting apps for the 2025 season.

While wagering on which team is going to win the Super Bowl is fun, better odds and more value can be found elsewhere. That includes other results-based futures, such as if a team will even make the postseason.

Bookies.com senior NFL handicapper Adam Thompson has his finger on the pulse of the NFL. Thompson has hit on over 60% of his NFL picks in each of the last four years.  Here are his favorite Make/Miss Playoffs futures as the 2025 NFL season looms.

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2025 NFL Futures Best Bets

Pick: Denver Broncos, Make Playoffs

Odds: -124 at DraftKings

The Broncos made the playoffs in 2024 at 10-7, a surprise team as QB Bo Nix showed up poised and played above his pro experience.

Expect better overall things from Denver this season. The Broncos should field one of the top defenses in the AFC. Last year’s pass defense ranked 24th but they added talent in the backfield.

Offensively, the addition of RB JK Dobbins is a low-risk, high-reward acquisition, and RJ Harvey in the second rounds helps turn a weakness into a strength.

The Broncos could have a chance to dethrone the Chiefs in the AFC West, a major value play at +330.

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Pick: Pittsburgh Steelers, Make Playoffs

Odds: +130 at BetMGM

Aaron Rodgers of course is the headline, but the real reason is the defense. The personnel is there to be Top 5 vs. the Run and Top 5 vs. the Pass, and certainly steady against both.

And now you have a QB that may not be the elite playmaker he once was, but he’s the most mistake-free QBs in history. A questionable run game is going to be a concern for the Steelers, but the schedule is favorable.

Pick: Cincinnati Bengals, Miss Playoffs

Odds: +125 at DraftKings

Joe Burrow is a Top 5 QB, and he has the weapons to be prolific once again. But opposing defenses don’t need to pay much attention to the run game, and Burrow will again work behind a bottom-tier offensive line.

Their brightest spots on defense, Edge rusher Trey Hendrickson and rookie Edge Shemar Stewart, have had a public spats with management, and the AFC North is going to be a tough division.

Pick: Los Angeles Rams, Miss Playoffs

Odds: +130 at FanDuel

The Rams were a surprise 10-7 playoff team in 2024. But things could change this season. The Cardinals are on their tails in the NFC West. Davante Adams is a nice pickup, but defensively there are going to be some issues, especially at corner. They also have a tougher schedule. The 49ers are looking to bounce back from an injury plagued season, and the Seahawks won’t be a pushover. The Cardinals had a better off-season than the Rams. Nothing will come easy for L.A., so we’re liking the plus odds.

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