Top 10 favorites for Super Bowl 53

7. Seattle Seahawks

My preseason pick to win the NFC this year didn’t even make the playoffs. In the immediate aftermath of that underachievement, Pete Carroll overhauled his coaching staff and it will be different practically from top to bottom. On top of that, injuries, salary cap concerns and free agency will bring offseason questions about how the once-vaunted defense, including the “Legion of Boom”, will look going forward.

But the combination of Carroll and quarterback Russell Wilson will keep the Seahawks in the conversation among the best teams in the NFC, and in the league as a whole, until further notice. If the offensive line and the running back situation can be upgraded even marginally, assuming a representative performance from the defense, a jump right back to the top of the NFC West and possibly into a first-round playoff bye could come for the Seahawks next season.

It will be easy to forget all about the Seahawks heading into next season. But they’re out there with 30/1 odds to win Super Bowl LIII as of this writing, and it won’t take a back-breaking bet (where it’s legal to do it, of course) to get a nice payout if they happen to pull it off.