We have made it to the first week of September, which means the start of the NFL regular season is nigh.

The Chiefs and Ravens will kick off the season on Thursday, followed by a matchup between the Packers and Eagles on Friday. Then we have our first full Sunday of the regular season, with Monday Night Football between the Jets and 49ers to wrap things up. Add in a little college football on Saturday, and it’s a truly elite five-day stretch.

With the start of the season imminent, it’s time to take one last look at the futures market and ensure that we have all our boxes checked. Which teams are we bullish on, who do we want to fade, and what are the best ways to do so?

Let’s dive into a few last-minute bets to target before the start of the year.

DK Metcalf Most Receiving Touchdowns (+2700; FanDuel)

I’m stealing this one from John Laghezza, who has done a great job of manning the Betting Life Newsletter over the past month. The odds on Metcalf to lead the league in receiving touchdowns have dipped from +3000 to +2700 over the past week or so, but that still stands out as a tremendous value.

+2700 gives Metcalf approximately the 15th-shortest odds in this market. That makes this a misprice just looking at his numbers from the past few years. He was sixth in PFF’s expected receiving touchdowns last year, and he’s been the most-targeted player in the end zone over the past two seasons. He’s racked up 42 end-zone targets since 2022, and no one else is in the same zip code. Mike Evans is the only other player with more than 30, and he just barely makes the cut at 31.

Those numbers make Metcalf appealing to begin with, but they don’t even account for the potential change in offensive philosophy in Seattle. Gone is Pete Carroll, and he’s hopefully taking his run-first philosophy with him. Ryan Grubb will be running the offense instead, and he opted for a pass-heavy attack during his time and the University of Washington.

With Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the Seahawks should undoubtedly be leaning on their aerial attack. This could be a career year for Metcalf from a volume perspective, and given his athletic ability, that’s a dangerous proposition for opposing defenses.

Cincinnati Bengals Best Regular-Season Record (+1200; FanDuel)

The Bengals are a team I am very bullish on this season. That’s not exactly a huge limb to go out on. They’ve been one of the best teams in football with a healthy Joe Burrow under center, making it to back-to-back AFC Championship Games and one Super Bowl over the past three seasons.

2023 was a bit of a lost year for Cincinnati, but it should pay dividends in 2024. They’ll get to play a fourth-place schedule in the AFC North, which results in the sixth-easiest schedule in terms of opponent win totals. That’s a massive edge compared to the rest of the AFC North, with the Ravens, Steelers, and Browns each playing one of the four toughest schedules in football.

Including the playoffs, the Bengals were 26-13 against the spread with Burrow under center from 2021 and 2022. They went 4-1 straight up in the five games where Burrow was at full strength last season. As long as he stays healthy, this team is poised to win a lot of games against such a comfortable schedule.

They check in at +1200 to finish with the best record in the regular season on FanDuel, which is merely the sixth-shortest odds. None of the teams above them in this market are slated to face an easier schedule, so this is a great way to get exposure to what should be a really good team.

Detroit Lions & Green Bay Packers To Finish Top 2 in NFC North (+150; DraftKings)

This future doesn’t offer a huge payout, but it’s still one of my favorite bets on the board at the moment.

It can be tough to find ways to get exposure to “trendy” teams. Bettors really like the Lions and Packers this season. The Lions were extremely close to making it to the Super Bowl last season, while the Packers were one of the best teams in football over the second half of the year. If Jordan Love takes another step forward, they could improve heavily from last year’s nine-win campaign.

With that in mind, it’s no surprise that the over is juiced pretty heavily on both team’s win totals. The over on 10.5 for the Lions is priced at -132, while the over 9.5 wins for the Packers is -138.

That makes getting them at +150 to finish as the top two squads in the division an excellent value. If both teams can win 10+ games, I don’t see either the Bears or Vikings jumping them in the standings. The Bears have gained some steam as a sleeper team of late, but I’m not a huge believer in their prospects in Caleb Williams’ first season.

Los Angeles Rams Most Points Scored (+2500; FanDuel)

Let’s wrap things up with another long shot. The Rams are available at +2500 to be the highest-scoring team on FanDuel, which is more than double what you’ll find at DraftKings (+1200). It puts them just 13th from an odds perspective, which feels a bit disrespectful to Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay.

The Rams got off to a slow start last season, but they were awesome offensively down the stretch. From Week 11 on, they averaged 28.25 points per game and rolled to a 7-1 record. They were No. 4 in EPA per play offensively, so their offense was clearly one of the best in football.

Not much should change in 2024. Stafford is still at the helm, and he’ll still have Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua to lean on in the passing game. The team also added Blake Corum in the draft, so the running game has a bit of an insurance policy if Kyren Williams suffers another injury.