Who had the best NFL offseason? Let's check what Vegas' odds say

There are many ways to judge an NFL offseason, including the grades we all love. But what about checking in with the oddsmakers in Las Vegas? They get paid to figure this stuff out, after all.

The sportsbook at the Westgate in Las Vegas is one of the most best known in that city, and it put out Super Bowl odds on Jan. 10. That's way too early, but why not? It constantly updates those odds, and Covers.com tweeted out the changes in the odds from Jan. 10 to May 1, when the draft came to a close.

Here's a disclaimer: Changes in odds aren't necessarily reflective of what an oddsmaker thinks of a team's offseason. The Broncos went from 20-to-1 to 16-to-1, and it would be hard to find anyone who thinks they're better now than they were on Jan. 10. But plenty of bettors probably saw that 20-to-1, figured it was good value, and the Westgate presumably changed the odds because plenty of people were betting on Denver. So a change for good or bad isn't necessarily a reflection of a team's offseason. It's not a scientific approach to rank offseasons based on odds moves.

But it's also not a terrible snapshot for some teams, and a fun way to measure. So here are the teams who have seen their Super Bowl odds decreased by at least 25 percent at the Westgate since early January. The first three seem to have changed for reasons other than their acquisitions, but there's probably something to be said about what the final three teams have done since the beginning of March:

PROBABLY RANDOM LINE MOVES

Cleveland Browns
Jan. 10: 200-to-1 odds to win Super Bowl
May 1: 150-to-1

Hue Jackson (AP)
Hue Jackson (AP)

Who is betting on the Browns to win it all? If you are, you missed your chance to get that 200-to-1.

Are the Browns that much better off today? They added Robert Griffin III (are we sure he's better than Josh McCown, who he'll replace?), safety Rahim Moore and linebacker Demario Davis. They had a huge draft class that included some much-needed help at receiver. But nothing to get too excited about.

They did hire Hue Jackson as coach, and he did very fine work as the Cincinnati Bengals' offensive coordinator the past two years. Maybe that's the reason for the odds shift. Maybe the books just figured out 200-to-1 was too high don't need to take that Leicester City body blow. But let's chalk this up to bad odds to start with, not a great offseason.

New England Patriots
Jan. 10: 8-to-1
May 1: 6-to-1

Very interesting, considering that between Jan. 10 and now, quarterback Tom Brady had his four-game suspension reinstated. Also, New England had no first-round draft pick and traded defensive end Chandler Jones.

However, the Patriots were close last season and other than Jones, they didn't lose much. Defensive end Akiem Hicks to the Bears might be the biggest loss, unless you're a big Brandon LaFell fan. They added their typical low-cost situational pieces like linebacker Shea McClellin, defensive end Chris Long, defensive tackle Terrance Knighton and receiver Nate Washington. They also signed tight end Clay Harbor and traded for tight end Martellus Bennett. They also traded for guard Jonathan Cooper, a former top-10 pick.

The odds probably dipped because Patriots fans love their team and 8-to-1 looked enticing. If you believe Brady will come back angry and the Patriots made some good moves this offseason (though it's hard to just dismiss the loss of Jones), then the shift makes some sense. But it's hard to think they had a top-five offseason.

Carolina Panthers
Jan. 10: 12-to-1
May 1: 9-to-1

Think of where the Panthers were on Jan. 10. There were still some folks who weren't sure they were for real, despite a 15-1 record. Two big playoff wins might have changed the perception, which isn't totally erased by a Super Bowl loss.

It is also fair to point out that the Panthers lost an All-Pro player, cornerback Josh Norman, and got nothing in return when they yanked his franchise tag. They haven't added an amazing free agent. Their draft was solid, including three cornerbacks to try to replace Norman (no, I still don't know why they didn't just keep Norman around for a year on the tag), but not spectacular.

It's hard to say it has been a great offseason, but the Super Bowl odds have dipped. Kelvin Benjamin should be back and the Panthers should be very good again and let's face it: 12-to-1 in January was a bad line.

THE OFFSEASON MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Houston Texans
Jan. 10: 40-to-1
May 1: 30-to-1

(AP)
(AP)

Now we're cooking. This is a much different team than we saw lose to the Kansas City Chiefs in the wild-card game. While everyone is excited about the Jacksonville Jaguars' offseason, Houston's offseason hasn't gotten enough attention. Jacksonville's Super Bowl odds have stayed steady at 50-to-1, by the way.

Coach Bill O'Brien had fielded a competitive team the past two years without a quarterback and not a ton of great skill-position talent aside from Arian Foster (when healthy) and DeAndre Hopkins. That will be changing.

Brock Osweiler was given $18 million a year to be the new quarterback. Running back Lamar Miller was signed. First-round pick Will Fuller should be a deep threat right away and third-round pick Braxton Miller can be an interesting matchup problem at slot receiver. Even the offensive line got a bump with guard Jeff Allen being signed.

The Texans invested heavily to upgrade the offense in the offseason. The defense, with J.J. Watt, should be solid again. Houston has improved a lot without a ton of fanfare, but apparently Vegas noticed.

Baltimore Ravens
Jan. 10: 40-to-1
May 1: 30-to-1

You could have done worse than blindly taking the Ravens at 40-to-1 in January. They're a good organization and won't be down long.

The offseason hasn't been bad. Safety Eric Weddle fills a huge need. Receiver Mike Wallace should match well with Joe Flacco's big arm (and all news on Flacco's recovery from an ACL injury has been good). Ben Watson was a nice add at tight end. Losing offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele was a blow, but overall the Ravens did well. Then the draft, headlined by tackle Ronnie Stanley, seems like it will include some rookie contributors.

If you believe the Ravens' terrible 2015 was an outlier, and the offseason was pretty strong, it makes sense why people are buying into a Baltimore turnaround.

Oakland Raiders
Jan. 10: 50-to-1
May 1: 30-to-1

The biggest change, percentage wise, in any team's Super Bowl odds since early January was to Oakland. It's an exciting time to be a Raiders fan.

There's a good young core led by quarterback Derek Carr and linebacker Khalil Mack. Then came free agency: offensive lineman Osemele, cornerback Sean Smith, outside linebacker Bruce Irvin, safety Reggie Nelson. That's a pretty good haul. The draft should produce some instant contributors, especially safety and first-round pick Karl Joseph.

If you're looking for a breakout team, and you don't want to join everyone else on the Jaguars' bandwagon, Oakland is a nice pick. Vegas' Super Bowl odds agree.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!