Best NFL Handicappers to Watch in 2025

With the NFL season upon us, millions will be making their NFL football picks each week. Heading into each Sunday, the savviest bettors find edges that keep them ahead of the curve all year long. These are known as expert handicappers.

The best NFL handicappers analyze the matchups, historical trends, odds, and perform statistical analysis to make more accurate predictions than most other NFL bettors. While making NFL picks might not be as tough as being a college football bettor, it is still challenging to predict the league each week. Read on to find tips from the best NFL handicappers and how you can place expert NFL bets.

What is NFL Handicapping?

NFL handicappers approach each of the games during the NFL regular season to find an advantage when making bets. They look at things like the matchup (is the offensive line good? Has the quarterback played well against this team before?), the point spread, coaching, dive into game previews, and even compare other free NFL picks in order to make more accurate predictions.

It is important to remember that these guys play the odds like anyone else. Though they may find an edge in these games, they are still at the whims of the two teams playing on Sunday. A bad day by the quarterback, bad coaching, or a last second field goal can ruin any perceived edge in free NFL expert picks.

The Best NFL Handicappers This Season

The cool thing about the NFL is that there are more than a few expert NFL handicappers out there to do the work for you. If you plan to place bets over the course of the season, your best bet is to follow free NFL picks from the best NFL handicappers. Here are the handicappers to follow if you want to win your wagers each week.

Bobby Wing

Last season, Bobby Wing was far and above the most prolific NFL handicapper out there. He picked successfully a whopping 60.8% of the time, but that isn’t the most important number. His +16.1% ROI is the more interesting number. He’s not betting prolifically – just 65-42 – but picks his spots well.

Sal Michaels

Just behind Wing is Michaels, who honed a record of 56-39 this past season. With $1,344 in profit, his picks resulted in an impressive 12.3% ROI based on a 59% success rate. Achieving an ROI better than 10% means Michaels is an elite handicapper.

David Price

Price is one of the “safer” bettors on the list with average odds of around -112. Still, it’s hard to hate his 57.5% success rate when making NFL picks. With an ROI of 8.5%, he isn’t as high as others but clearly knows what to look for each week.

Ricky Tran

Tran certainly picks his spots as his 46-31 record indicates. That said, he hits 59.7% of the time for a very impressive +9.8% ROI. Tran is also one of the safest bettors out there with average odds of -121 but clearly has an eye for finding an edge.

How to Handicap NFL Football Like a Pro

Don’t like leaving your chance to win during the NFL regular season on a slew of free NFL picks? With a few helpful tips from the best website, your bets can have a better chance to win each week. These are just a handful of tips that bettors can follow to improve their chances of being successful in NFL and sports betting.

Look for Late Line Movements

Las Vegas sportsbooks often release odds for next week’s games late Sunday night or early Monday morning. These are early lines, subject to change over the course of the week. That movement is something that you can use to your advantage.

Watch the lines to see how they shift. This will give a better indication of who the sportsbooks are leaning towards, plus give you a chance to see which way the betting public is leaning. The more information you have, the better and shifting lines can be quite the piece of information.

Bet on the Money Line

The spread can be enticing, but quite difficult to master. Even the best NFL handicappers struggle to consistently win when betting on the spread. For that reason, it might be smarter to bet on the money line instead.

There is nothing as simple as betting on who will win. Sure, the odds may not be the most lucrative – heavy favorites in the NFL can be -300 or worse – but it is the “safest” play at times. In tighter games, choosing who you think will win can be much easier than deciding whether a 2.5-point favorite will cover the spread or not.

Watch for “Trap” Betting Lines

If you have been an NFL fan for even a short while, you have no doubt heard of the “trap” game. In these games, a heavy favorite prepares to play a major underdog. Looming ahead for the favorite is a primetime matchup with a similarly successful foe.

This is a recipe for the underdog to take advantage of the situation. It is not uncommon for a good team to get caught peeking ahead in the schedule, taken advantage of by a hungry underdog looking to score a big win. Watch for these potential trap games if you want to score a big upset of your own.

Analyze the Matchups

Betting with your gut might sound like a decent plan, but it is more than likely going to lead to a loss than a win. What makes NFL handicappers good at what they do is that they take the time to analyze the games, peruse the matchups, and find advantages.

Do as the NFL handicappers do and take a close look at the matchups. Let’s say you have your eye on a matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns. On paper, the Chiefs have the better history and current record, so it’s an easy pick, right? Think again.

Analyzing the matchup shows that the Browns have an elite pass rush and the Chiefs have a weak offensive line. Even if the Browns don’t win, they are more than likely to play the Chiefs closely. A matchup like this would make the Browns an ideal option to cover the spread.

Divisional Underdogs

It is tough to win in the NFL. When you follow free picks, you are hoping that these handicappers have done their homework. Even then, it can be tough to score a win each week because of how tough it is for each team to win in the NFL.

Divisional foes know one another the best. They play each other twice each season, every season. They are more familiar with other players, game plans, and tendencies. More often than not, the score is tighter in games between the two. Even if one team lost, it is entirely possible that the score can swing the next time out.

The sharpest NFL handicappers know this. For that reason, they tend to focus on divisional underdogs, particularly those at home. Winning on the road in the NFL is a major challenge and it is not uncommon for a home underdog to get the best of a favorite. Pick your spots and look for home divisional underdogs like the handicappers do.

See What the Public is Doing for Games

Let’s face facts: Las Vegas (a term for the sportsbooks) would not make money if the public managed to win their bets more often than not. Though it is far from a certainty, one common tactic when making NFL picks throughout the season is to see what the public is doing and act accordingly.

Let’s look at a matchup between the Tennessee Titans and Denver Broncos. If most of the bets are on one team – let’s say the Broncos – it would raise red flags in the eyes of sharp handicappers. If the public is going hard for one team, say 80% or more of bettors, then the right play is to pick the other team (the Titans in this case).

Throughout the NFL season, there will be a number of games where the public goes hard for one team. Watch out for these games (in all sports, frankly) and you will put yourself in a good position to score a nice win.

Don’t Bet All the Games – Pick Your Spots

With so many free picks out there, bettors make a common mistake: they play all the games. Bets are meant to be sporadic, carefully chosen on a team that fits the bill. Reduce the number of bets you make and only play that week if you feel good about a particular team or a handful of games, at most.

The same rule goes for player props, parlay bets, etc. The NFL handicappers that make money do so by doing their homework, choosing a team they feel confident about, and limiting the number of games they bet on. Lost bets are common, but they become even more common when you’re placing several bets each week.

A win is far from guaranteed, so why place bets on several games and lower your odds? The football season will offer plenty of opportunities – as will any sports season if you’re into that – so put yourself in a better position to score a win by limiting the number of bets you make.

Ignore the Point Spread – Kind of

The point spread is one of the most talked about aspects when it comes to betting on these games. NFL picks often talk about making the best bet but as it turns out, the smartest bets don’t really concern themselves with the point spread. Why? More often than not, the team that covers the spread manages to win the game outright.

Let’s look at an example: Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders are 7.5-point favorites over the Indianapolis Colts. If you believe that the Commanders will win that week, assume they will cover the spread. It makes bets simpler, and the underlying numbers support the play.

Football can be a simple game if you don’t overcomplicate things. NFL handicappers know these things, which is why they wind up making money over the course of a season. Simply your wagers and take the points if you think that the team will win outright that week.

Make NFL Picks Like One of the Best NFL Handicappers

Though there is no guarantee when making NFL picks, you can match the top NFL handicappers by staying the course and sticking to the plan. Whether betting preseason or throughout the NFL season, you’re in it for the long haul. At any point, the odds can get the best of you as it happens to even the smartest bets.

The football season is a great time to place bets. Get in on the NFL action each week and win more often than not by following advice from the best NFL handicappers. With so many games to play, there are a ton of NFL picks to make money on.