The newly named Commanders boast a good defense with an elite defensive line led by former second overall pick, Chase Young, who should return sometime this season after recovering from a torn ACL. They're led by a defensive-minded head coach, Ron Rivera, who generally gets his teams to overachieve. Offensively, Washington has a nice nucleus of skill position players in running back Antonio Gibson and receivers Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, and first round rookie Jahan Dotson. They've brought in Carson Wentz to play quarterback, though his last two seasons haven't been great considering both the Eagles and Colts couldn't wait to rid themselves of his services. The Commanders have sneaky playoff potential if Wentz reverts to anywhere near his 2017 form (which, admittedly, is a big if).

If all goes well, a 4-2 start for Rivera's team isn't impossible (but not necessarily probable) despite the fact they face three 2021 playoff teams in that time frame. The key part of the schedule might be Weeks 11 through 13, where the team must defeat all three of Houston, Atlanta, and the Giants, to have realistic playoff chances. Two of those games come on the road.

This edition of the Washington franchise probably has a ceiling of nine wins, though Caesars Sportsbook sets their season over/under at 7.5. With the NFC looking to be the weaker of the two conferences, it's difficult to find seven contending teams at first glance. If they get to eight wins and surpass the oddsmakers' total, it's not inconceivable that the Commanders could backdoor a trip into the postseason, so the +160 line has some value... if you're a believer in a bounce-back from Wentz, that is.

• More NFL futures: SportsLine Projection Model's best bets

Below, you'll find the Washington Commanders 2022 schedule, win total and more futures odds from Caesars Sportsbook, followed by picks from top SportsLine NFL analysts Larry Hartstein, R.J. White and Alex Selesnick. You'll also find three bets favored by the SportsLine Projection Model.

Entering the 2022 NFL season, Larry is 427-344 all-time on NFL sides (plus $3,764 for $100 players), including 394-330 ATS. He went 68-50 ATS (58 percent) and 8-3 on moneyline plays last season for a profit of $1,552. Over the past seven years, R.J.'s SuperContest picks are 329-250-21 (56.8 percent) and he consistently crushes the NFL: He went 445-378-24 on ATS picks from 2017-21, returning $2,542 to $100 players as SportsLine's No. 1 NFL expert in against the spread picks. Selesnick (aka PropStarz) specializes in MLB, NFL and NBA prop betting, where he implements a combination of research, statistical analysis and mathematical modeling to deliver profitable long-term results.

Washington Commanders 2022 schedule

Week 1: vs. Jacksonville
Week 2: at Detroit
Week 3: vs. Philadelphia
Week 4: at Dallas
Week 5: vs. Tennessee
Week 6: at Chicago (TNF)
Week 7: vs. Green Bay
Week 8: at Indianapolis
Week 9: vs. Minnesota
Week 10: at Philadelphia (MNF)
Week 11: at Houston
Week 12: vs. Atlanta
Week 13: at New York Giants
Week 14: BYE
Week 15: vs. New York Giants (SAT or SUN)
Week 16: at San Francisco (SAT)
Week 17: vs. Cleveland
Week 18: at Dallas

Washington Commanders 2022 futures odds

Win Total Over: 7.5 (-125)
Win Total Under: 7.5 (+105)

Make Playoffs: +160
Miss Playoffs: -190

Win Division: +500
Win Conference: +3500
Win Super Bowl: +8000

So will the Commanders go over or under their win total for the 2022 season? And what other futures bets are worth making? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Larry Hartstein and R.J. White's Washington Commanders 2022 futures picks, all from the acclaimed experts who have crushed the NFL for years!