Given that every team is available and there are some big favorites on the board, Week 1 may seem like a free ticket in NFL survivor picks. Well, not so fast. Last year, the Cincinnati Bengals were 8-point favorites in the season opener against the visiting New England Patriots. Unfortunately for Cincinnati, and many NFL survivor pool players, New England pulled off a 16-10 upset win.
Although it doesn’t mean you have to avoid heavy favorites like the Eagles (-7) or Commanders (-6.5), it does mean you have to enter the season with a winning NFL survivor pool strategy. You need to know when to use a team or save them for a later date. Before finalizing any Week 1 NFL survivor picks, you need to see which team proven expert R.J. White is backing.
White has been SportsLine’s No. 1 NFL against-the-spread expert over the last eight years, going 718-623-37 against the spread to put him up more than 32 units on those picks at SportsLine since 2017. He has also delivered a 55% hit rate on his Vegas contest picks over the last 10 seasons and has two finishes in the money, including finishing 18th out of 2,748 entries back in 2017. He knows the NFL at a level that few do, making him the perfect expert to give NFL survivor pool strategy tips.
Now, White has turned his attention to the latest Week 1 NFL odds and locked in his Week 1 survivor pool pick. You can only see who White is backing this week at SportsLine. You can also bet the NFL at DraftKings, where new users can also target the DraftKings promo code, which offers $200 in bonus bets instantly plus over $200 off NFL Sunday Ticket:
Top Week 1 NFL survivor pool predictions
In Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season, White is avoiding the Broncos as a survivor pick despite their status as 7.5-point favorites at home against the Titans. He believes they’ll be one of the top Week 1 NFL survivor picks as they look like a team on the rise facing a Tennessee squad that could be among the worst in the league in 2025.
The Titans, however, are a bit of a wild card with the talented Cam Ward now under center, and planning a Week 1 matchup against them could be trickier than some are expecting. The Broncos also could be a prime target later in the season with matchups against the Giants and Raiders in Denver. See which team to pick instead here. You can bet every NFL game at bet365, where new users can check out the latest bet365 bonus code to get $150 in bonus bets after placing a $5 bet:
How to make Week 1 NFL survivor pool picks
Instead, White says to go deep you’ll need to “be comfortable with taking early risks on somewhat average teams,” and he’s found a surprising team to jump on in Week 1. The time to pick this team is now, and you can only see the play over at SportsLine.
Which team is a must-back in your Week 1 NFL survivor pool? Visit SportsLine now to see which team carries you to victory in Week 1, all from SportsLine’s top NFL expert all time.