Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams will try to become the first No. 1 overall pick at quarterback in more than two decades to win his first career start when Chicago takes on the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at Soldier Field. The last quarterback to be drafted No. 1 and win his first start was David Carr, who led the Texans to a win over the Cowboys in 2002. The last 15 No. 1 overall picks at quarterback are 0-14-1 in their first career start. The Bears are favored by four points according to the latest Week 1 NFL odds. Should you include the Bears in your Week 1 NFL parlay picks or should you target NFL matchups like Jaguars vs. Dolphins (-3), Steelers vs. Falcons (-3) or Commanders vs. Buccaneers (-3)? Before you make any Week 1 NFL picks or NFL parlays, be sure to see what SportsLine senior analyst Larry Hartstein has to say.
A former lead writer for Covers and The Linemakers, Hartstein combines a vast network of Vegas sources with an analytical approach he honed working for Pro Football Focus. He tied for 52nd place (out of 1,598 entries) in the 2022 Westgate Las Vegas SuperContest, going 53-34-3 ATS. Hartstein’s weekly Vegas contest selections form the basis of his NFL best bets column, which is 79-48-2 (62.2%, +25.95 units) since its inception in 2022. Anyone who has followed him is way up.
For Week 1, Hartstein has locked in three confident best bets. If you successfully parlay his picks, you’re looking at a payout of almost 6-1. You can only see Hartstein’s Week 1 NFL picks at SportsLine.
Top Week 1 NFL picks
We can tell you Hartstein loves the Browns (-2.5) to cover against the Cowboys. The Browns will be without the services of star running back Nick Chubb, who’s coming off a serious knee injury suffered in Week 2 last season. However, the Browns have a plethora of explosive pass catchers, including veteran Amari Cooper.
In 2023, Cooper set a career-high with 1,250 yards, and he also added 72 receptions and five touchdowns on 128 targets in 15 games. The Browns also added speedster Jerry Jeudy this offseason to go with Cooper, Elijah Moore and David Njoku. In addition, the Browns are 6-0 against the spread in their past six games at home and they’re 6-2 in their last eight games played in September. The Cowboys, meanwhile, have lost four of their last six season openers, a big reason why Hartstein is backing Cleveland at home on Sunday. See which other NFL parlay picks to make here.
How to make Week 1 NFL parlays
Hartstein also jumped on two other NFL matchups, including backing one team who he says is