Pre-Season NFL Betting News: Panthers and Bryce Young vs Jets

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Saturday afternoon will be one of the biggest moments in the recent history of the Carolina Panthers franchise as they open the 2023 NFL preseason at home against the New York Jets and it will be the debut of Panthers No. 1 overall pick and quarterback Bryce Young as he will start against New York. Carolina opened at -1.5 on the NFL odds.

NFL Preseason: Panthers No. 1 Overall Pick Bryce Young Starting Saturday Vs. Jets | NFL Lines by MyBookie

NFL Preseason: August 2, 2023 – August 27, 2023

Of course, the Panthers traded up from No. 9 in this year’s draft to No. 1 with the Chicago Bears, giving up very good young wideout DJ Moore and several picks, including their 2024 first-rounder. The Bears are hoping that Young flops as a rookie. He already had been named the starter for the regular season opener by new head coach Frank Reich, but we weren’t sure how Reich would handle the preseason. The Panthers also have two joint practices with the Jets ahead of Saturday’s game.

Reich said he has a plan for how long Young will play, but that it won’t be set in stone ahead of time: “I do have an idea. There is flexibility in the plan. There has to be. That’s just being smart about it. We have a general idea how many plays we want to get through the whole preseason, but that can be adjusted by 10 or 20 percent depending on how things go.’’

Young, a two-year starter and 2021 Heisman Trophy winner at Alabama, has all the makings of a star QB. He threw for 8,200 yards, 79 touchdowns and 12 interceptions with a 23-4 record in 27 collegiate starts. Unlike Cam Newton, the last signal-caller Carolina selected with the top overall pick, Young is slightly built, standing at 5-foot-10 and 204 pounds, and is far more of a pocket passer.

By all accounts, Young has looked good in camp but also had his share of rookie mistakes. The targets have been spread out and plentiful for the likes of Adam Thielen, DJ Chark, Jonathan Mingo, Terrace Marshall, Miles Sanders, Chuba Hubbard, Raheem Blackshear, Laviska Shenault, Hayden Hurst, Ian Thomas and Tommy Tremble this summer. During 11-on-11 work over the weekend, Young — who was “sacked” four times during three series — completed 6 of 8 passes (75%).

He targeted seven different receivers within those eight passes, and only tight end Ian Thomas was targeted twice. Young has already advanced in the art of the line-of-scrimmage check — Young shows full command of the offense pre-snap. At one point in the spring, he checked into a play that the Panthers hadn’t run yet.

Defensively, Carolina made a notable move on Sunday in signing former Pro Bowl pass-rusher Justin Houston. The 34-year-old Houston had 9.5 sacks for Baltimore last year and 111.5 in 12 seasons in the league and will help deflect attention on the other side from young star Brian Burns. He has 38.0 sacks in four seasons, is coming off two straight Pro Bowls, and is still just 25. (For context, Hall of Honor defensive end Julius Peppers had 40.5 sacks in his first four seasons.)

With Marquis Haynes Sr. injured, Carolina pushed to make a move but wasn’t comfortable paying the $10.5 million that Yannick Ngakoue got from Chicago. Without a second known commodity on the other side, they were likely going to have to adjust on the fly and move people around to create the kind of pressure they need to make defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero’s scheme work. Senior defensive assistant Dom Capers knows that you need two. When he started with the Panthers in 1995, he had Lamar Lathon on one side, and he was very good. But adding Kevin Greene the following year took the defense to a new level, and they went to the NFC Championship Game. The second one makes a huge difference.

The Jets lost their preseason opener 21-16 to Cleveland last Thursday in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton. New Jets starting QB Aaron Rodgers didn’t play a snap and won’t play against Carolina, either. He will participate in joint practices with the Panthers on Wednesday and Thursday at Wofford College.

Other than no Rodgers, Coach Robert Saleh has not stated his plans in terms of who will and won’t play Saturday night at Bank of America Stadium in the Jets’ second preseason game. Zach Wilson seems likely to start at QB again. Pro Bowl tackle Quinnen Williams is excited to test the defense in practice.

“It gives you a chance to see where you are at as a player,” he said. “See where you are at as a defense. See where you are at when it comes to competing, making mental errors and competing.”

Expert Prediction

Jets 23, Panthers 20

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