Jets vs. Panthers: Picks, best bets for Week 1 NFL preseason

The Carolina Panthers will host the New York Jets for their preseason opener on Saturday afternoon. For the Jets, it will be their second preseason game, since they played in the Hall of Fame game earlier this month, but for the Panthers it’s officially the exhibition season opener. Kickoff is at 4 p.m. ET, and the game will air on NFL Network.

Panthers quarterback Bryce Young, the first overall pick in this year’s draft, will be making his NFL debut. That news was enough to flip the Panthers from underdog to the favorite in this game, but that might be a little premature. The Jets have a deep bench on defense, and even with Aaron Rodgers sitting out, Zach Wilson has been turning heads in camp.

Here, we’ll take a look at our picks for best bets for Jets vs. Panthers in Week 1 of the NFL preseason.

All odds come courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.

Jets vs. Panthers odds

Spread: Panthers -3.5
Point total: 37
Moneyline: Jets +145, Panthers -175

Our picks, best bets

Pick against the spread: Jets +3.5

The sky’s the limit for Bryce Young, but we’re not expecting him to play more than two or three offensive series against a smattering of first- and second-string Jets defenders. And the team will probably be conservative with him right off the bat too, limiting his throws and leaning mostly on the run just to give him a sample of something like NFL action.

Besides Young, the Jets should be able to cover here thanks to a much better depth chart, especially on defense. Plus, we’re looking for Wilson to continue to play above average in exhibition.

Over/under: Under 37

Preseason scoring is wildly unpredictable, because so much of it is coming from guys who will be lucky to end up on a practice squad by September. Again, we’re going to lean on the Jets defensive depth chart as a big factor in limiting the scoring here.