Jets vs Panthers Odds, Pick, NFL Preseason Prediction

NFL Preseason Week 1 action continues on Saturday, as we examine Jets vs. Panthers odds and make a pick on Saturday afternoon.

Aaron Rodgers' future was one of the stories of the offseason before he landed with the Jets. The interest around the team has only continued to grow with the first HBO “Hard Knocks” episode arriving this past week. All eyes will be on Rodgers once more on Saturday, but this time, just as we saw in the Hall of Fame game, he'll be watching from the sidelines.

Bryce Young's debut is even more exciting as he takes the field for the Panthers. The fans at Bank of America Stadium will be thrilled to get their first glimpse of Young, while he will be hoping to show why he was picked first overall in the NFL Draft.

The New York Jets fans are itching for their first sighting of Aaron Rodgers in that famous jersey, but they'll be waiting a little longer with Zach Wilson getting his second start of preseason.

Wilson started the Hall of Fame Game defeat to the Browns and went 3/5 while throwing for 65 yards. He performed well before being replaced by Tim Boyle, who couldn't reach the same level. Chris Streveler was so poor with just one completion and an interception on his seven passes that the team decided to release him on Monday.

We should see a number of the Jets' key players, although Breece Hall won't be among them as he continues his rehabilitation after last year's season-ending knee injury. Instead, rookie Israel Abanikanda led the backfield in that game, rushing nine times for 27 yards and a touchdown. He'll likely see more action on Saturday, with Zonovan Knight and Michael Carter also in the rotation. Elsewhere it's unclear if we'll see Garrett Wilson, but the chances are slim given that the receiver was limited this past week.

It's going to be the Bryce Young show for the Panthers on Saturday, and there's no doubt in the building that he will be starting come Week 1. It's a refreshing change to see a coach not even try to pretend that there's a QB competition, with Frank Reich confirming that Bryce Young was QB1 after the first day of training camp.

Reich hasn't been so vocal when it comes to telling us how much we'll see of Young in the Panthers' first game of the preseason, but we do know that we'll see him on the field. Panthers fans should be excited by this, but C.J. Stroud's struggles for the Texans this week show that there's no guarantee that a highly acclaimed rookie QB will hit the ground running.

Beyond Young, quarterbacks Andy Dalton, Matt Corral and Jake Luton should all play, although there's a chance we might see Dalton benched so that Reich can see more of Corral.

Elsewhere on the Panthers' roster, Adam Thielen and Hayden Hurst will don their uniforms for the first time. Thielen, in particular, will add real experience to the offense and give Young a safe and dependable pair of hands in his receiving corps.

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When it comes to betting this game, I can't help but feel like the over is the smart play.

We know that the likes of Sauce Gardner is very unlikely to be playing for the Jets, who'll miss the lauded CB.

We know that Zach Wilson can ball out in preseason, and he should see more playing time with the Jets cutting Streveler. I'm also happy to believe that Tim Boyle will move the chains against the Panthers' second-string defense.

Then there's the Panthers, and I'm all in on Young being brilliant from the start, especially under the guidance of QB coach Josh McCown. If, and it's very much in doubt, we see Andy Dalton on the field, then hitting the over shouldn't be a sweat as he will tear holes in the Jets' backup defense.

If he doesn't play, then Matt Corral will play more, and he was a third-round pick just a year ago. The former Ole Miss QB should be stronger after last season's injury nightmare, and 12 months sitting learning the craft should put him in good shape to perform well here.

Take the over at 37.5 points or lower because the talent in both teams' QB rooms could produce a shootout.