With a month until Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season, we can begin to look forward to week 1 meetings and find a pick. Zach Wilson put pen to paper late July and will receive a slotted $35.1 million on the deal with a $22.9 million signing bonus. Ian Rapoport reported the BYU product will get the bonus in early august so with Wilson satisfied we will see what he can bring. The early payment was a sticking point in contract talks between Wilson and the Jets. As a compromise, Wilson’s contract will include offset language.
Robert Saleh HC of New York Jets emphasized improving his defense with Sheldon Rankins, Vinny Curry, and Carl Lawson. Lawson especially should provide much-needed pass-rushing ability off the edge. Carl Lawson even leads the NFL as a pass rusher on true pass-rushing snaps. His Offense should be very close to the following roster.
- QB – Zach Wilson (rookie)
- RB – Tevin Coleman, Michael Carter (rookie), Lamical Perine
- WR – Corey Davis, Denzel Mims, Elijah Moore (rookie), Jamison Crowder
- TE – Christopher Herndon, Ryan Griffin
This season is all about keeping Wilson healthy and continue to improve as he adjusts to the pace of the National Football League. Wilson should see a good amount of production from his running backs. This will help him regarding the pass rush. The trio of free-agent signing Corey Davis, Denzel Mims, Elijah Moore, and Jamison Crowder showed signs of excellence with Sam Darnold as QB.
Interestingly enough Sam Darnold will meet his old teammates in this week 1 matchup. Having signed with the Caroline Panthers. The Carolina Panthers upped their commitment to Sam Darnold, picking up the fifth-year option on the quarterback’s rookie contract. He will now make $18.9 million for the 2022 season. Darnold’s contract would have expired after the 2021 season, and he would have become an unrestricted free agent if the Panthers had not picked up the fifth-year option.
With the move, the Panthers solidified their quarterback position for the next two seasons. Carolina choose to look elsewhere than the QB with the eighth pick in this year’s draft, instead taking cornerback Jaycee Horn from South Carolina, another indication of Darnold’s standing. So with to secure QB´s let’s see who should have the advantage.
With Sam Darnold meeting his old teammates who know him well he will try his hardest to get the W against the team that has put ham in a category of lackluster quarterbacks. But with Sam Darnold coming back this has all kinds of trouble written all over it for Carolina. Darnold will be pressing as much as ever trying to beat his former team, and that’ll likely lead to multiple critical errors. Meanwhile, his Jets successor, Zach Wilson, has the chance to light up a lackluster Panthers secondary with his deep receiving corps. Another key thing will be the Jets´ defensive line that gets the job done in the second half as Sam Darnold should be fatigued.
So with this in mind, New York Jets @ +175 at both DraftKings and Bet365 should be a solid valuebet.
