One thing has been sure this season for the Carolina Panthers. If they have a goal in mind, the opposite typically happens. Carolina needed to win games early in the season for head coach Matt Rhule to save his job. The team failed miserably to do that.
Now the obvious goal, regardless of coachspeak, is to tank and get a high enough draft pick to select the next franchise quarterback. Last week Carolina traded two of its best offensive pieces, which should have aided in that process. When the Panthers had Robby Anderson and Christian McCaffrey this season, the teams was 1-5. Without the two, the team is now 1-0.
Carolina Panthers odds to have worst NFL record
To be able to draft one of those future stars, hopefully, Carolina will need a high draft pick. To get a high draft pick, the Panthers need to lose a lot of games.
Clearly, betting on NFL win totals in North Carolina is a tricky business, but here are the teams with the worst records through Week 7.
- Detroit Lions 1-5
- Houston Texans 1-4-1
- Carolina Panthers 2-5
- New Orleans Saints 2-5
- Cleveland Browns 2-5
- Pittsburgh Steelers 2-5
- Denver Broncos 2-5
Before last week’s win, Carolina had the best odds of losing the most games in the NFL at DraftKings and FanDuel Sportsbook. Don’t worry, though. Even with the surprise win, their odds are not much worse than they were a week ago, though the Panthers did fall behind the Houston Texans on most odds boards. If the odds hold true, chances are the Carolina Panthers will have a great chance to select their future franchise quarterback.
Here are the odds available at two of the top NC online sportsbooks in the country.
DraftKings Sportsbook
- Houston Texans +150
- Carolina Panthers +500
- Pittsburgh Steelers +600
- Detroit Lions +800
- Chicago Bears +800
FanDuel Sportsbook
- Houston Texans +125
- Carolina Panthers +400
- Pittsburgh Steelers +800
- Detroit Lions +800
- Denver Broncos +1400
Going to a home game: Panthers’ Bank of America Stadium Game Day Guide
Forecast & plan for the remainder of the season
Regardless of what interim head coach Steve Wilks says, the goal needs to be for the Panthers to lose as many games as possible. The team desperately needs to find and build around a franchise quarterback. That is something Carolina has not had since Cam Newton was under center.
The Panthers need to scout and identify a rookie they can build around this time. The plan of trading for other teams’ former first-round picks at quarterback has not been effective. If the Jets or Browns thought highly enough of their quarterbacks Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield, they would have never traded them in the first place.
There are three or more first-round-caliber quarterbacks in the upcoming NFL draft.
- CJ Stroud, Ohio State: Looks like a day-one NFL starter and is the most polished passer of the group.
- Bryce Young, Alabama: Last season’s Heisman Trophy odds pointed straight at him, and boy did he deliver. Young is an incredible athlete with a rocket arm and has the talent to be an NFL starter and possibly an NFL Rookie of the Year candidate.
- Will Levis, Kentucky: Tough as nails, an incredible competitor, and a leader who is drastically underrated and could end up being the best of the group.
Following that up, there are a handful of other quarterbacks whose stock is on the rise. Hendon Hooker is putting up insane numbers and leading Tennessee to victories they haven’t had in over a decade. Then a quarterback from a non-power five school like Jaren Hall at BYU could be the next Zach Wilson.
Few options available: Best NFL betting sites in NC
Week 8 gameplan
PJ Walker will start regardless of the health of the Panther’s quarterback room. In his only second start of the season, Walker now has as many wins as Baker Mayfield did in his five starts. Walker was by no means spectacular, but he didn’t make any crucial mistakes and the defense played well enough for Carolina to pick up a win last week.
Chubba Hubbard and D’Onta Foreman both filled in admirably in the team’s first game without McCaffrey and seem to both have a future beyond this season in the Panther backfield. The defense will look to replicate its performance from last week again against a run-heavy Atlanta Falcons offense.
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