New Orleans Saints Vs. Carolina Panthers NFL Player Props & Picks (9/18/23)
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The New Orleans Saints face the Carolina Panthers on Monday night (9/18/23). This divisional matchup features some exciting talent on both teams. In this article, find Saints vs. Panthers player props.
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New Orleans Saints Vs. Carolina Panthers Prop Picks
The Saints and Panthers both have new starting quarterbacks this season, and that makes for an exciting matchup here. Derek Carr debuted for the Saints last week after spending years with the Raiders while first overall pick Bryce Young is making his home debut for the Panthers here. Let’s take a look at some player props for these players.
Bryce Young Under 0.5 Interceptions (+105 BetMGM)
In Bryce Young’s first NFL game last week, he had a “welcome to the NFL” moment as he threw two picks to safety Jessie Bates on essentially the same throw. Bates cheated into the box and cut off two passes over the middle. He was able to do that because the Panthers had minimal downfield passing threat.
It appears that D.J. Chark will play for the Panthers this week, which is great news as he can at least provide some semblance of a downfield threat for this offense. The Saints’ safeties won’t be able to cheat up the same way Bates did.
Young wasn’t a turnover-prone player at Alabama. He threw 79 touchdowns to just 12 picks over the last two years and had a 2% turnover-worthy play rate over those two seasons, which was one of the lowest in the country.
The Saints picked off Ryan Tannehill three times last week, but I believe that’s buying us value in this line. The Panthers will be run heavy this week against a Saints’ defensive line that lost some key players over the offseason, and Young is an intelligent passer who I expect to clean up his mistakes this week.
Chris Olave Over 71.5 Receiving Yards (-115 Caesars)
The Saints were excited about the potential of second-year wideout Chris Olave catching passes from Derek Carr, and we got a good glimpse of that in Week 1. Olave caught 8 passes for 112 yards against the Titans, and his usage was superb.
Olave drew a 30.3% target share and a 34.3% air yard share, and that usage isn’t going anywhere. Olave ranked seventh among wide receivers in open score last year per ESPN, and now he has a quarterback in Carr who’s much more willing to push the ball downfield than Andy Dalton was last season.
The Panthers suffered a significant injury with Jaycee Horn, their top cornerback, going down, and Olave has the opportunity to attack a weakened Carolina secondary. The targets will be there, and with his big-play ability downfield, he could break a long catch at some point in this game.
Jamaal Williams Over 51.5 Rushing Yards (-115 BetMGM)
The Saints didn’t have much success running the ball last week, but they leaned heavily on Jamaal Williams, giving him 18 carries. New Orleans doesn’t have much depth behind Williams right now with Alvin Kamara suspended and rookie Kendre Miller out last week with a hamstring injury.
Even if Miller returns this week, I wouldn’t expect him to immediately cut into Williams’s workload. Williams was one of only ten running backs to have 20 touches in Week 1 and the coaching staff clearly trusts him.
Those carries didn’t go very far as Williams faced the Titans, one of the best run defenses in the NFL. However, the Panthers allowed both Tyler Allgeier and Bijan Robinson to go over this rushing yardage number last week. In a better matchup, expect Williams’s volume to translate to more rushing success.