It was painful watching Cam Newton in action at the tail end of last season. His arm looked like it was attached to his arm by a single ligament. There was no power. No accuracy. But up until the injury, No. 1 was still one of the better quarterbacks the league had to offer. His throwing shoulder is said to be on the mend. While likely not 100 percent just yet, he’s still got ample time to get his mind and body right for the rigors of a full 16-game regular season schedule; possibly beyond should the Carolina Panthers take a step forward and surpass online sportsbooks’ expectations. It’s telling that his passing yardage prop is 300-500 yards higher than what he attained each of the last three seasons. With a touchdown machine in the form of Christian McCaffrey in the backfield and some young up and coming explosive pass catchers in tow, his passing touchdown prop looks like a joke as well. Only time will tell!
Total Passing Yards: 3800.5
Total Passing TD: 23.5
Due to owning the No. 4 ranked rushing offense a season ago, Newton wasn’t asked to win many games with his arm. While that might be the case once again in 2019-20 with McCaffrey currently the No. 1 or No. 2 pick in fantasy football drafts, Cam looks to be in line for a solid campaign provided the injury bug terrorizes someone else. Newton still went on to throw for 3,395 yards in just 14 games. With DJ Moore now having a season worth of experience under his belt and Curtis Samuel possibly being the more explosive of the two pass catchers, Carolina finally looks to have a credible wide receiver corps at its disposal. If Greg Olsen can find a way not to break his leg, his production would simply be gravy for those banking on Newton surpassing his futures props.
Season Outlook
The New Orleans Saints (-159) are expected to “Brees” to a third straight NFC South crown. Carolina finds itself situated behind the Atlanta Falcons on the current futures odds at offshore sportsbooks, but not by much. Atlanta currently owns a 9-game season win total, while the Panthers check in at 8 with heavy juice riding the over. The fact that the betting markets are bullish on Riverboat Ron’s crew reversing course is a good thing for Cam believers. For the team to once again be a player in the division race, Cam is going to have to revert back to being the dominant player he was for a majority of last season before the injury bug reared its ugly head. Dumping the pigskin off instead of tucking it and running comes highly recommended.
Carolina Panthers Football Schedule
Week 1: Rams at Panthers, Sunday, September 8, 1 p.m. ET - FOX
Week 2: Buccaneers at Panthers, Thursday, September 12, 8:20 p.m. ET – NFL NETWORK
Week 3: Panthers at Cardinals, Sunday, September 22, 4:05 p.m. ET - FOX
Week 4: Panthers at Texans, Sunday, September 29, 1 p.m. ET - FOX
Week 5: Jaguars at Panthers, Sunday, October 6, 1 p.m. ET - CBS
Week 6: Panthers at Buccaneers, Sunday, October 13, 9:30 a.m. ET – NFL NETWORK
Week 7: Bye Week
Week 8: Panthers at 49ers, Sunday, October 27, 4:05 p.m. ET - FOX
Week 9: Titans at Panthers, Sunday, November 3, 1 p.m. ET - CBS
Week 10: Panthers at Packers, Sunday, November 10, 1 p.m. ET - FOX
Week 11: Falcons at Panthers, Sunday, November 17, 1 p.m. ET - FOX
Week 12: Panthers at Saints, Sunday, November 24, 1 p.m. ET - FOX
Week 13: Redskins at Panthers, Sunday, December 1, 1 p.m. ET - CBS
Week 14: Panthers at Falcons, Sunday, December 8, 1 p.m. ET - FOX
Week 15: Seahawks at Panthers, Sunday, December 15, 1 p.m. ET - FOX
Week 16: Panthers at Colts, Sunday, December 22, 1 p.m. ET - FOX
Week 17: Saints at Panthers, Sunday, December 29, 1 p.m. ET - FOX
Schedule Breakdown
Going by last season’s defensive outputs, Newton gets the benefit of running up against the league’s third easiest slate. He gets two matchups against the Buccaneers defunct pass defense, as well as four more against the Saints and Falcons who ended up ranking out even worse than Tampa Bay. While Atlanta will likely be better defending the pass with a much healthier defense, it remains to be seen what New Orleans did to shore up its deficiencies. Tampa Bay’s secondary is still a joke! All three of Newton’s toughest matchups come the first nine weeks of the season with the easier ones all lined up in the final eight. If he truly is healthy entering the regular season, offshore sportsbooks could be made to look foolish for hanging such suppressed numbers on the former Heisman Trophy winner and league MVP.
The Bets
Newton hasn’t surpassed his current passing yards impost since the 2015-16 season when he threw for 3,837 yards and a 35:10 TD/INT ratio. Greg Olsen was his premiere target that season, and the veteran is back in 2019-20. If the 34-year old can rediscover the Fountain of Youth and get back to producing 1000+ receiving yard campaigns, there’s simply no way Cam doesn’t find a way to cash over tickets. I’m very bullish on both DJ Moore and Curtis Samuel separating themselves as two of the best young wide receivers in the league. They combined for over 1,200 receiving yards and 7 TD a season ago, and no longer have Devin Funchess clogging up space on the playing field. With McCaffrey proving to be one of the best dual-threats in the game last season, opposing defenses will be forced to keep an eye on him every passing down. That means the WR duo could be seeing an awful lot of single coverage which should allow them to showcase their breakaway speed more times than not.
I’d be shocked if Carolina once again ranked out middle of the road in both total and scoring offense because of it. Ultimately, it’s going to come down to health. If Cam’s right shoulder is truly healthy, the sky’s the limit! He’s got some explosive playmakers at his disposal to get the ball to along with one of the easiest schedules for a quarterback to take advantage of. It all adds up to a banner year that should easily see him surpass both futures props at top rated sportsbooks.
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