Chicago Bears ‘trade No. 1 Draft pick to Carolina for a HUGE package including multiple first-round picks and star wide receiver DJ Moore’…with Panthers set to take a QB at the top
The Chicago Bears are trading the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to the Carolina Panthers, according to multiple reports.
The Bears will receive the No. 9 and No. 61 picks in 2023, a 2024 first-round pick and a 2025 second-round pick, as well as star receiver DJ Moore.
The news was first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, and it will give Carolina a chance to secure a much-needed top quarterback.
The top QB prospects heading into this year’s draft are Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio State’s CJ Stroud and Florida’s Anthony Richardson.
Last season, the Panthers played Sam Darnold, PJ Walker and Baker Mayfield, who was eventually released en route to a 7-10 record.
The Chicago Bears traded the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to the Carolina Panthers
Star wide receiver DJ Moore was also included in the trade and will head to Chicago
The Panthers are expected to pick between Bryce Young and CJ Stroud with the first pick.
Newly hired head coach Frank Reich is said to like bigger players at QB and reportedly prefers Stroud, while team owner David Tepper has a crush on Young, which will create a interesting decision for Carolina at the top of the draft.
ESPN also noted that the Panthers may be open to trading a pick or two if they fall for multiple QBs.
The Panthers were only one game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the race for the NFC South.
Despite the tremendous price they paid to go from No. 9 to No. 1, the Panthers still hold the No. 39 overall pick and didn’t give up the 2025 first-round pick they received from the San Francisco 49ers on Christian McCaffery. trade.
After the trade, the Panthers now have $23,570,287 in cap space, with the possibility of opening more before free agency begins next week.
Chicago, on the other hand, finished the season 3-14 and will use the extra capital from the draft to speed up the rebuild and put more pieces in place around budding star QB Justin Fields.
The addition of Moore will give Fields a No. 1 receiver to throw at, which of course should provide a big boost to his development.
Last season, Fields passed for 2,242 yards, 17 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and also rushed for 1,143 yards.
Other teams have seen young quarterbacks take massive growth steps after trading for an all-star, like the Buffalo Bills after adding Stefon Diggs to become Josh Allen’s favorite target, or even more recently the NFC champion. Philadelphia Eagles who added AJ Brown to be a safety net for Jalen Hurts.
Last season, Moore caught 63 passes for 888 yards and a career-high seven touchdowns.
In each of the previous three seasons, he had recorded over 1,000 receiving yards. Despite the dip in terms of receptions and yards, Moore’s touchdown numbers show that he was still able to remain productive despite the Panthers seemingly playing musical chairs at QB all season.
Following the trade, the Bears will now have 10 draft picks in this year’s draft with five of them making the first 110 picks.
The addition of Moore will give Bears quarterback Justin Fields a new No. 1 wide receiver to throw to
Despite a drop in yardage and receptions, Moore posted a career-high in touchdowns last year.