What a Friday afternoon news dump!
After weeks of speculation about what the Bears would do with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft — including discussion about trading Justin Fields — they made their move.
Chicago is sending the top pick in late April’s draft to the Carolina Panthers for a bevy of draft picks and an impactful receiver in D.J. Moore. It’s quite the way to head into the weekend for the NFL.
The Bears officially jumpstart the Justin Fields era with the trade. Meanwhile, the Panthers will undoubtedly take a young quarterback with their new lucrative draft asset. It might be a true win-win when all is said and done. Don’t discount the Arizona Cardinals’ fortunate positioning in the aftermath, either.
Who won this blockbuster deal? Let’s hand out some grades.
The details
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, here’s the exact compensation of the trade:
Bears get: WR D.J. Moore, the No. 9 overall pick in 2023, the No. 61 pick in 2023, the Panthers’ 2024 first-round pick, and the Panthers’ 2025 second-round pick
Panthers get: The 2023 No. 1 overall pick
Chicago Bears
There goes all the talk that the Bears should trade Justin Fields to reset the rookie QB contract clock, huh? It’s gone in an instant.
What a haul. I’m almost (keyword: almost) speechless.
Let’s do the math.
Chicago stays in the 2023 top 10, gets a 2024 first-rounder from a rebuilding Panthers squad (which could be another top-10 pick), and brings a legitimate 25-year-old star receiver in D.J. Moore for Justin Fields. GM Ryan Poles had talked about rebuilding Chicago the right way while building around Fields and giving him a chance.
The executive has fulfilled his promise by nabbing multiple first and second-round draft picks, along with an elite playmaker for his young signal-caller. Friday afternoon was undoubtedly a jumpstart to what could be a very fruitful Bears era for Poles, head coach Matt Eberflus, and Fields.
Grade: A
Carolina Panthers
It’s pretty clear Frank Reich doesn’t want to mess around with over-the-hill quarterbacks anymore. After dealing with parts of Phillip Rivers, Carson Wentz, and Matt Ryan over his final years with the Colts, this aggressive Panthers trade-up screams Reich wanting to build around his own prospect.
Whether that’s Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, or even Anthony Richardson is irrelevant for now. Reich and the Panthers went up to No. 1 overall, surrendering one of the more extensive draft hauls we’ve seen in a while, expressly because they want to start a rebuild with a QB.
Some might say Carolina gave up too much. They might question why Moore, who is, again, only 25, was involved. But that’s the price to pay from the No. 9 position to get to the top pick. When you want your choice of the litter at quarterback, you simply must pull out all the stops.
Grade: A
