In the first major stunner of the NFL offseason, the Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears made quite the splash. Chicago officially traded the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to Carolina for quite the draft haul.
For the right to draft No. 1 overall, the Panthers surrendered wide receiver DJ. Moore and package of draft picks – including two first rounders.
Compensation update, per sources: Bears trading No. 1 overall pick to Carolina for:
🏈pick No. 9
🏈pick No. 61
🏈a first-round pick in 2024
🏈a second-round pick in 2025
🏈WR DJ Moore pic.twitter.com/hHrHn1UIR2— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 10, 2023
So how does this affect the Seahawks? Well, with Carolina moving all the way to the first pick, the current draft order for the top five selections goes as follows:
- Carolina Panthers
- Houston Texans
- Arizona Cardinals
- Indianapolis Colts
- Seattle Seahawks
Just looking at this list, I spy with my little eye three incredibly quarterback-needy teams, and they aren’t the two with bird mascots. Given the (thankfully) rare opportunity to pick this high, Seattle was understandably interested in the top quarterback prospects in the draft this year. Even with Geno Smith’s extension, the Seahawks certainly haven’t ruled out taking a quarterback No. 5 overall.
But unless the Panthers, Texans or Colts shock the NFL world and don’t pick a quarterback, this just means Seattle picking a signal caller they truly want will become more difficult.
However, the flip side of this means it will likely be easier for the Seahawks to pick one of the top two defensive line prospects. Will Anderson and Jalen Carter (legal issues notwithstanding) would stand to make immediate impacts on Seattle’s suspect defensive front.
