Reaction As The Panthers Trade For Number One Overall Pick
NFL Draft season is purely underway, as the Chicago Bears have traded away their first overall pick to the Carolina Panthers.
In exchange for the first overall pick, the Panthers have given the Bears the ninth and 61st overall pick from this year’s draft, as well as a 2024 first rounder, a 2025 second rounder and wide receiver D.J. Moore.
This is quite the draft shake up, with the Bears openly showing their support for Justin Fields and shutting down any rumours of selecting his replacement.
So how does this affect both teams?
What This Means For The Bears?
They have given their QB1 a weapon in Moore. Despite no Pro Bowl selections, the 2018 24th overall pick has had three 1,000-yard seasons. The other two saw him record 788 yards (2018) and 888 yards (2022) respectively.
His numbers last season represent a significant upgrade on Chicago’s leading receiver, tight end Cole Kmet, who registered 544 yards. Moore had almost double the number of years set by Darnell Mooney (493), who was the best official wide receiver in 2022.
With the exception of Kmet, no wide receiver came close to the seven touchdowns that D.J. Moore recorded in 2022. Dante Pettis had the best total, with just three. It is clear to see the kind of impact this trade has on the Bears roster.
With the ninth overall pick, they can go out and get a top offensive lineman prospect. This will help protect Fields, who was tied with Russell Wilson for the title of the most sacked quarterback in 2022. The total of 55 was nine more than the next most sacked quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski and Paris Johnson Jr are seen as the best two college prospects on the offensive line. As it stands, six of the eight teams ahead of Chicago in the draft board will prioritise quarterback, with Arizona and Detroit likely to select a player on defense. This means that the chances of getting their favourite lineman appear likely for the Bears.
By prioritising the offensive line, as well as what they have already done by getting Fields a weapon, we could see their quarterback make a third-year leap, just as was seen with Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts.
What This Means For The Panthers?
The Panthers have given up a lot to go get the number one pick, but sometimes you have to be aggressive. After all, the Los Angeles Rams may be feeling the effects now but they will not regret giving up their draft picks in their quest for a Super Bowl, which ultimately saw them win it in the 2021 season.
The Rams had won a Super Bowl before. Carolina have not. They have reached two Super Bowls since they were founded in 1993 but lost on both occasions.
If they go out and get their quarterback for the next ten years, they will not mind giving up all those picks, especially if they win it all.
They may not be able to take a top wide receiver prospect in the first round, but Cooper Kupp and Tyreek Hill have proved that you can find an elite receiver in the later rounds. With a current total of $21 million in cap space, they can find a receiver in Free Agency. The best current options include Juju Smith-Schuster, Marvin Jones, D.J. Chark and Adam Thielen. Either of these would represent an upgrade on Terrace Marshall Jr, Shi Smith, and Laviska Shenault Jr.
Of course, they could even trade down but still into the top five. The Houston Texans (second overall) and Indianapolis Colts (fourth overall) could be teams that go all in on a quarterback they love, as could the Las Vegas Raiders at pick number seven. Out of C.J, Stroud, Will Levis, Anthony Richardson and Bryce Young, Levis would likely be the only one left at this part of the draft.
The Panthers have the chance to really improve their roster and currently, just like the Bears did prior, they have all the power at number one overall.