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Chicago Bears ‘trade No. 1 Draft pick to Carolina for 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 wide receiver DJ Moore.
The news was first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, and will give Carolina the opportunity to secure the top quarterback they have been in desperate need of.
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 have 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 be heading to Chicago
The Panthers are expected to choose between Bryce Young and CJ Stroud with the No. 1 pick
Newly-hired head coach Frank Reich is said to like bigger bodied players at QB and reportedly prefers Stroud, while team owner David Tepper is reportedly enamored with Young which will create an interesting decision for Carolina at the top of the draft.
ESPN’ also noted that the Panthers may be open to trading back one or two picks if they fall in love with multiple QBs.
The Panthers were just one game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the race for the NFC South.
Despite the tremendous price they paid to move up from No. 9 to No. 1 the Panthers still have the No. 39 overall pick and didn’t give up the 2025 first-round pick they received from the San Francisco 49ers in the Christian McCaffery trade.
Following the trade the Panthers are now set to have $23,570,287 in salary cap space, with the chance to open up more before free agency begins next week.
Chicago, on the other hand, finished the season 3-14 and will use the extra draft capital 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 to which by all means should provide a massive boost to his development.
Last season Fields threw for 2,242 yards, 17 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, while also rushing for 1,143 yards.
Other teams have seen young QBs take massive growth steps after trading for a stellar wide out, such as 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 hauled in 63 passes for 888 yards and a career-high seven touchdowns.
In each of the previous three seasons he recorded over 1,000 receiving yards. Despite the drop-off in terms of receptions and yardage Moore’s touchdown numbers show he was still able to remain productive despite the Panthers seemingly playing musical chairs at QB throughout the season.
Following the trade, the Bears will now hold 10 draft picks in this year’s draft with five of them coming within the first 110 picks.
The addition of Moore will give Bears QB Justin Fields a new No. 1 wide receiver to throw to
Despite a drop in yards and receptions Moore recorded a career high in touchdowns last year
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