Chicago Trades the #1 Pick to Carolina

I'm in quite the unique position being both a Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers fan. I grew up in Charlotte, so I have always attended Panthers games. They're my hometeam, and I will always root for them. That is unless they are playing the Chicago Bears.

I'm not sure why I have always gravitated toward the Bears more than I have the Panthers. I haven't even been to Chicago unless you count a two-hour layover in O'Hare. My dad grew up a Bears fan before the Panthers came onto the scene in 1993. He is in the same position I am in, except he is a bigger Panthers fan now than a Bears fan. He might deny that one, but he cannot deny how passionately he talks about the Panthers. 

I'm no psychologist, so this is just my theory, I like the Bears more because I remember the 2007 Super Bowl better than the 2004 Super Bowl. I was 7 and 4 years old at the time. I began playing ball around 2007, and Matt Forte, the running back for the Bears, quickly became my favorite player around that same time. My consciousness only goes back so far, and as far as I can remember, I've been obsessed with Chicago Football. 

Enough about why I like the Bears. There are more than enough blog articles on this website about the subject. What I want to talk about is the Bears trading the #1 pick to the Carolina Panthers.

For those who don't know, the trade between the two organizations is as follows...

Carolina Receives
2023 #1 Pick

Chicago Receives
2023 #9 Pick
2023 #61 Pick
2024 First-Round Pick
2025 Second-Round Pick
​WR DJ Moore

Now, as a Bears fan, I really like this trade. That is a huge haul to bring in for just one pick. With Jalen Carter being a big fat question mark, I'm glad they didn't use up a #1 pick on him. Historically speaking, players with that much controversy surrounding them don't have very successful careers in the NFL. Now if we were to pick him up with the #9 pick, I might be okay with that. 

I have no idea who they will pick up with the #61 pick, but I imagine they'll likely use that pick to add another asset to their defense. Since we now have DJ Moore, we have another offensive weapon to help Justin Fields. That's one less pick we have to use on an offensive player. 

Concerning the future picks Chicago picked up in this trade, future picks never hurt, so this sentence is all you're going to get from me on my thoughts on these assets. 

Now, the other side of me. The Carolina Panthers fan. This is a very, VERY, risky trade. Trading DJ Moore sends away their last offensive weapon other than a few on the O-Line. Carolina will use the #1 pick on a quarterback. But who's he going to throw to? 

It is expected that whatever quarterback they pick up, which I believe will be CJ Stroud, will be the quarterback of the future for Carolina. Regardless of whether they pick up Stroud, or any other quarterback, right now, I don't think anyone in this draft is worth what Carolina gave up. As it stands right now, I'm not too fond of this trade for Carolina.

My mind can change on this. Ask me in about three years once this quarterback has been with the organization for some time. If he does become Carolina's quarterback of the future, this trade is worth it. If not, it'll be a complete bust. 

Carolina is starting from scratch here. They have nothing. They will have to draft this quarterback and then spend the entirety of his rookie contract building around him, and trading DJ Moore gives them much more flexibility to accomplish this. Do I have faith in this front office? Not really. Tepper doesn't exactly have a reputation for making good decisions as an owner. 

It'll be exciting to see how it all pans out for both teams. Let me know what y'all think of this trade, and check out the rest of the website for more Bears and Panthers content!