The Chicago Bears have traded the number one overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to the Carolina Panthers.
In exchange for Chicago’s first overall draft pick, the Panthers traded away their ninth overall pick, their 61st overall pick, a 2024 first-round pick, a second-round pick in 2025, and wide receiver D.J. Moore to the Bears, according to Pro Football Talk.
Panthers trade up to first overall pick, Bears get two firsts, two seconds, D.J. Moore. https://t.co/YdYJhlIVlV
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) March 10, 2023
To me, this shows that the Bears are comfortable with Justin Fields moving forward as their franchise quarterback.
In 2022, Fields threw the football for over 2,200 yards and had six more touchdown passes than he did interceptions. On top of that, he was also Chicago’s leading rusher. He ran the football for eight touchdowns and had over 1,100 yards on the ground. Fields has an exorbitant amount of talent, but considering he is a dual-threat quarterback, it makes me concerned that his career won’t last as long as traditional passers’ careers normally do. (RELATED: REPORT: New York Jets Optimistic They Will Land Aaron Rodgers After Meeting With Quarterback)
For example, Lamar Jackson, who is the greatest dual-threat quarterback in the NFL right now, was forced to miss the second half of the 2022 season after getting his left knee sandwiched under a big Denver Broncos linebacker in week 13, while attempting to escape from the passing pocket. Jackson’s injury resulted in the Baltimore Ravens losing three of their final five remaining games on their schedule and quickly being bounced out of the postseason in the first round.
Furthermore, former Washington Redskins/Commanders quarterback Robert Griffin III was never the same player that he once was after he injured his right knee in a game against the Ravens late in the 2012-2013 NFL season. Ever since he was rocked in between two Baltimore defenders during Washington’s week 14 matchup in December 2012 — he never was the same. He’d go on to tear his right ACL in Washington’s Wild Card game against the Seattle Seahawks that same season, and was never as electric as he used to be due to the wear and tear on his body from being a certifiable dual-threat quarterback.
I don’t believe that the Bears should have agreed to this deal. They should have drafted a stud wide receiver like Zay Flowers from Boston College instead, or drafted an offensive lineman to block for Fields better, given he was the second most sacked quarterback in the NFL last season, according to ESPN.
On the flipside, the Panthers will likely take Alabama’s Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud from Ohio State with the first pick to hopefully become their new franchise quarterback. Last season, the Panthers found out the hard way that Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield were both below-average quarterbacks who were nowhere near good enough to lead their team into the future. Both quarterbacks threw for under 15 touchdown passes each and the Panthers finished the season with just seven wins.
The Panthers haven’t had a good quarterback since they had Cam Newton. Newton led the franchise to multiple playoffs and even led the organization to Super Bowl 50 in 2016, despite losing to the Denver Broncos by 14 points.
It makes the most sense for Carolina to take Stroud or Young. Keeping in mind that the Panthers are without a formidable quarterback heading into the new season, it seems inevitable that one of these guys goes number one overall, as they should. Both Young and Stroud threw the football for well over 3,000 yards and over 30 touchdowns during the 2022-2023 college season, according to ESPN. And most importantly, both quarterbacks led their teams to 11-2 campaigns, proving that they’re capable of winning games at a high percentage.
It should be fun to watch how this trade shakes out in the long haul, but I believe the Panthers got the better end of the deal.