Panthers-Bears trade grades involving No. 1 draft pick: Carolina can choose QB, Chicago gains valuable assets

the deal we’ve all been waiting for to kick-start the 2023 NFL Draft happened as the Carolina Panthers agreed to a deal with the Chicago Bears to get the #1 overall pick.

That being said, the Panthers forfeited their 9th overall pick this year (obviously), their 2nd round 2nd pick (61st overall), 2024 first round pick, 2nd round pick round in 2025 and a wide receiver. DJ Moore.

Woo baby This monstrous trade is still in full swing, but it has cooled down enough that now we can rate.

Trade marks

Panthers: B+

Having missed veterans, hopeful reclamation projects Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield in the early stages of Scott Fitterer’s CEO tenure, the Panthers swung at the fences with this bold move. Despite my strong philosophical stance against draft trades, there is one huge caveat to quarterback selection. I don’t mind.

Back at No. 9, it looked like the Panthers would have to settle for a fourth off-board quarterback. Not perfect, and frankly not the way any team desperately practicing as a quarterback would operate, especially with a new head coach and GM slowly approaching the hot spot. Only from this point of view I like the move of the Panthers.

And the first three were not sent to the Bears. Another victory! In the end, only two. Now still holding the No. 40 overall from the Christian McCaffrey trade, this has been a boon for Carolina as the wide receiver becomes the focus when the Panthers go on time with this selection.

However, the loss of Moore is counterproductive to the early development of any quarterback they pick at No. 1 overall. Moore has long been considered the most underrated player in the NFL. And the price of running such a big business is that it instantly creates an obstacle in the registry formation process. These elements were taken into account in their class. But if the quarterback hits, that’s all we’ll remember.

Bears: A-

Let’s work backwards from the player to the collection of picks. Moore is damn good, I can’t stress it enough. After a strong rookie season in 2018, he passed for over 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons with a range of mediocre and all-time best passers. Most recently, in 2022, he managed 888 yards and set a career high in touchdowns with seven. Moore got targets from Mayfield, Darnold, PJ Walker and even Jacob Eason last year. Yes.

Going one step further than Moore’s classic statistic, he has proven he can pose a threat to the YAC, and he will be just 26 years old in April. In each of his first three seasons at Carolina, he had over 12 tackles missed. He hasn’t been as elusive the last two seasons, but at his age and with his athletic profile, he can play to the YAC standard he set from 2018 to 2020 with the Bears.

Now to the draft pick package. Based on our internal trading chart project, created by our own football genius R. J. White, the Bears’ No. 1 pick was worth at least 900 points. The share of choice in this trade that they have acquired is approximately 700 to 715 pips. As for Moore, White said the WR’s trading value is between the 15th overall pick (286.72 points) and the 28th overall pick (187.02 points). Average them together and add the cost of the draft picks, and you get between 935 and 950 points. So basically dead even. Or damn close.

Did the bears rake the Panthers over the coals? No. But they got two firsts, two seconds and a ready-to-go WR1 that will instantly boost Justin Fields’ performance. Win.