One year ago this past Sunday, the Carolina Panthers engaged in a trade to move up to the #1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Panthers went up from the 9th overall pick to the 1st overall selection to take quarterback Bryce Young.
One year and seventeen more games later, the ultimate aftermath of the trade has become clearer, and that we
The NFL Draft Trade Heard Around the World
On March 10th, 2023, the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers engaged in a trade to swap picks in that April’s NFL Draft. Here is a brief refresher on the terms of the trade:
Panthers received:
- 2023’s #1 Overall Pick, which became Bryce Young
Bears received:
- WR D.J. Moore
- 2023’s #9 Overall Pick, which the Bears would later trade back one spot to draft Darnell Wright
- 2023 second-round pick, Bears traded out of spot
- 2024 first-round pick, which is now #1 Overall
- 2025 second-round pick
At the time of the trade, the move was considered a logical decision, as Young was compared to current Golden State Warriors Guard and future NBA Hall of Famer Stephen Curry. One year later, the Panthers and Bears are trending in entirely different directions.
Bears return for No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft …
• OT Darnell Wright*.
• WR Keenan Allen*.
• CB Tyrique Stevenson**.
• WR DJ Moore.
• First overall pick in 2024 draft.
• Second-round pick in 2025 draft.* trade of 9th pick in '23.
** trade up from 61st pick in '23.— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 15, 2024
2023 NFL Season
Hope was running high for the Panthers and Bryce Young to enter 2023. Then Young turned in one of the worst rookie seasons any quarterback would have desired to avoid. Thrown into the starting job almost immediately, Young put up pedestrian numbers for the Panthers, in a season where he failed to crack 3,000 yards passing and only managed 11 touchdown passes against 10 interceptions. The Panthers finished 2-15.
While Justin Fields and the Bears started off the 2023-24 season poorly, a December surge saw the team go from a 3-8 start to a 4-2 finish, with Fields playing well to close out the campaign. Despite discourse continuing to surround Fields, it is hard to deny the value he brought to the team during their six-game turnaround to end 2023.
2024 Offseason So Far
With the 2024 NFL Draft just a month away, the biggest impact of that 2023 trade is now becoming obvious. The Panthers, now lacking their #1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, can only sit idly by as the Bears will most likely move to draft USC standout Caleb Williams. While the Panthers finally did trade Brian Burns and moved to acquire Dionate Johnson, these moves are simply not enough.
The Bears, meanwhile, have in recent days boosted virtually every single part of their roster in some fashion or another. D’Andre Swift and Kevin Byard are coming over from the 2022 NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles, while Keenan Allen will also join the Bears from Los Angeles.
Should Chicago go on to bring long-term success back to Halas Hall with Caleb Williams while the Panthers continue to flounder around as a franchise, the Panthers will forever wonder why they engaged in the move that defined the 2023 NFL Draft and may yet define the future of the Bears franchise.