The Carolina Panthers’ first big move of the 2023 NFL offseason was naming Frank Reich their head coach. He is replacing Matt Rhule, who was fired after Week 5 of the 2022 season and replaced by Steve Wilks on an interim basis. Now, they have reportedly completed their second huge transaction of the offseason.
Speculation has run rampant for weeks about what the Chicago Bears would do with the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Many people wondered if the team would trade Justin Fields and use the first pick on a new quarterback that the regime of Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus could call their own.
That was not the route that they took, as the Bears have decided to trade the No. 1 overall pick. The big winners are the Panthers, who ponied up a massive trade package to land the first pick. Adam Schefter shared what the full compensation for the deal was on Twitter.
Carolina is trading wide receiver D.J. Moore, the No. 9 and No. 63 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, a first-round pick in 2024 and a second-round pick in 2025 to Chicago in exchange for the first pick. Presumably, the Panthers will use this opportunity to select the franchise quarterback that they have lacked in recent years.
Rhule’s tenure with the team was a tough one because he was unable to land a franchise quarterback. That will not be the case for Reich, who will now get to coach whomever the Panthers select first overall. Anthony Richardson of Florida, Bryce Young of Alabama and C.J. Stroud of Ohio State are considered the top quarterback options in the 2023 draft class.
As for the Bears, they now have a true No. 1 wide receiver for Justin Fields in Moore. Moore has been excellent throughout his career despite some underwhelming quarterback performances in Carolina over the last five seasons.
We have seen young quarterbacks around the league take off when a legitimate No. 1 wide receiver is added to the roster and the Bears are hoping Moore has a similar impact on Fields. In addition, they picked up multiple premium draft picks to continue upgrading their roster not only in the 2023 NFL Draft but the next two drafts as well.
