The Bears' draft-day blockbuster reshaped their future. Discover why this pivotal trade, particularly Carolina's perspective, demands immediate discussion.
Picture this: it's just before the 2023 NFL Draft, and the Chicago Bears had the No. 1 overall pick.
Instead of holding onto it, the Bears traded it to the Carolina Panthers. In return, the Bears got D.J. Moore, the ninth overall pick in 2023, the 61st overall pick in 2023, a first-round pick in 2024, and a 2025 second-round pick.
The Panthers took Heisman-winning quarterback Bryce Young out of Alabama in that draft. With the haul the Bears received, they picked Caleb Williams, Luther Burden, Darnell Wright and Tyrique Stevenson.
There shouldn't be an argument about who won that trade.
Williams just wrapped up his second NFL season and took some major steps in his development, breaking the Bears' single-season passing yards record.
Wright arguably had the best season of his career, as he locked down the right side of the offensive line with guard Jonah Jackson.
Burden finished fourth on the team in receiving yards. Stevenson didn't have the best year, but there was that whole thing where Ben Johnson didn't give him playing time in Week 18, even though the Detroit Lions' receiving corps exposed the secondary.
Still, Stevenson put up 49 total tackles, one interception and two forced fumbles. All that being said, that's not why we're here.
The real question is, what were the Panthers thinking?
While the Panthers were able to draft Young, they gave up a lot to get him. After the trade, Carolina didn't have a first-round pick in 2024.
They had to trade with the Buffalo Bills to get one, and even then, they got the No. 32 overall pick out of it. The Panthers gave up the No. 33 and No. 141 overall picks to get the No. 32 and No. 200 overall picks from the Bills.
The Panthers drafted Xavier Legette out of South Carolina with that pick. Legette saw his numbers regress in 2025, going from 497 receiving yards as a rookie to 363 in his second season.
Then there are the inconsistencies with Young.
He showed improvement this season as the Panthers made the playoffs, but in his first two years in the league, he had some issues. As a rookie, he finished with 2,877 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
He threw for 2,403 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 2024. However, early in the season, he was benched in favor of veteran Andy Dalton. The Panthers were losing to the Los Angeles Chargers, and Dalton came in to finish that game.
Then, the Panthers decided to bench Young for the next five weeks.
He finally turned things around in 2025, throwing for 3,011 passing yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
However, it's easy to see that Williams is much further in his development than Young is, further proving that the Bears made the right choice in trading that pick.
The Bears can look back at this trade fondly, but for the Panthers, you have to wonder what was going through their head.