Chicago Bears Trade The Top Overall Pick in 2023 Draft

In a shocking move, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles pulls the trigger on a trade and receives a haul for the top overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Well, the Chicago Bears and general manager Ryan Poles certainly shook things up. He did what many people expected him to do — trade the number one overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

What was surprising, however, was the haul he received in return. There were some saying that he couldn’t get the type of haul that he expected. All it takes is one desperate team, though.

The Carolina Panthers was that team.

The Bears traded that overall pick for the Panthers’ first-round pick (#9 overall), their second-round pick (#61), their 2024 first-round pick, and their 2025 second-round pick.

Oh, and the icing on the cake was also acquiring wide receiver DJ Moore.

This is a magnificent treasure acquired by Poles. He is still in the top ten in the draft and picks up an additional second-round pick. Additionally, the Bears now have four first-round picks in the next two drafts. Moreover, Fields gets some of the help he desperately needs with Moore.

There are celebrations all over Chicago’s social media. Poles came in wanting to change things up and he is certainly doing that. There were questions about what he was doing when he shipped out popular players like Khalil Mack and Danny Trevathan and didn’t receive much in return.

Yes, the 2022 season was sacrificed. It was another disappointing season. However, the end gave Poles and the Bears everything they wanted. They received the number one pick in the draft and had about $98 million in salary cap space, easily the most in the NFL.

What does Poles do next?

Poles has great control in hastening the rebuild. Additionally, he still has the assets to make even more trades to get even better. We saw what he did with five picks last year. He turned them into 11. Now he has nine picks. Let’s see what he does with them.

Now the question is what Poles does next with his picks. He can decide to trade away the ninth pick and acquire even more picks. This is a team with a lot of holes in the roster and Poles wants to advance the rebuild mainly through the draft.

Poles could decide to keep the pick, though. Which prospect could he go after?

Well, a lot of that depends on what Poles does when free agency hits next week (March 15th).

If Poles concentrates on offense, he could add another target for Fields. Wide receivers Quentin Johnston from Texas Christian or Jaxon Smith-Njigba from Ohio State.

Smith-Njigba would be interesting. He and Fields were teammates with the Buckeyes. Having a receiver who is already comfortable with Fields could be a great move.

Additionally, Poles may solidify the offensive line. Many expect him to pick up some veteran help on the line. At nine, he can acquire another starter. Local kid Peter Skoronski from Northwestern could stay home if Poles selects him.

There are also plenty of defensive help. Edge rusher Tyree Wilson from Texas Tech, NFL Combine star, linebacker Christian Gonzalez, from Oregon, and defensive tackle Calijah Kancey could all be available.

Kancey is interesting. He draws a lot of comparisons to superstar Aaron Donald.

Poles has a lot of flexibility. That is what you want in the draft. In addition, the big salary cap helps.

Salary cap takes a hit

With the Moore pickup, Poles used up some of the $98 million+ he had in salary cap. Moore is due just over $20 million this season. He is also due over $16 million in both 2024 and 2025.

Even with the salary cap hit, the Chicago Bears still have the highest cap space in the league. There are those who expected him to go on a spending spree. However, the likely scenario is that while he makes maybe a big splash signing, he’ll make a bunch of second-level signings to add some starters as well as depth players.

Poles added some excitement to the offseason. That is something that the franchise sorely needed. We are hoping that this offseason is the step of a new era in Chicago Bears football. He certainly took a great first step.