With the First Overall Pick the Carolina Panther select...

[Doctor]

So Panthers trade up for #1 and will have their pick of QB. Watch it be Richardson

Thoughts on the trade?

[Bootz]

Gotta be Bryce Young.

[Snake]

I’m thinking Stroud. But that isn’t based on anything.

[Navybuc]

If Carolina truly thinks one qb is a sure thing and the others are busts, then it’s a good trade for them. Also think it’s good for Chicago because they need picks. As I said in another thread, they’ve got tons of cap space and can use one of those picks to trade for a guy like DeAndre Hopkins who will prolly cost a 2 and a 3/4. Bears WR corps one of their biggest weaknesses and can now turn it into strength.

[Snake]

I love this for the nfl. Love it!

[Doctor]

Major strength. Bears also have a ton of cap so it's a good time to charge up front. DJ is $20M this year, but drops to $16M for the last two. That's a heck of a bargain.
Hopkins can also fit nicely and could be had for a Day 2 pick. Can be cut if it doesn't work pretty easily too.

Heck, they get an OT or Bijan at 9.... Eric B got his work cut out for him.

[Buc2]

If Carolina truly thinks one qb is a sure thing and the others are busts, then it’s a good trade for them. Also think it’s good for Chicago because they need picks. As I said in another thread, they’ve got tons of cap space and can use one of those picks to trade for a guy like DeAndre Hopkins who will prolly cost a 2 and a 3/4. Bears WR corps one of their biggest weaknesses and can now turn it into strength.

It’s not so much a good trade for Carolina as a shitty trade for Chicago as I posited in the other thread.

[BucsNBills]

If this is true, do we make a call to the Cardinals about their 3rd pick which has been rumored to be up for grabs? We'd be guaranteed either Young or Stroud at 3....

[Doctor]

Re-post your wrong take here

[Sdbucs]

There goes a potential contender in the Caleb Williams 2024 sweepstakes

[Phantom]

If this is true, do we make a call to the Cardinals about their 3rd pick which has been rumored to be up for grabs? We'd be guaranteed either Young or Stroud at 3....

See snake?

[Deja Entendu]

Please please please don’t be for Young

[Bootz]

This seems like a slam dunk thats gonna be overthought. Bryce Young is by far the top QB. His biggest "flaw" is his size if you even care about that.

[Grahamburn]

It’s Richardson.

[GreatTimes]

It’s Richardson.

Cam Newton part II.

[Navybuc]

I like Young and Stroud. I watched both qbs, especially Stroud, move up and down the field against future NFL pros in Georgia. I haven’t seen Richardson do anything good at Florida except run and throw as far as Jamarcus Russell. But then again, Josh Allen missed his fair share of targets too in college, although not as bad as AR.

[BucsNBills]

Not that Will Levis was ever going to be drafted #1 overall, but it's kind of weird how little hype he's received compared to the others. He was the solid #3 in this draft but now he seems like a very distant #4.

[Phantom]

The chatter said it’s Richardson

[CantonJester]

If it's Richardson, that should tell you how much teams value the rookie QB contract, particularly when they might've been able to obtain Lamar Jackson for roughly a similar amount going back.

What a world.

[Bootz]

It's March 10th. That chatter is gonna change

[Cheb]

I think the Bears won this trade in a landslide.
It'll be interesting to see who the Panthers go with, either:

A - The Cam Newton clone who can't throw an accurate screen pass.
B - The boy from Alabama who will go on IR the instant Vita Vea touches him
or C - Another QB from the school famous for its impressive list of quarterback busts.

And that rookie is going to be throwing to what amounts to street free agents and practice squadie skill players.

Lol.

[Naismith]

I think it will be Richardson or Stroud.

[MJW]

It's March 10th. That chatter is gonna change

This.

Expect, in the next six weeks to hear:
- It's always been about Bryce Young.
- Panthers are targeting CJ Stroud.
- Panthers see the next Cam Newton in Richardson.
- Frank Reich sees generational arm talent in Will Levis.
- Carolina intends to trade back and recoup draft capital.
- Panthers believe pairing Brian Burns and Will Anderson will be unstoppable.

All of them. All from "trusted" talking heads.

[Bootz]

It's March 10th. That chatter is gonna change

This.

Expect, in the next six weeks to hear:
- It's always been about Bryce Young.
- Panthers are targeting CJ Stroud.
- Panthers see the next Cam Newton in Richardson.
- Frank Reich sees generational arm talent in Will Levis.
- Carolina intends to trade back and recoup draft capital.
- Panthers believe pairing Brian Burns and Will Anderson will be unstoppable.

All of them. All from "trusted" talking heads.

Exactly. And this is the chatter the Bears should've waited for. Instead their green GM got nervous with FA approaching and headlines that some teams were interested in FA QBs and took the 1st deal he heard.

[Cheb]

This.

Expect, in the next six weeks to hear:
- It's always been about Bryce Young.
- Panthers are targeting CJ Stroud.
- Panthers see the next Cam Newton in Richardson.
- Frank Reich sees generational arm talent in Will Levis.
- Carolina intends to trade back and recoup draft capital.
- Panthers believe pairing Brian Burns and Will Anderson will be unstoppable.

All of them. All from "trusted" talking heads.

Exactly. And this is the chatter the Bears should've waited for. Instead their green GM got nervous with FA approaching and headlines that some teams were interested in FA QBs and took the 1st deal he heard.

I wouldn't throw the Bears GM under the bus so hard.

I think the timing isn't a coincidence. The Bears had the most cap space in the NFL, and still do. A reliable receiver to play opposite Claypool to push Mooney into a slot role where he's more suited must have been high on their shopping list. Picking up DJ Moore to be that guy was a solid move, plus the Bears get extra picks, plus they only had to move down eight spots. Assuming that the top four QBs all go before their new #9 slot, the Bears get a guaranteed "top five" non-QB talent.

The Bears GM doesn't seem scared to me. He just hit several birds with one stone with that trade, and he still has $75 million in cap space to go shopping next week.

Smart dude, imo.

[MJW]

FWIW, the only fan I know IRL who knows more about the game than I do is a Bears diehard, and he's THRILLED with this trade. It shows faith in Fields. It paradoxically opens up their options if there's a guy they love at #9 but don't have the grapes to take at #1 (Lukas Van Ness, Bijan Robinson, and Calijah Kancey all fit that description FWIW.) If Fields falters, it gives them two firsts to find a new guy next year. So on and so forth.

Personally, I'd like this trade a lot more for the Bears if they'd gotten Carolina's 2nd Rounder (#39) instead of San Fran's (#61.) It'd still be a better deal on paper for the Panthers, but not nearly so one-sided.

[Bootz]

Exactly. And this is the chatter the Bears should've waited for. Instead their green GM got nervous with FA approaching and headlines that some teams were interested in FA QBs and took the 1st deal he heard.

I wouldn't throw the Bears GM under the bus so hard.

I think the timing isn't a coincidence. The Bears had the most cap space in the NFL, and still do. A reliable receiver to play opposite Claypool to push Mooney into a slot role where he's more suited must have been high on their shopping list. Picking up DJ Moore to be that guy was a solid move, plus the Bears get extra picks, plus they only had to move down eight spots. Assuming that the top four QBs all go before their new #9 slot, the Bears get a guaranteed "top five" non-QB talent.

The Bears GM doesn't seem scared to me. He just hit several birds with one stone with that trade, and he still has $75 million in cap space to go shopping next week.

Smart dude, imo.

Moving down 8 spots from #1 is too much. Especially when your team is low on game changing talent. Their GM should've zeroed in on the top non-QB available and made moves to get into position to take that guy. And he had 6 extra weeks to do so.

I think the timing is what makes this worse. DJ Moore is okay. But he's making $20mil/year, has never made a pro bowl nor had he ever had more than 7 TDs on a year. He's also a slot guy like Mooney is.

This move reeks of the Bears calling teams instead of the other way around like it should've been.

[Snake]

My guess, the Bears don’t see a huge difference between the position player they would take at 1 and the player they will take at 9.

It seems like a certainty that three quarterbacks will be taken between 1-8. Potentially 4. Which benefits them in this scenario.

this tells you more about their evaluation of Anderson, than anything. Imo

[Grahamburn]

My guess, the Bears don’t see a huge difference between the position player they would take at 1 and the player they will take at 9.

It seems like a certainty that three quarterbacks will be taken between 1-8. Potentially 4. Which benefits them in this scenario.

this tells you more about their evaluation of Anderson, than anything. Imo

The Bears needed everything, basically. They're on their way acquiring 4 extra high end assets to move 8 spots.

[Snake]

My guess, the Bears don’t see a huge difference between the position player they would take at 1 and the player they will take at 9.

It seems like a certainty that three quarterbacks will be taken between 1-8. Potentially 4. Which benefits them in this scenario.

this tells you more about their evaluation of Anderson, than anything. Imo

The Bears needed everything, basically. They're on their way acquiring 4 extra high end assets to move 8 spots.

Wouldn’t surprise me if they pulled a Patriots, and traded down one more time from #9.

[MJW]

The Bears needed everything, basically. They're on their way acquiring 4 extra high end assets to move 8 spots.

Wouldn’t surprise me if they pulled a Patriots, and traded down one more time from #9.

I expect this honestly, for reasons stated. They're not one guy away from decent. Probably not five guys.

[acmillis]

I wouldn't throw the Bears GM under the bus so hard.

I think the timing isn't a coincidence. The Bears had the most cap space in the NFL, and still do. A reliable receiver to play opposite Claypool to push Mooney into a slot role where he's more suited must have been high on their shopping list. Picking up DJ Moore to be that guy was a solid move, plus the Bears get extra picks, plus they only had to move down eight spots. Assuming that the top four QBs all go before their new #9 slot, the Bears get a guaranteed "top five" non-QB talent.

The Bears GM doesn't seem scared to me. He just hit several birds with one stone with that trade, and he still has $75 million in cap space to go shopping next week.

Smart dude, imo.

Moving down 8 spots from #1 is too much. Especially when your team is low on game changing talent. Their GM should've zeroed in on the top non-QB available and made moves to get into position to take that guy. And he had 6 extra weeks to do so.

I think the timing is what makes this worse. DJ Moore is okay. But he's making $20mil/year, has never made a pro bowl nor had he ever had more than 7 TDs on a year. He's also a slot guy like Mooney is.

This move reeks of the Bears calling teams instead of the other way around like it should've been.

I’m pulling a Bootz here:

Tell me you know nothing about football without telling me…

“He’s never made a pro bowl” lolwut

Dude averages over 1k yards per season and GB offered a first rounder for him just a few months ago.

[Grahamburn]

There are reports that Carolina wanted to give up their 2025 first, but the Bears insisted on Moore and would not budge.

[These Are The Days]

Not sold on Richardson. Let em make the pick

[Navybuc]

My guess, the Bears don’t see a huge difference between the position player they would take at 1 and the player they will take at 9.

It seems like a certainty that three quarterbacks will be taken between 1-8. Potentially 4. Which benefits them in this scenario.

this tells you more about their evaluation of Anderson, than anything. Imo

My take is I don’t think this a draft where teams are going to overpay to move up. This isn’t the Trevor Lawrence and Trey Lance draft. I like Bryce Young, but he’s not in the Joe Burrow or Trevor Lawrence spectrum of #1 picks. Teams aren’t dropping their jaws and wanting to draft him.

If the Bears had #1 and this was a 2021-qb rich draft, I would expect them to get more. But this isn’t that draft and most teams around the NFL are settling in on their qb (except us). Only Carolina, Indy and Houston are interested in first round qbs. The fact the Bears added Moore gives them essentially 3 #1 picks and 2 #2s which isn’t bad at all.