When boiled down, the Chicago Bears got their desired haul for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. It’s hard to top acquiring a chest of first and second-round draft picks, along with a bona fide No. 1 receiver in D.J. Moore for Justin Fields.
But according to NBC Sports’ Peter King, the Bears almost brought down the house with not one but two trade-downs. That’s because Chicago GM Ryan Poles wanted to bring in as much draft capital as possible by trading down to No. 2 overall with the Houston Texans and to No. 9 overall with the Carolina Panthers. That’s right — even while making the latest historic trade of a top pick, the Bears could’ve pulled off the vaunted double trade-down.
But Poles didn’t want to take a chance when conversations started to heat up with Panthers GM Scott Fitterer. Why? The prospect of getting a playmaker like Moore and a few high-level draft selections might have been too juicy to pass up in the heat of the moment.
More from NBC Sports’ Peter King:
“Poles told me he had significant discussion with Houston at number two that could have made him trade down twice in the top 10—with both the Texans and Panthers. He wouldn’t be specific on what broke down, but he did say: “I thought there was an opportunity to do something historically pretty cool with a trade from one to two and two to nine. That had potential to add more draft capital this year, and then the possibility that you’re sitting on three ones in the following year. That had my attention. But my gut told me to trigger on it now.”
While it’s unconfirmed, King speculates that the Bears didn’t make any deal with Houston because Poles (probably rightfully?) didn’t trust Texans GM Nick Caserio. Meanwhile, Poles has a previous scouting relationship with Fitterer. Factor in the combination of a QB draft class having perceived weaker headliners like Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud, and Poles knew he had his moment once the Panthers had Moore on the table.
More from NBC Sports:
“He [Poles] doesn’t know Houston GM Nick Caserio as well, so it could be Poles was never sure how far the Texans would go to do the deal. In a draft with questions about all the top quarterbacks and no Andrew Luck or Trevor Lawrence in the group, once Carolina agreed to send wideout D.J. Moore and two ones and two twos, Poles was convinced he shouldn’t wait.”
Man, if you’re a Bears fan, you’re probably still over the moon over the deal Chicago made. But it’s hard not to wonder whether the grass could’ve been greener on the other side if they were confident the Texans wanted to play ball, right?
What a potentially missed opportunity for draft history.
