3 Teams the Chicago Bears should trade back with in the NFL Draft

The Chicago Bears should get on the phone with the Carolina Panthers

This will be general manager Ryan Poles’ first draft where the Bears own their own first-round pick. The front office may look to trade back in order to gain more draft selections in the coming years and drive the rebuild into overdrive. While it is hard to predict draft trades before the draft begins, let alone the fact that the draft order is not even set yet, there are two moves that could net the Bears extra picks for the 2023 and 2024 drafts.

The Panthers may be the most quarterback-needy team in the NFL, with only Sam Darnold and PJ Walker as healthy options after releasing new Los Angeles Rams starter Baker Mayfield. The Panthers, who will have at least a top-10 pick in this draft, will be looking to completely restart their rebuild. After trading away star running back Christian McCaffrey and firing their head coach Matt Rhule early in the season, the team is in the middle of a reset.

With a new head coach coming to Carolina in 2023, there is a good chance that this new regime will start with a new quarterback. The Panthers already have defensive pieces in Brian Burns, Jeremy Chinn, and Derrick Brown, a good receiver in DJ Moore, and a decent offensive line led by rookie Ikem Okonwu.

The Panthers may not have a high enough pick to allow either Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud to fall to them, so a move with the Bears may be beneficial for both teams. Moving back with the Panthers may remove the Bears from the contention in drafting Will Anderson, Jr or Jalen Carter, but there are still many valuable players that the Chicago Bears could select in the top 10 to instantly improve their roster.

Luckily, the Panthers are in this position partly due to passing on Justin Fields in the 2021 Draft, and the Bears could leverage this by trading with them so Carolina could go and get their own quarterback of the future.