The Chicago Bears traded the first overall pick to the Carolina Panthers. In exchange, the Bears picked up the 9th overall pick, and the 61st overall pick in this draft. They also added a 2024 first-round pick, a 2025 second-round pick, and D.J. Moore. This is a significant haul for the Bears.
Because last season was mostly a tear down, this season is all about what he can do in the rebuild. Here are five reasons that the first move he made in the rebuild was a home run.
5. Chicago Bears got the compensation that he demanded
Ryan Poles took some heat nationally for what he said to Peter King. Poles told the national reporter that he was confident that he could get a 2024 first round pick and a 2025 first-round pick for the number one pick.
He said that a team would have to go over the top of that to get the deal done now. Some scoffed, and many wondered why he potentially overpromised with the chance of an under deliver.
It is fair that Ryan Poles did not get the 2025 first round pick. He got a 2025 second-round pick instead. Oh, but he also got pick 61 this year, and D.J. Moore. That may be the over-the-top that got this done.
So, it is not the 2025 first he said he was going to get, but you will not hear any referring back to that article and saying that Poles was talking crazy. He told King what he thought he was going to get, and the return he got saw similar, if not more than what he demanded. That is a pretty good way to go about your first major trade.
It should also establish some credibility with Poles. When he says something, he typically means it, and that has been something he wanted to establish from the start. It is hard to throw anything he said before the trade back in his face.
4. Chicago Bears got this done before free agency
Another thing that Ryan Poles said was that he wanted to get the deal done before free agency. Poles talked about how the landscape of the deal may be so big that the team would like to have it done so that they could plan free agency after the deal went down.
They did not want to sign free agents, then have different types of salaries being offered to them. So, Ryan Poles went to work during the NFL combine. This is another situation where he said something and got it done.
Poles said he wanted it done before free agency, and adding Moore makes the picture much more clear. Now, they can spend on the defensive and offensive line and do not need to worry about wide receiver nearly as much.
Poles said he wanted to get it done before free agency, but was not desperate to get it done before free agency. The Chicago Bears maximized the return while still getting the deal done on their timeline.
3. Chicago Bears finally fixed wide receiver
I am not saying D.J. Moore is A.J. Brown, but if there is a trade this offseason that will compare, it is this one. Tee Higgins is not going anywhere, and there is no one else available with the combination of youth and talent that Moore brings to the table.
Even his contract is completely affordable. This is about as good as it could get. Beyond that, they do not have to dip into a free agency pool that is pretty gross in terms of upside. They also can avoid the draft for the most part in a class that does not have a lot of standouts or even wideouts over 180 pounds.
The Chicago Bears added D.J. Moore to Chase Claypool, and Darnell Mooney. That will be it for their starting three. They have Velus Jones signed, and they already re-signed Equanimeous St. Brown. It is hard to see many other players being added to finalize the top five. They like ESB too much, and Jones is just entering his second season.
So, that about does it for the wide receivers, and that is good because they still have so many other needs. Now, they can focus on that, and they just so happen to have an extra pick in the second round as well. So, they can fix more needs, while having already wrapped up the wide receiver.
2. Chicago Bears identified top 6-8 'blue' players
Since everything else Ryan Poles said to Peter King turned out to be true, we can assume that he also saw this draft class as a top 6-8 player draft class. Poles said that he did not have a spot in the top five as a line because he thought he could still get one of those top eight players a bit later.,
You have to assume that Poles is not adding quarterbacks in here, because he just traded out of the quarterback zone. So, sitting at pick nine and not having a quarterback in your top eight should guarantee that you end up with one of those guys.
The Panthers are drafting a quarterback. Beyond that, the Texans are likely to take one. Even the Colts at four are in the market, and so are the Raiders at seven and Falcons at eight. There is a chance that four quarterbacks get drafted in the top nine picks. What a win that would be.
The Chicago Bears would end up with one of their top five players in a draft where they had six to eight in a tier. They would still be very happy with any of the options, and would still be debating between a few of their top guys at this spot.
1. Chicago Bears have a gift that keeps on giving.
Do not underestimate the 2025 second-round pick. Who knows how long we will be looking back at that pick? Poles wanted 2025 first, but instead, he got 2025 second and D.J. Moore. Poles said he wanted into the 2025 draft because it would extend the value of this number one pick even further.
That is exactly what is about to happen. Whatever that pick becomes, the rookie contract will be four years. So, that player will be on the Chicago Bears through the 2029 season. The hope would be that pick nine, the 2024 first-rounder, and pick 61 are all on the team in 2029 as well.
Still, it is almost a guarantee that the 2025 pick player will be. What about this, what if Poles trade that pick? The 2025 second-round pick from his 2023 trade could turn into multiple players or even a 2026 pick. When Ryan Poles traded down a bunch in the fifth round to get a ton of swings at day three picks could be a small look at how he views the draft as a whole. The Chicago Bears could be talking about this trade from 2030 and beyond. That is how you know it is a big win.