The Bears have been extremely busy in making moves for the past couple days, but it all started when Ryan Poles traded the #1 pick to the Panthers for the #9th pick in the draft, this year’s second, a 2024 first rounder, a 2024 second rounder, a 2025 second rounder, and, to put the biggest cherry on top, D.J. Moore was also included in the trade. Trading for D.J Moore was a surprise to many, including me, and I could not wait to discuss the trade. Here is my report card for this trade:
Grade: A+
When I was thinking about the Bears trading the #1 pick, I was only expecting draft capital to be in the trade. However, Ryan Poles managed to make everyone that all changed when the Panthers included D.J. Moore in the trade because of Ryan Poles being adamant that D.J. Moore would play in a Bears uniform. When it was the trade deadline in November, I had actually wanted the Bears to trade for D.J. Moore, but I knew it was unlikely at the time, which led to the Chase Claypool trade. This move only helps the Bears especially with D.J. Moore being 25 years old and also being one of the best young receivers in the NFL.
A Contract Perspective:
When thinking about the wide receiver position for the Bears, I was thinking that they could’ve landed Jaxon Smith Njigba within the top 10, but D.J. Moore proves that it is unlikely for the Bears to draft JSN. One of the biggest pros about the D.J. Moore trade is that his contract is roughly 20 million per year, which is considered “cheap” when thinking about wide receiver money in the NFL (just look at Christian Kirk). Especially looking in free agency, there were not really any good options to sign that would be up to the caliber of D.J Moore. This makes me even more relieved that Ryan Poles is spending wisely and this makes the Roquan Smith Trade look much better.
A Young Bears Offense
If you told me in one year that the Bears would be a significantly younger team, I would tell you to wake up from your dream. However, it looks like we are living in that dream as of now. With the D.J. Moore trade, the Bears now have one of the youngest wide receiver cores in the NFL with Moore, Darnell Mooney, and Chase Claypool, who are 25 years old and under. This not only gives the Bears a younger offense, it gives Justin Fields the opportunity to build out his talent with a younger team. This surely proves that Ryan Poles only wants to build this team younger, and it will only help this team improve significantly.
Cons Of This Trade
There are honestly no cons for this trade besides I felt if Ryan Poles decided to trade the pick closer to the draft, I felt like there might have been more to give from the Panthers end. However it might have not included D.J. Moore, so this trade was perfect (with a chef’s kiss). Bears fans can only be excited about what D.J. Moore brings to the table and Ryan Poles is not done making moves to build the future, so keep refreshing Twitter.
