2023 NFL Draft: Bears almost traded back twice before settling on No. 9 pick, DJ Moore

Chicago Bears fans are very happy with the haul general manager Ryan Poles got from the Carolina Panthers when he traded out of the No. 1 pick.

To refresh your memory, the Bears landed the No. 9 and 61 picks in 2023, a first-round pick in 2024, a second-round pick in 2025, and wide receiver DJ Moore. Job well done.

But as is the case whenever a big decision like trading the No. 1 pick is made, fans naturally ask whether more could’ve been had by the Chicago Bears.

According to Poles, who spoke with NBC Sports’ Peter King, the answer might be yes.

It depends on what you value higher: another first-round pick in 2024 or Moore. It seems that was what Poles’ decision came down to, he had a chance to trade back twice — first with the Houston Texans and again with the Panthers — and, perhaps, would’ve entered the 2023 draft with three first-rounders.

Bears almost traded with Texans before finalizing deal with Panthers

“I thought there was an opportunity to do something historically pretty cool with a trade from one to two and two to nine,” Poles said via NBC Sports. “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. At the combine, I thought those quarterbacks did an outstanding job in their interview process. A lot of teams felt really good about some of those guys, but as you get further away from the combine, maybe there’s a bad pro day or something that turns teams off.”

You have to trust your gut, right? And, let’s be honest, the Chicago Bears wouldn’t have landed a player in the 2024 NFL Draft who offers the upside of DJ Moore, unless they leveraged those picks into Marvin Harrison Jr. (WR, Ohio State). But they could still add Harrison next year with two first-rounders and have Moore on the roster because of the trade they did make.

Don’t second-guess the Bears’ trade with the Panthers. It was a no-brainer, and as Ryan Poles said, the longer Chicago waited to act, the less they may have gotten in return.