The Carolina Panthers have lacked a franchise quarterback since Cam Newton’s glory days expired in 2015. They gave QB Baker Mayfield an opportunity as their starting QB before trading him to the Los Angeles Chargers. 

They also had a fantastic half-back in Christian McCaffrey whom they traded to the San Francisco 49ers in return for draft picks and did the same to their star wide receiver, D.J. Moore, whom they traded to the Chicago Bears for the number one overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft. 

The Panthers hope they can finally find their franchise QB within the draft, however, they have made it relatively difficult for any QB to succeed with such an inefficient offense. 

Last year the Bears invested in QB Justin Fields who performed well rushing the ball, but struggled to air the ball out. The Bears also struggled with offensive line problems and finished with the worst record in the NFL. 

The Bears hope that with a stronger wide receiver core they can give Fields more weapons to succeed and take the team further than he did in the 2022 season. 

The Bears will still have the number nine overall pick in the NFL draft which was a part of the Panthers trade deal.