The Panthers’ trade to land the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft from the Bears had NFL Twitter picking sides over whether Carolina got fleeced.
The Panthers and Bears lit up NFL Twitter on Friday evening by agreeing to a trade to send the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft from Chicago to Carolina.
The Bears were expected to trade the top pick to a quarterback-needy team and they found their partner in a Panthers team eager to give new head coach Frank Reich a franchise quarterback.
The cost? Carolina is giving up multiple picks in this year’s draft and the next two, along with wide receiver DJ Moore.
How NFL Twitter reacted to Panthers-Bears trade for No. 1 pick
Some liked the deal on both sides, looking at positive gains for the Bears and Panthers alike.
Love the trade for both sides. Chicago gets a bounty, a weapon for Justin Fields, and the #Panthers get their pick of potential franchise quarterbacks.
— Matt Lombardo 🏈 (@MattLombardoNFL) March 10, 2023
Love it for both sides. Panthers finally about to get the QB they want. https://t.co/HmmsnN6Jge
— Dan Hanzus (@DanHanzus) March 10, 2023
massive dub on both sides of this trade imo. it was pretty clear DJ moore was on the way out there no matter what https://t.co/OWLSolmVC3
— victoriana nights (@dirtbagqueer) March 10, 2023
However, others thought it was a bad one for the Panthers, who they believe got “fleeced” by giving up that much to move up for an unproven quarterback.
I’m not saying it but some people are saying the Panthers got fleeced. I’m just reporting what’s being said
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) March 10, 2023
FLEECED https://t.co/38txHiBlAW
— PFT Commenter (@PFTCommenter) March 10, 2023
Bears just fleeced the Panthers.
— Grant Puskar (@grant_puskar_) March 10, 2023
Wow I hate that trade for the Panthers! The press release should have said “From the producers of the Rudy Gobert Trade…”
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) March 10, 2023
Much of the criticism of the Panthers centered around the addition of DJ Moore in the trade.
https://twitter.com/Peter_Bukowski/status/1634321649389522961
Wow!! The Panthers now have the #1 overall pick and their number-one receiver is ... Laviska Shenault? https://t.co/p6Uc0biCOu
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) March 10, 2023
Without DJ Moore, who is the Panthers' new QB going to throw the ball to?
— Trevor Lane (@Trevor_Lane) March 10, 2023
Panthers refused to give Cam Newton good wide receivers so why would they do anything different for Bryce Young or CJ Stroud
— Jordan Elliott (@splash_cousin) March 10, 2023
Panthers fans weren’t having it though. The prospect of bringing in a franchise quarterback outweighs the rest for them.
I’m gonna miss DJ Moore.
— Edgar Salmingo, Jr. ✌️ (@PanthersAnalyst) March 10, 2023
But I’m gonna like having a franchise QB on a rookie contract even more https://t.co/hSXoQlWb9I
If one of these QBs ends up being a true top-5 QB in the league, no Panthers fan is gonna care what they gave up https://t.co/yBlxdyGxVw
— Joel A. Erickson (@JoelAErickson) March 10, 2023
You can never get fleeced landing a franchise QB. DJ Moore was a blow due to how much we loved him but adding him saved us a bunch of picks. WRs are easy to come by. A franchise QB is not
— 𓃵 (@Goaty_Szn) March 10, 2023
The #Panthers paid a big price to jump from No. 9 to No. 1, but worth noting: They still have a second-round pick (No. 39) this year, and they didn’t have to give up their first-rounder in 2025. The Christian McCaffrey trade provided flexibility. Now they can go get their QB.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 10, 2023
Pretty much everyone was in agreement that it was a great day for the Bears though.
It’s a good day to be a #Bears fan. pic.twitter.com/85rPgP625f
— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) March 10, 2023
What a masterclass by Ryan Poles…
— Chris Maltby (@ChrisMaltbyBD) March 10, 2023
The #Bears acquired two first-round picks trading down with the #Panthers.
Chicago also added to their receiving corps, picking up DJ Moore.
GREAT work by Poles, who got the best deal he could for No. 1 overall.
Live footage of #Bears GM Ryan Poles after robbing the Panthers of DJ Moore pic.twitter.com/Onv21uQAtc
— Raph (@Raph_Tucker) March 10, 2023
Live look at Bears fans after their team just fleeced the Carolina Panthers for the No. 1 overall pick 🔥 pic.twitter.com/khgUtp2QBM
— Bussin' With The Boys (@BussinWTB) March 10, 2023
POLES FROM THE CLOUDS. THE LEAGUE IS TREMBLING. https://t.co/LdhGx9Reem
— Tommy Erbe (@tommyerbe36) March 10, 2023
Meanwhile, the Texans were out there catching strays because of their role in gifting the Bears the No. 1 pick in the first place.
It's impossible to overstate how big the Texans' last-minute two-point conversion in their Week 18 win over the Colts was. The Texans winning that game gave the Bears the first overall pick, and this massive haul. https://t.co/rIlQcZ2dfz
— Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) March 10, 2023
Boy, Lovie Smith screwed the Texans big time by not losing a very loseable week 18 game. I’d kill to see the smile on his face right now. https://t.co/OahxeVsmSH
— Cousin Sal (@TheCousinSal) March 10, 2023
huge moment in Carolina Panthers history https://t.co/lWIw9Ayo9a
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) March 10, 2023
Now the speculation can begin as to which quarterback the Panthers intend to select with the No. 1 pick. Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud and Florida’s Anthony Richardson have all been discussed as potential top picks but it all depends on Carolina’s preference.