On Friday there was a trade that shook up the NFL landscape. This was the Chicago Bears trading the number one overall pick in the NFL draft to the Carolina Panthers. This now puts the Panthers on the clock with their choice of whatever prospect they want.
While this trade didn’t involve the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it certainly had an impact on them. After all, any notable move a division rival makes has implications within the division. Unfortunately, this affected the Bucs in a negative way.
This may be surprising considering what the Panthers gave up to acquire the number one pick. Their star wide receiver, DJ Moore, a first round pick next year and a pair of second round picks is a lot and a price that may help the rest of the division down the line. However, the immediate implications are not good for Tampa Bay.
Carolina Gets A Franchise Quarterback
The most obvious thing is that the Panthers are going to be in a position to draft a star quarterback. This could be CJ Stroud or Bryce Young, but regardless of who it is they are very likely to be a great NFL player. This will be a big improvement over the gang of outcasts they paraded onto the field last year, highlighted by Sam Darnold.
With this rookie quarterback, there’s a realistic possibility that the Panthers will have the best quarterback in the NFC South next year. Even as a rookie, one of these quarterbacks could come in and look better than the likes of Derek Carr or Kyle Trask. Frankly, it’s not a strong group of quarterbacks to outperform.
Be advised that this would just be the immediate impact. With the number one overall pick you expect to get a guy who will make multiple pro bowls and even trend towards the Hall of Fame. Long term this could be a quarterback who torments the Bucs for more than a decade.
The Bears Hurt The Bucs Too???
Not only is Carolina going to hurt the Bucs with this trade, but so will the Bears. By moving down to the ninth pick in the draft they have taken themselves out of the running for stars like Will Anderson or Anthony Richardson. These are players that the Buccaneers were never going to have a shot either.
Now with the ninth overall pick, it’s likely the Bears target an offensive tackle. This will provide protection for their young quarterback and star to really build their offense. This is significant for a team that just parted ways with their left tackle.
Now with the Bears in the mix there are five to seven teams who will strongly consider drafting an offensive tackle in the picks prior to the Bucs at 19th overall. With potentially four tackle prospects that will go in the first round the supply doesn’t meet the demand. This could leave the Bucs on the outside looking in or possibly reaching for a lesser prospect.
In the short term, the Bears could end up being a bigger problem for the Buccaneers than the division rival who just got the number one overall pick.
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