Holley: Bears are clear winner in trade with Panthers originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

The trade that fans across the country were all waiting for to jump-start the 2023 NFL Draft finally happened last week. The Carolina Panthers agreed to a deal on Friday night with the Chicago Bears to obtain the No. 1 overall pick. The Bears also received a 2024 first-round pick, two future second-round picks and wide receiver D.J. Moore as part of the deal. 

After the blockbuster trade, fans began to speculate which side came out as the clear winner. 

The deal allows the Panthers to target a potential franchise quarterback with the No. 1 overall selection, while the Bears will use their new assets to upgrade the personnel around their third-year signal caller Justin Fields.

Michael Holley from the “Brother from Another” show believes that the Bears are the “clear winners” of the mega trade. 

“He [Ryan Poles] won the trade ... We're gonna look at Ryan Poles in three years and say ‘wow he did an amazing job,’” Holley said on air.

“Based on the history of these trades … the likelihood is that that Bears won overwhelmingly,” Holley added.

“The No. 1 pick has been traded, what, seven times since 1990? Is that right? In those seven cases, each time a team traded up to No. 1, they really didn’t get what they were looking for … You make these trades and your fan base gets excited, but when you look back it’s generally not worth it.”

Only time can tell if Poles made the right choice. And while many will debate on who came out on top, it’s clear that the 37-year-old general manager has made the right moves to put his team in a position to make strides heading into the 2023 season.