When the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers meet in Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season, the conversation will almost certainly drift back to the 2023 blockbuster that sent the Panthers the No. 1 overall pick and put Chicago on the path to Caleb Williams.
That deal has been under the microscope ever since Carolina used the top pick on Bryce Young, and the latest look at the trade tree makes the outcome feel pretty obvious. Chicago got the better end of it.
The Panthers paid a steep price to move up, sending the Bears a package that included two first-round picks. One of those eventually became Williams for Chicago. The other set off a chain of moves that kept producing more pieces for the Bears.
Chicago first moved back from No. 9 to No. 10 in 2023 and used that pick on right tackle Darnell Wright. The extra selection from the Eagles was used on punter Tory Taylor. The Bears then used the 2023 second-round pick to move up in a deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars before selecting cornerback Tyrique Stevenson.
A year later, the first-rounder from Carolina became the No. 1 overall pick in 2024, and that was Williams. Chicago also used the 2025 second-rounder on wide receiver Luther Burden.
The Bears kept turning the trade into more help after that. Following three seasons with DJ Moore, they sent the veteran receiver and a fifth-round pick to the Buffalo Bills for a second-rounder, then flipped that pick in a 2026 draft trade with the Tennessee Titans that led to tight end Sam Roush and cornerback Malik Muhammad.
There is still one small caveat: it’s not technically closed until Young completely washes out in Carolina. If he somehow engineered a stunning turnaround and took the Panthers to a Super Bowl while Chicago’s drought kept rolling, the discussion would look different.
But that’s not the world we’re in. After three seasons, Young still hasn’t locked down the long-term job in Carolina, and the Panthers have reached the playoffs only once with him at quarterback after backing into the postseason in 2025.
Williams, meanwhile, has been to the playoffs once in his career, and the gap between the two quarterbacks is already clear when you compare their second seasons and their bodies of work overall.
The quarterback difference alone points to Chicago. Add in what the Bears got from the rest of the haul, and the verdict gets even stronger.
Wright has developed into an elite right tackle. Burden looks like an ascending receiver headed for a breakout after a strong rookie season.
Taylor has been a success. Moore gave Chicago two productive years, including a 1,300-yard season, before becoming part of the next wave of assets.
Stevenson has not lived up to expectations, but the Bears still have at least five starters from that trade right now in Williams, Wright, Stevenson, Burden and Taylor. Muhammad could make that six if he starts in the slot this season. Moore was a starter before the move, and Roush could eventually enter that conversation if he becomes the TE2 in 2027.
So yes, the winner of the trade is pretty clear. Carolina would need a massive turnaround to change the story, and there’s no real reason to expect that to happen.
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