Before the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers shook hands on a deal for the No. 1 overall pick, the Houston Texans were involved in discussions with the Bears to move up from the No. 2 pick to the coveted first overall selection.
The Bears' asking price? The No. 2 and No. 12 pick in the first round, according to KPRC Houston.
"One proposed trade scenario discussed with the Texans was asking them to potentially send the second overall pick and the No. 12 selection to the Bears in exchange for the top overall pick, according to league sources," Aaron Wilson wrote.
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Another scenario, according to Wilson's sources, was the Texans sending a 2024 first-round pick to the Bears. "But that wasn't enough for the NFC North franchise," Wilson wrote, based on his reporting and sourcing.
The Bears ended up trading the No. 1 pick in early March, directly after the NFL combine and well before the first round of the draft. They gave it to the Panthers in exchange for the No. 9 and No. 61 picks in the 2023 draft, along with a 2024 first-round pick, a 2025 second-round pick and DJ Moore.
Ryan Poles & Co. are getting more bites out of the NFL draft apple from their deal with Carolina. Plus, they added a bonafide No. 1 receiver for Justin Fields in Moore. Despite the intrigue of receiving two high draft picks in the 2023 draft, the Bears collected a haul from the Panthers.
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The story of the conversations themselves is extremely intriguing. According to Scott Fitterer on Adam Schefter's podcast, the Bears offered them the No. 1 overall pick directly after the combine, initiating the conversation.
The Panthers didn't budge on the offer and sat back in the driver's seat. Once the Texans got involved, however, "That's the point where I got the most nervous," Fitterer said.
MORE: Panthers GM recounts acquiring No. 1 pick from Bears
Carolina quickly reentered the conversation the same week they notched the deal. They finished up over the phone on a Friday evening. High fives and waves of relief filled the offices in Carolina, as the executives went out for drinks following the deal's agreement.
And today, they feel even better about the move, seeing how the pre-draft chaos is unfolding.
"We were sitting at nine and we traded to one," Fitterer summarized. "And I said, 'If we're still sitting at nine right now and we need a new quarterback, I'd be so nervous.' I feel great about the move. Going up to one I think was the right decision."
Some believe the Bears jumped the gun on executing a deal with the Panthers about seven weeks out from the draft. But the argument weighs heavily on that being the correct idea leading up to Thursday's draft.
The Texans, according to KPRC, and the Arizona Cardinals are all considering the prospect of trading down in the draft, which would have tied the hands of the Bears for the best offer.
The Bears committed highway robbery back in early March. And while the Panthers are up in arms about the deal, the Bears should be, too.