Most trades in NFL history fall into a few select categories. You have the crafty depth additions who emerge as key contributors at key moments in a season. There are the ones where a team lands an unexpected gem who becomes a good-to-great player. Then you have the aggressive deals to acquire a star that transforms a good team into a championship one. There are very few that can be called foundation-shifting. These are trades that set an organization up with enough assets to transform the fortunes of an entire roster, not just one spot. The infamous Herschell Walker trade between Dallas and Minnesota in 1989 is a perfect example. Nobody ever thought something like that would happen again, much less from the Chicago Bears.
Many odds were defied that fateful day in 2023. Trading the #1 overall pick was a gutsy decision by the Bears at the time. They were passing on a chance to land a franchise quarterback in favor of gambling on a large package of picks to hopefully revamp a roster that had been torn down to the stubs. Through a mix of good scouting and astounding luck, the Bears set out on a journey that took them from the worst team in football to Super Bowl contenders in three years. Unlike other rebuilds, this one originates from a single moment in time. It’s a story that deserves revisiting.
Chapter 1: Lovie Smith’s final gift to the Chicago Bears
Lovie Smith is a beloved figure among Bears fans these days. While he was never perfect as a head coach, his frustrating inability to find a capable offensive coordinator proved his eventual undoing, the man won football games. He built some of the best defenses in franchise history during the mid-2000s and led them to only their second-ever Super Bowl appearance. Had he gotten better luck at quarterback, it’s likely Smith would have a ring and probably would not have been unceremoniously fired in 2012.
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After that, the head coach found his next opportunity in Tampa Bay. Taking over a rebuilding team, it looked like he was pushing the Bucs in the right direction. Unfortunately, he was again fired, this time because the team feared losing offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, who seemed to have a strong connection with quarterback Jameis Winston. Smith retreated to the college ranks, where he became the head coach at Illinois for a few years. Then in 2021, he was called back to the NFL as defensive coordinator in Houston. A year later, he was elevated to head coach.
Anybody with common sense could see Smith was set up as a sacrificial lamb. The Texans had no quarterback and featured a roster in disrepair. It was evident they were lining up to tank for a high draft choice. Smith was just there to be their bridge to the next guy. Unwilling to accept that, the head coach decided to ruin the plan.
Chapter 2: The Jordan Akins Game
The setup was perfect. Going into the final game of the 2022 season, the Texans had the worst record in the NFL. All they had to do was lose the finale against the rival Indianapolis Colts, and they would secure the coveted #1 overall pick. Chicago, which was the only team in position to challenge them, finished 3-14. So they needed Houston to win if they wanted to claim that pick. The game unfolded as nobody expected. Houston jumped out to a 17-7 lead, playing with more energy than they’d displayed in months.
That didn’t last long. Indianapolis stormed back, eventually moving ahead 31-24 with 3:33 left in the 4th quarter. Houston looked dead in the water. Then the madness ensued. Quarterback Davis Mills led them on a drive from their own 17, converting a 3rd and 13 and a 4th and 12 along the way, to reach the Colts’ 18. Then a sack dropped them to the 28. It was 4th and 20. That was it. The game was over.
Seventeen seconds later, tight end Jordan Akins had changed the course of history, first by catching a Hail Mary for a touchdown, then by snagging the 2-point conversion. Just like that, the Texans won the game 32-31, handing Chicago the #1 pick. Smith was fired by Houston that same day.
Chapter 3: The Decision
It marked the first time in Chicago Bears history that the team held the top pick in the draft. General manager Ryan Poles was in a fascinating position. It wasn’t hard to decipher that he would likely wish to look for his own quarterback, having inherited Justin Fields from the previous regime. The 2023 draft class offered two prominent prospects to consider: Alabama’s Bryce Young and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud. It would’ve been an easy decision. No one would’ve blamed Poles for starting over at the most important position. It happens a lot.
However, the GM also understood another reality. The Bears’ roster was in dire need of help across the board. Not just at quarterback. To fix it, Poles needed assets. The best way to get them would be by auctioning off the #1 pick to another team desperate for a quarterback. By the time the scouting combine arrived, the decision was made. The Bears started fielding calls about the pick. Eventually, the Carolina Panthers emerged as the biggest suitor. Their owner, Dave Tepper, was pushing for a quarterback. The two sides eventually reached a deal.
The Panthers get:
#1 pick in the 2023 draft
The Bears get:
- WR D.J. Moore
- #9 pick in the 2023 draft
- 2nd round pick 2023 draft
- 1st round pick in 2024 draft
- 2nd round pick in 2025 draft
Carolina went on to select Young a month later. Chicago swung a smaller trade with Philadelphia to move down to #10, selecting Tennessee right tackle Darnell Wright. With the 2nd rounder, they added Miami cornerback Tyrique Stevenson. Wright made second-team All-Pro in 2025.
Chapter 4: Caleb
One of the biggest debates among fans today is whether they think Poles felt the Panthers would be bad enough to give the Bears a shot at the #1 pick again in 2024. The likely answer is the GM felt it was a possibility, but probably wasn’t banking on it. The bottom line for him was that he’d have two 1st round picks in 2024, and that would give him tons of flexibility to go hunting for his quarterback, presuming Fields didn’t take a big step forward that season. Not a single person expected Carolina to go 2-15.
This marked only the sixth time in the Super Bowl era that a team earned the #1 overall pick two years in a row. What makes it even crazier is that it was the first time that both picks didn’t originally belong to the team. Chicago is the only one to have successfully traded for it.
| Franchise with the #1 pick | Season Earned | Draft Year | Pick Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1976 1977 | 1977 1978 | Original Original | |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 1993 1994 | 1994 1995 | Original Original | |
| Cleveland Browns | 1998 1999 | 1999 2000 | Original Original | |
| Cleveland Browns | 2016 2017 | 2017 2018 | Original Original | |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 2020 2021 | 2021 2022 | Original Original | |
| Chicago Bears | 2022 2023 | 2023 2024 | Original Traded For |
Once it was clear the Bears had the pick, everybody knew they would take a quarterback. The timing couldn’t have been better. Most experts agreed the 2024 class was one of the strongest in years, and headlining it was USC star Caleb Williams. The former Heisman winner drew comparisons to Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes. His skills were called “generational.” Despite other options like Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels, the Bears decided pretty early that Williams was their guy. Fields was traded, and the card was turned in.
Chapter 5: Finding the shepherd
Things didn’t go as the Chicago Bears had hoped that first season. Embattled head coach Matt Eberflus clearly didn’t have a strong plan for developing Williams. That, along with a series of brutal late-game collapses, saw him get fired by Thanksgiving, leaving the young quarterback’s fate uncertain. Despite this, Williams still started every game, threw 25 touchdowns to just eight interceptions, and broke a winless streak against the Green Bay Packers that had lasted since 2019 with a late comeback at Lambeau Field. The goal going into the 2025 offseason was clear.
Find Williams a head coach.
They had plenty of intriguing targets. Former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel was available, as was hotshot Buccaneers coordinator Liam Coen, and future Hall of Famer Pete Carroll. Yet everybody knew the big fish in the pond was Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
The 38-year-old had put together three stellar seasons in Detroit, transforming a longtime bottom-of-the-barrel franchise into a contender. Chicago knew as far back as December that Johnson was the guy they wanted. After a tense few weeks of waiting for the Lions’ season to end and other teams trying to lure him as well, the Bears closed the deal. Johnson would be the one to oversee Williams and the Bears’ fortunes.
Chapter 6: The cherry on the Bears’ sundae
With that done, Poles had one last piece of business to attend to. There was one asset remaining from the trade two years ago. It was Carolina’s 2nd round pick, which became the 39th overall selection. After taking tight end Colston Loveland with the 10th pick in the 1st round, Johnson and Poles hoped to land help at running back at #39. They specifically had eyes for Ohio State’s Treyveon Henderson. It looked like they got their wish, until New England snagged him at #38 overall. Disappointed but not dismayed, the Bears had to pivot. Still desiring another weapon for Williams, the team quickly pinpointed their alternate option.
Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden.
Burden and Loveland quickly became sparkplugs for the Bears’ new offense. Williams threw for a franchise-best 3,941 yards with 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Easily one of the best seasons a Bears quarterback has ever had. Chicago finished 9th in scoring and 6th in total yards, had seven 4th quarter comebacks, went 11-6, and beat Green Bay in the wild card round of the playoffs.
Almost everything that happened over those five months can be traced back to the fateful moment in January of 2023 when Akins caught that two-point conversion. It is one of the great stories in recent NFL history. Just one or two minor changes to the timeline, and the Chicago Bears don’t sit where they are now, boasting a franchise quarterback, a talented core of young talent around him, and legitimate Super Bowl aspirations. Depending on what happens in the coming years, it might be the most impactful singular transaction in history.
