Re-building any structure is an exhausting, time-consuming project. Now imagine that structure has been damaged for years and rotting at the foundation since the sixties. That’s the job that Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles was hired to do.
The Chicago Bears have officially traded away the first overall draft pick to the Carolina Panthers. In return, the Bears received wide receiver DJ Moore, the 2023 ninth overall pick, a 2023 second-round pick (no. 61), a 2024 first-round pick, and a 2025 second-round pick.
The rebuilding Bears have found their foundation in quarterback Justin Fields. Most teams who end up with the first overall pick have no foundation, and therefore use that number one selection in hopes that they will find one. So, for the Bears, that pick was a wonderful gift that they could send to another team in exchange for some more bricks to help them keep building.
The Bears received a lot of bricks, but how well do teams that trade a top-three pick usually fare with those bricks? The past three times that a team has traded away a top-three pick could offer insight into just how much building can be done with the assets acquired in a trade of that magnitude.
The most recent example of a team trading away a top-three pick took place in 2021 when the San Francisco 49ers traded away their 2021 first-round pick (no. 12), a 2022 third-round pick, a 2022 first-round pick, and a 2023 first-round pick to the Miami Dolphins for the 2021 third overall pick.
This was quite a large haul for the Dolphins to receive from the 49ers in exchange for a pick the 49ers would end up using to select Trey Lance. The 49ers got their quarterback, and in exchange, this is what the Dolphins turned all those bricks into.
The Dolphins would use the 12th overall selection that they received from the 49ers, paired with a fourth-round pick (no. 123), and a 2022 first-round pick to move back up in the draft to the sixth overall selection; they also received a fifth-round pick (no. 156) for their troubles. They would use that sixth overall pick to select wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. The no. 156 pick was traded away to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for a 2022 fourth-round pick that the Dolphins would eventually use on wide receiver Erik Ezukanma.
With the 2022 third-round selection they received, the Dolphins selected linebacker Channing Tindall.
The 2022 first-round pick was then packaged as the only first-round selection out of five total draft picks used in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs that sent star wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins. The Dolphins would then immediately signed Hill to a four-year $120 million deal with $72.2 million guaranteed.
The 2023 first-round pick was also sent away by the Dolphins in a trade. This time, they were acquiring edge rusher Bradley Chubb and a 2025 fifth-round draft pick from the Denver Broncos in exchange for said 2023 first-round pick, a 2024 fourth-round pick, and running back Chase Edmonds.
While the Dolphins only ended up using one of the draft picks they received from the 49ers to select a player themselves, they have fared very well after this trade.
They currently have two of the best skilled players in the league at wide receiver with Hill and Waddle. Many people are unsure of how to feel about starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa but at times during the 2022 season, he was putting up MVP numbers and a large part of that was the supporting cast around him. During the 2022 season, the duo of Hill and Waddle combined for over 3,000 yards and 15 total touchdowns.
Chubb may not be one of the elite edge rushers in the NFL, but he is a very skilled one who has been to two Pro Bowls and can absolutely leave his stamp on any given game.
Since this trade took place in 2021, the verdict is still up in that air about the full impact of all its pieces. After all, they still have a fifth-round pick to select. However, with the trade allowing the Dolphins the firepower to acquire the star power of Hill, Waddle, and Chubb, this trade was clearly a successful one for the organization.
Total Acquisitions:
Bradley Chubb EDGE
Tyreek Hill WR
Jaylen Waddle WR
Erik Ezukanma WR
Channing Tindall LB
2025 fifth-round pick
Since the trade:
2022: 9-8 lost in wild card round of the playoffs
2021: 9-8 missed playoffs
During the 2018 offseason, the New York Jets were another team that was desperate to find their franchise quarterback and they would trade with the Indianapolis Colts to acquire him. The Jets traded away their 2018 first-round pick (no. 6), two 2018 second-round picks (no. 37 and no. 49), and a 2019 second-round pick in exchange for the Colts no. 3 overall pick that the Jets would use to select quarterback Sam Darnold.
The Colts would use the 2018 sixth overall selection to get offensive guard Quenton Nelson. They would use the no. 37 pick to select offensive linemen Braden Smith.
The Colts would then trade away the no. 49 selection to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for the no. 52 pick and the no. 169 pick in that same 2018 draft. The Colts would then use the no. 52 pick to select defensive end Kemoko Turay and the no. 169 pick on running back Jordan Wilkins.
The final piece in that trade for the Colts was the 2019 second-round selection that they used to select defensive back Rock Ya-Sin.
The acquisition of Nelson after this trade is by far the most impactful one of all. He has been to five straight pro bowls to start his career, was named to the Associated Press All-Pro team at left guard in 2018, 2019, and 2020, and was named to the Associated Press Second All-Pro team at left guard in 2021. He has been a dominating guard since he started in the league, though he was not as dominant as usual during the 2022 season.
While Nelson is the star of the group for the Colts, they also found themselves a very solid player in Smith. Smith has been a steady force on the right side of the line for the Colts since they drafted him and he is currently playing on his second contract with the team after signing a four-year $72.4 million extension in 2021.
Turay, Wilkins, and Ya-Sin all have found themselves leaving the Colts, though Wilkins did come back briefly during the 2022 season. Ya-Sin was the best out of that group as he parted the team via trade to the Las Vegas Raiders for Yannick Ngakoue.
The Colts did not need a quarterback at the time of the 2018 draft as they had one of the best in the league in Andrew Luck. However, after the 2018 season, Luck unexpectedly retired from the game and the Colts have found themselves in an endless carousel at the position with a new starter every year since.
The season following this trade, the Colts made it to the Divisional Round of the playoffs with Luck as their quarterback. After that, they were a team always seemingly a quarterback away for years. Now, they have a lot more holes and are working towards rebuilding themselves.
Total Acquisitions:
Quenton Nelson OG
Braden Smith OT
Kemoko Turay EDGE
Jordan Wilkins RB
Rock Ya-Sin DB
Since the Trade:
2018 10-6 lost in divisional round of the playoffs
2019 7-9 missed playoffs
2020 11-5 lost in wild card round of the playoffs
2021 9-8 missed playoffs
2022 4-12 missed playoffs
This is a trade that all Bears fans know too well. The Bears were sitting at third overall in the 2017 draft and were eager to select quarterback Mitch Trubisky from North Carolina. To achieve this goal, they traded away their 2017 first-round pick (no. 3), 2017 third-round pick (no. 67), 2017 fourth-round pick (no. 111), and a 2018 third-round pick to the 49ers in exchange for the 2017 second overall pick.
The 49ers would use the third overall selection they received to select edge rusher Solomon Thomas.
They would then use the rest of the 2017 picks they received from the Bears as trade pieces. They traded the no. 67 pick to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for a 2018 second-round pick and the Saints 2017 seventh-round (no. 229) pick. They would use the no. 229 pick on defensive back Adrian Colbert from Miami.
The 49ers would then take the 2018 second-rounder they got from the Saints and use it in a trade with Washington. The 49ers sent the Saints pick and the no. 74 pick to Washington for the no. 44 pick and a fifth-round pick (no. 142). With these picks, the 49ers would take wide receiver Dante Pettis no. 44 and defensive back D.J. Reed no. 142.
The 49ers would use the fourth-round pick they received from the Bears as a throw-away pick in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks that would get them back into the first-round of the 2017 draft. They traded their 2017 second-round pick (no. 34) and the Bears fourth-round pick to move up to the 31st overall selection. They would use this to draft linebacker Reuben Foster.
The final piece of that trade was the 2018 third-round pick; which the 49ers used to draft linebacker Fred Warner.
This trade is mostly remembered for the blunder that it was for the Bears as the 49ers did not hit on most of these pieces.
As is shown in his draft position, many people thought Thomas would be an impact player in the NFL, but he just re-signed with the New York Jets on a one-year deal to be a rotational piece. Colbert, Reed, and Foster all saw time as starters in the league, but not impactful ones. Pettis showed athletic ability and quickness, but he has never broken 500 yards receiving in a season.
Warner, the final trade piece for the 49ers is really the only one of the group that found impactful success for the team or in the NFL in general. Warner finished up the 2020 and 2022 seasons being named as the MLB on the Associated Press All-Pro team and has been voted to the Pro Bowl for both of those years as well. Warner is regarded as one of the best linebackers in the league today for his instinct and his unbelievable speed.
While the return on most of this trade is underwhelming, the 49ers did manage to find their way to one of the best linebackers in the league. The team is constantly considered to be one of the best rosters in football and has Super Bowl aspirations each season.
Total Acquisitions:
Solomon Thomas EDGE
Adrian Colbert DB
Donte Pettis WR
D.J. Reed DB
Reuben Foster LB
Fred Warner LB
Since the Trade:
2017 6-10 missed playoffs
2018 4-12 missed playoffs
2019 13-3 Lost Super Bowl
2020 6-10 missed playoffs
2021 10-7 Lost NFC Championship
2022 13-4 Lost NFC Championship
The Chicago Bears found themselves with the worst record in the NFL upon the conclusion of the 2022 season for good reason. The team that was put out on the field each week was filled with practice squad players, backups, and some players that might not find their way on an NFL field again.
While the results of team success after making these blockbuster deals is mixed, one thing is very clear; impact players are often found using the pieces of these deals. Hill, Waddle, Chubb, Nelson, and Warner were all acquired using assets gained from these trades. Furthermore, these teams found many starters for there rosters with these picks, even if they weren’t All-Pro level players or moved on to other teams.
Poles put himself in a great position to acquire talent with the trade he made with the Panthers. The Bears already have an impact player in Moore thanks to this deal. Poles job now is to take those bricks the Panthers gave him and try to build the strongest Bears structure he can with them.