The Carolina Panthers own the No. 1 pick in tonight’s NFL Draft following a trade with the Chicago Bears.
But according to FOX Sports insider Jay Glazer, Chicago almost flipped that top selection to another team: the Houston Texans, who are picking 2nd.
Glazer outlined the possible Bears/Texans swap on Twitter this afternoon.
“Originally the Bears were trading that top pick with Houston to go to #2, then Chicago had deal pretty much worked out with Carolina to go from 2 to 9. Looked like it was going to happen then Houston source says they just couldn’t get that part of the deal done so Bears made the eventual move with Panthers, who now have their guy,” he said.
Glazer also added that Bryce Young, the expected No. 1 overall pick for the Panthers, likely would have been picked first overall by the Texans if the original deal had been worked out.
Little #NFL Draft scoopage, originally the Bears were trading that top pick with Houston to go to #2, then Chicago had deal pretty much worked out with Carolina to go from 2 to 9. Looked like it was going to happen then Houston source says they just couldn’t get that part of the…
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) April 27, 2023
This makes sense, if the earlier reports that the Panthers were comfortable with more than one quarterback prospect are accurate. If the Texans moved to No. 1 and took Young while Carolina traded up to No. 2, the Panthers still would have been okay with picking a different QB.
It’s a fun hypothetical that will surely be talked about more in the coming years.