Bears, Panthers Feeling the Heat of C.J. Stroud’s Rookie Rise

C.J. Stroud didn’t get much blowback for saying publicly he didn’t want the Bears to draft him No. 1 in the 2023 draft because of the circumstances at the time. This was back in March at the NFL scouting combine, six days before the Bears traded the top pick to the Panthers.

The Bears listened to Stroud and remained committed to Justin Fields, and the Panthers said no thanks to Stroud and selected Bryce Young. Those two teams that passed on the front-runner for Offensive Rookie of the Year clashed Thursday night for a prime-time matchup that not many were eager to watch.

Well, besides grateful Texans fans because their team didn’t pass on Stroud, the No. 2 pick, who’s in the midst of the best rookie season for a quarterback since Justin Herbert in 2020. I’m sure it was annoying for Panthers and Bears fans having to hear the Amazon Prime broadcast rave about Stroud’s sensational five-touchdown, 470-yard performance last week against the Buccaneers.

Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit didn’t waste time mentioning the Young vs. Stroud debate during the Panthers’ opening drive. It’s way too soon to say the Panthers got it wrong with Young, but it doesn’t help when Stroud is turning heads on a weekly basis. Also, the Bears shouldn’t be let off the hook because they’re still searching for a franchise quarterback. Fields continues to be inconsistent as a passer three years into his career and hasn’t played in a month because of a thumb injury.

The Bears beat the Panthers, 16–13, but they entered Thursday night in a win-win situation because they own Carolina’s 2024 first-round pick through the trade in March. The Bears could have two top-five picks in next year’s loaded draft class. Having those two valuable picks has been the biggest bright spot amid another losing season in Chicago.

Hindsight is 20/20, but the Bears (3–7) and Panthers (1–8) shouldn’t get a pass for passing on Stroud. If Panthers owner David Tepper forced the team to take Young over Stroud, then it’s tough to blame GM Scott Fitterer and coach Frank Reich. But it’s on them to make life easier for the 5’ 10”, 194-pound Young, and so far that hasn’t happened. The Panthers’ offensive line has struggled to protect Young, and the signings of running back Miles Sanders and tight end Hayden Hurst haven’t worked out.

Young had another quiet performance Thursday night, completing 21-of-38 passes for 185 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. Oh, what could have been had Stroud bought that house in Charlotte like Panthers quarterbacks coach Josh McCown suggested back during the Ohio State product’s pro day.

Stroud saying he didn’t want to go to Chicago was understandable because he’s a close friend of Fields, a fellow Buckeye. But I can’t imagine GM Ryan Poles saying, “Welp, now we can’t draft Stroud because he’s friends with Fields. Return the Panthers’ calls.”

At the time, many viewed Young as the top quarterback prospect in the draft. It was also somewhat obvious that the Bears would either trade down or take the best defensive prospect, which probably would have been between Jalen Carter and Will Anderson Jr. Matt Eberflus’s defense could have used one of those rookie defenders, but hey, at least they traded a second-round pick and committed nearly $73 million in guaranteed money for the right to have Montez Sweat for the next few years. (Yes, I’m being sarcastic because the Bears aren’t in a position to trade away second-rounders, but Sweat did pop off the edge Thursday night.)

Obviously, Stroud didn’t take Fields’s job, but it does make you wonder what the Bears thought of Stroud’s comments and what their evaluations were of him, especially knowing what we know now. Clearly, they weren’t that high about any of the top quarterbacks in the 2023 draft because they traded the pick to the Panthers for DJ Moore and a boatload of picks. Chicago also passed on quarterback Anthony Richardson, who flashed a high ceiling before his season-ending shoulder injury.

I get the Bears wanting to give Fields one more year while also having the backup plan of possibly drafting Caleb Williams and Drake Maye in 2024. But why wait when Stroud was available—the most accurate quarterback in the draft, and one with the ideal size as 6’ 3”, 218-pound signal-caller.

Stroud also picked apart Georgia’s stellar defense in the college football playoffs. Was it solely because of his pre-draft test score? His lack of mobility away from the pocket? Maybe we’ll find out in five years on someone’s podcast, and if we get answers that soon then the regime of Poles and Eberflus probably never turned the Bears into a winning organization.

It’s hard to knock the Bears if they end up with the first two picks next year and have the option of picking the first quarterback (Williams or Maye) and pairing him with stud Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. But that will be just a reminder that Poles hasn’t gotten much right in his first two seasons as GM. The same can be said for Eberflus, because the Bears haven’t shown signs of improvements on the field, but they have been better defensively in recent weeks.

Bears ownership might be patient with Poles and Eberflus, but this rebuilding project might take longer than expected because of the possibility of having a rookie starting quarterback next season. Then again, Stroud quickly established himself as a top quarterback in the league—some might say he’s already inside the top 10. But Chicago remains in wait-and-see mode when they could have had Stroud already.

The Panthers didn’t wait for next year by going all in for Young. The results haven’t been great, but his accuracy, decisiveness and mobility suggest he’s on track for a bright future.

It’s on the Panthers to get Young help—a legit No. 1 wideout would be helpful. And maybe run more play-action and produce a better running game, as Michaels and Herbstreit suggested multiple times Thursday night.

The Panthers and Bears can still find success in the organizational paths they selected after agreeing to their memorable trade back in March. But they better produce results at a faster rate soon or more people might start asking why they both passed on Stroud.