Bears-Panthers Trade Changes NFL Draft Odds For Key Prospects

NFL draft boards surely got a major shakeup Friday even with the league’s marquee offseason event still well over a month away.

The Bears and Panthers orchestrated a blockbuster trade to throw a little chaos into the mix as Chicago dealt the No. 1 overall pick to Carolina in exchange for productive wide receiver D.J. Moore and plenty of draft capital.

With the dust barely settling from the trade, key NFL draft prospects saw their odds change rather dramatically on who would go off the board first, with the Panthers now holding the coveted selection.

Earlier this week, BetMGM had Alabama quarterback Bryce Young as the clear favorite to get picked first, despite a quiet NFL Scouting Combine. But DraftKings Sportsbook sees things playing out entirely different, especially now with the Panthers front and center.

The Panthers certainly need a quarterback after having Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold and PJ Walker all made starts this past season. Carolina moved on from Mayfield in-season, and Darnold is expected to go elsewhere in free agency. Walker is an unrestricted free agent.

Carolina will surely have options available to replace them with its ability to pick any of the top young signal-callers.

Here are the five players with the best odds to go to the Panthers on the DraftKings betting sheet as of 10:30 p.m. ET on Friday:

C.J. Stroud, -350
Bryce Young, +275
Anthony Richardson, +400
Will Levis, +3500
Will Anderson, +10000

Stroud jumping up the board and leapfrogging Young is a little bit of a surprise since so much attention has been paid early on to Young and Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson. But Stroud is still a blue-chip prospect with a great pedigree following his three illustrious seasons at Ohio State.

And with the Panthers trading to get the No. 1 overall pick, things might look different for Stroud come late April.