Chicago Bears Draft Rumors: Curtis Samuel trade has potential

A young wide receiver with exactly what the Chicago Bears are looking for is on the trade block. Curtis Samuel is a must-have at this point.

Heading into the second and third rounds of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears are in a great position. There are a lot of strong players left; some whom had mostly first-round projections.

General manager Ryan Pace might end up trading one of his second-round picks in order to acquire more draft capital in the third and fourth round. If he does so, it would be smart to address the wide receiver position.

One option, though, outside of selecting a wideout, is using a pick to deal for a veteran. Getting an already-established wide receiver for a good enough value would be a huge win.

They might have that chance today.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted out that the Carolina Panthers appear ready to deal former second-round pick Curtis Samuel if they find the right deal.

Samuel is a 5-foot-11 speedster drafted out of Ohio State back in 2017. He is just 23 years old and would fill the hole in Chicago’s offense immediately.

The Bears have to add speed at that position, ideally. Samuel would be a dream to add to this offense. The best part is, the Bears likely wouldn’t have to spend a second rounder to get him.

Carolina added Robby Anderson to a core that also includes D.J. Moore, the clear number one there. Spending on Anderson seemed odd when they already had Samuel, but now we get the explanation: Samuel will hopefully be traded, for his sake.

Last season, Samuel caught 54 passes for 627 yards and six touchdowns while the Panthers mostly operated under rookie Kyle Allen. If he came to the Bears, he’d likely have Nick Foles throwing to him, barring a miraculous offseason from Mitchell Trubisky.

To put it in perspective of what kind of receiver the Bears would be getting, Samuel ran his 40-yard dash in 4.31 seconds at the 2017 Combine.

Imagine Samuel lined up opposite Allen Robinson, with Anthony Miller in the slot. That receiving group is lethal, and also extremely young. If I am Pace, I would already be planning to trade back and acquire a pick in the third or fourth.

If he could get Samuel for a third-round or even a fourth-round pick, it could end up being his best move of the entire weekend. We know Samuel is probably being traded, so his value cannot be at a second-round level any longer.

That’s enormous value, there. Samuel is better than any receiver the Bears could get in the third or fourth round this year, so Pace has to make the call.