Bryce Young and Caleb Williams Headline Week 8 as the 2023 Trade Pays Off

The No. 1 overall picks from 2023 and 2024 both get primetime stages this week, and the gap between them has rarely looked wider on our pages. Caleb Williams checks in as QB5 and overall No. 11 in our 2026 rankings — 86 PPR points through four games with five touchdowns, zero interceptions and 128 rushing yards. Bryce Young sits at QB15, No. 37 overall, with 118 PPR points across six games (12 TDs, four picks).

Young and the Panthers open Week 8 on Thursday night against the Packers, while Williams and the Bears close the week Monday against the Seahawks. Both draw tough road games against conference contenders. And both quarterbacks exist because of the same March 2023 blockbuster that still echoes through two franchises.

How We Got Here

Carolina moved heaven and earth to climb from No. 9 to No. 1 in 2023, outbidding a crowded field of quarterback-hungry teams. The Panthers reportedly weren't even locked in on a name — the idea, per reporting at the time, was that the top pick gave them maximum optionality. Owner David Tepper later said the group's conviction was on Young; other reports claimed coach Frank Reich preferred C.J. Stroud.

The Bears, meanwhile, were still committed to Justin Fields and happy to cash the trade package. They used the 2023 capital on tackle Darnell Wright and corner Tyrique Stevenson, kept building, and gave D.J. Moore a monster 2023 (96 catches, 1,364 yards). Fields never solved his negative-play problem, Chicago went 7-10, and the plan shifted.

The Full-Circle Twist

Then came the kicker. Carolina went 2-15 in Young's disastrous rookie year — 62 sacks, a 4.6 net yards per attempt that remains the worst since Jimmy Clausen in 2010 — and that gift-wrapped the 2024 No. 1 pick straight to Chicago. The Bears drafted Williams and paired him with Rome Odunze at No. 9. Williams endured his own brutal rookie slog (68 sacks, a fired head coach midseason) before everything changed.

Ben Johnson's arrival flipped the franchise. Williams took a major leap in 2025 and is building on it now, which is exactly what his 2026 line reflects: efficient, turnover-free, mobile. He's doing it as a legitimate weekly QB1 rather than a streamer you pray on.

Young's climb has been slower and messier — he was benched under Dave Canales in 2024 before finishing strong — but it's real. Under new OC Brad Idzik, who took over play-calling this offseason, Young is playing the best football of his career. He's not torching anyone, but he's a functional starter on a team eyeing the playoffs.

The Fantasy Fallout

Williams is the clear buy of the two, and frankly he's not a buy anymore — he's a hold-and-start. QB5 in our 2026 ranks with zero interceptions and a dual-threat floor (128 rushing yards already) means you plug him in against Seattle and don't overthink it. His rushing usage is the difference between a safe QB1 and a boom-or-bust guy, and he's firmly in the former camp.

Young is the trickier call. His 12 TDs in six games are encouraging, but his last five outings have run 2.4 fantasy points below his season average — the trend is cooling, not heating. A Thursday road date with the Packers isn't a smash spot, so he's a back-end QB2 and a matchup-dependent stream rather than a set-and-forget option.

For managers in deeper formats weighing the wider class: Stroud (QB9, 133 PPR points, zero INTs in seven games) remains the steadier week-to-week play than Young, and Mayfield's QB12 ranking reflects a four-game sample. Bottom line — ride Williams with confidence, treat Young as a bye-week fill-in, and don't bench a healthy QB1 to chase the Thursday storyline.