Five Things to Know About Bears' Draft Pick Darnell Wright
Five Things to Know About Darnell Wright originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
A six-foot-six, 335 pound offensive tackle is coming to Chicago.
In Round 1 of the 2023 NFL Draft Thursday night, the Chicago Bears chose to go the offensive route with Darnell Wright, a 21-year-old lineman from Tennessee.
The Bears started out the evening with the 9th pick, but elected to trade the No. 9 pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for No. 10, and a 2024 fourth-round pick. The Eagles selected Carter.
That cleared the way for the Bears to select Wright, who will immediately upgrade their offensive line.
"The one thing that stands out with him, he's a tone setter," Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Poles said. "He plays with the edge to him, which we love, we want more of."
After the pick, Wright was practically rendered speechless.
“I’m in shock right now,” Wright said at the outset of his introductory Zoom press conference with the media. “I’m literally in shock.”
“It’s rare that you get to go somewhere where you really get to get coached by someone you really like and you feel like can take your game to the next level," he added. "I'm somewhere I really wanted to be. So it's almost like a pleasure. I don't think a lot of people get that lucky."
According to PFF, Wright allowed no sacks and just eight pressures in 2022, while going up against some of the best pass rushers in the SEC. In fact, Wright seemed to elevate his game against fierce competition. He neutralized Will Anderson, who was the first defensive player taken off the board this year, and B.J. Ojulari, who many expect could come off the board around the end of the first round, or beginning of the second round.
The Bears plan to introduce Wright Friday afternoon at a press conference at Halas Hall. Ahead of that, here are five things to know about the Bears' pick.
His College Highlight Reel is Impressive
Wright played three seasons at Tennessee and saw 15 games in the SEC. He came on later in his college career, flashing his dominant size (6-foot-6 and 335 pounds) and footwork at the tackle position.
In a video of Wright taking on Anderson -- arguably college football's best pass rusher -- he didn't allow any sacks to his quarterback.
Anderson was taken No. 3 overall in a trade-and-pick to the Houston Texans. Most believed he is the consensus best player in the draft. Yet, the Bears' newest right tackle was able to hold his own against him in a game last season.
He Thinks Bears QB Justin Fields is "Amazing"
Wright knows his job is to make sure Fields' jersey looks like it just came off the rack at the Soldier Field fan store when the game ends. The prospect of blocking for an electric quarterback like Fields is exciting for the 21-year-old.
"That’s my only plan. That’s what I’m here for is for anything he needs," Wright said of Fields on a Zoom with Chicago media on Thursday. "That’s my job to keep him clean. Amazing. Amazing quarterback, and the things he does, we’re going to have a great team. We’re going to have a very good team and it’s going to be great. Whatever I can do, no matter what that role is for the team, protecting him is going to be...that’s my job."
Wright Could Be the ‘Best Player in the Draft'
One former NFL scout and ESPN analyst, Louis Riddick, raved about Wright on the ESPN broadcast of the draft, saying "(He) has the ability to be the best player in this draft."
He Has Meticulous Study Habits
“There’s nothing really that I can’t do," Wright said. "It’s just a matter of teaching it to me. Once I learn it, I steal it. It’s like, ‘Don’t teach it to me if you don’t want me to take it. It’s mine now.’ Then I just implement it into my game. I’m just, you see on tape that I have some stuff – you say it’s good or you say it’s advanced. But I don’t even know. Sometimes I feel like I’m just really out there free balling, off instincts. If that’s where I’m at right now, I don’t know. If I get around some of these NFL vets and they can really teach me, I don’t know how good I can be.”
Wright always believed that his limitless ceiling, meticulous study habits, and ability to thrive under pressure set him apart, Bears Insider Josh Schrock writes.
“I like to watch Trent Williams a lot,” Wright said. “His snatch and trap is as good as anybody. I’ve took that. In the Alabama game, Lane Johnson, he likes to go double under a lot, so I do that. Jason Peters, he loads up really heavy on that front foot, which I don’t do as much because I think there’s a time and a place for it, he kind of does it a lot. I took that. Tristan Wirfs, his right hand is so accurate sometimes, I try to be as accurate and I just feel like I just watched him do it, and I did in practice a few times and it’s in my repertoire.”
He Fills The Bears Biggest Hole -- And Then Some
The Bears had a chance to draft Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter at No. 9, but elected to trade the No. 9 pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for No. 10 and a 2024 fourth-round pick. The Eagles selected Carter.
That cleared the way for the Bears to select Wright, who will immediately upgrade their offensive line.
The Bears' selection of Wright is also a vote of confidence in left tackle Braxton Jones and a gift to quarterback Justin Fields.
Wright can play right or left tackle, but his sterling final season at Tennessee should allow the Bears to give Jones another season on the left side to see if he can develop into a building block. If he can't, Wright can move over in 2024.
Drafting Wright also shores up what was the weakest part of the Bears' leaky offensive line in 2022.
Larry Borom opened the 2022 season as the starting right tackle. He gave up 14 pressures and five sacks in just 264 pass-blocking snaps. Veteran Riley Reiff replaced Borom but didn't fare much better, surrendering 18 pressures and three sacks in 293 pass-blocking snaps. That's 32 pressures and eight sacks for the right tackle spot.
If 2023 is going to be the year Fields takes a giant step forward as a passer, that must change. You can't get a full evaluation of a quarterback running for his life on a down-to-down basis. Fields deserves his share of criticism for some of the pressure numbers. He holds the ball too long and invites pressure while trying to make a big play out of nothing.
But there were countless instances in 2022 where Fields was under immediate pressure. That often came from the right side.
Wright should change that immediately.
