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How Twitter reacted to the Chicago Bears first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft

wes huett, journal star
·4 min read
2

Chicago Bears spent a high pick last season to secure their quarterback of the future in Justin Fields.

In the 2023 NFL Draft on Thursday night, the Bears got a big man to protect him.

The Bears selected Tennessee offensive lineman Darnell Wright with the No. 10 pick overall, adding the 6-foot-6, 335-pound tackle to anchor a struggling offensive line.

Background: Chicago Bears draft Tennessee's Darnell Wright with No. 10 pick in 2023 NFL Draft

Wright played in the nation's top college conference and allowed just eight quarterback pressures and zero sacks in 892 snaps, according to analyst Runback Dave (@runbackdave). ESPN's Louis Riddick said Wright "has the ability to be the best player in this draft."

We took a spin around social media to see what other analysts and fans were saying about the pick.

More picks!

The Bears started the NFL Draft season with the No. 1 overall pick — but eventually ended up with No. 10 after a couple of trades that netted them a top wide receiver in D.J. Moore, a bundle of picks and now a lineman of the future.

The Bears were not done Thursday. They added more capital when they moved down one spot from No. 9 to No. 10 and got a 2024 fourth-round pick from the Philadelphia Eagles, who then nabbed Georgia defensive lineman Jalen Carter.

The analysts love him

NFL analyst Warren Sharp said Fields was sacked 14.7% of the time last season, the highest in league history.

"They needed to help him," Sharp wrote, "they do just that with Darnell Wright."

Offensive line analyst Brandon Thorn called Wright one of his "my guys" ahead of the draft, saying he had "elite-level power" and a "special blend of size and balance."

"Wright played his best football in 2022 against the best competition," Thorn said, "while bringing a tone-setting demeanor with the size and natural power to create immediate displacement in the run game and the play strength and balance to anchor on command."

Dan Katz, known at Barstool Big Cat, loved the pick of Wright, who he had No. 1 on his draft board.

"Absolute beast," Katz wrote. "Future multi Pro Bowler and if you’d like to tailor his gold jacket for Canton today I wouldn’t blame you. Incredible pick by the Bears."

Solid if not exciting

Most fans around Twitter seemed overall pleased with Wright. While he might lack flash, Wright could be an anchor player for 10-plus years — despite being a bit overdrafted.

As pointed out by All Things Chicago Sports, most mock drafts had Wright selected deeper in the first round:

Some fans seemed to wonder why the Bears did not draft an exciting player like Carter — who went one slot ahead.

One video clip making the rounds Thursday could make the doubters feel a little better. It shows Wright at Tennessee basically manhandling top defensive end pick Will Anderson, who went No. 3 overall to the Houston Texans.

Welcome, Darnell

Wright on Thursday night said it was now his job to protect Fields and "keep him clean." Deadspin cheekily said that Fields certainly would welcome Wright into the fold and posted a GIF of a play that seemed to exemplify Chicago's line play in 2022.

Ouch. Darnell Wright cannot arrive soon enough.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Chicago Bears draft reaction: Fans, analysts react to Darnell Wright pick